Good News for Fiji Bound Australian Anglers

Air Pacific has anounced that from January 15th it will almost double its weekly flights into Sydney by flying 13 times per week with both morning and afternoon departures to Nadi every day except Monday.

From Tuesday to Sunday, there will be a 6:30am Sydney - Nadi service, arriving in Nadi at 12:25pm, and there will also be a daily 12:55pm Sydney – Nadi service, with the flight getting into Nadi at 6.45pm. From Nadi, there will be a daily 9am service to Sydney, with the flight arriving at 11:25am. In addition, there will be evening flights every day except Sunday, departing Nadi at 6.30pm and arriving in Sydney at 9.05pm.
With these flexible departure and arrival times, many passengers now will be able to enjoy same day connections from Nadi International Airport to Fiji’s outer islands and resorts.

Connecting with that Pacific Sun Island-Hopper puddle jumper just got easier

BlueWater Magazine on Sale Today, 6th Jan 2012

A BlueWater world scoop! 


This issue is a dedicated GIANT BLUEFIN TUNA Special. See mind-blowing action with tuna to way over 1000-pounds. They are more than 10 feet long! It’s the hottest gamefishing news on the planet – and this issue has it all. Discover the history, join the new action, and learn from the scientists. 


Do not miss this one!



Content included in issue 89 of BlueWater magazine


FISHING FEATURES

Techniques for multiple marlin
Why hook just one marlin when you could hook several at the same time? Once you’ve located the bait school there’s a good chance that there will be more than one marlin stalking them. With a little planning and the right strategy, you can capitalise on being in the right spot before they disappear.






what you need to know about polarised eyewear
Investment advice for that most essential of gamefishing equipment – your eyes.


Understanding south pacific cyclones 

Knowing how cyclones form, and how they track across the ocean will help you to stay out of danger.


big fish –small boats
Sounders and sounder set-up
This guide will help you set up your sounder and transducer to see better images on screen.


make your own wind-on leaders
They are a fundamental piece of tackle and with this step-by-step guide you can be skilled at making your own reliable wind-on leaders.


creatures of the deep
Ray’s Bream
They are plentiful, they’re great to eat, and they are out there! 
Dr Julian Pepperell explains all.

prey species – squid story
What has three hearts and blueish blood? Dr Pepperell reveals the alien-like biology and fascinating life story of these vital prey species.


small boat crew tactics
Your chances for success are greatly magnified when the team works together as a coordinated unit. Here’s how to make it happen.


lure lore – part 7
The 10 best lures for big blue marlin
Who better to judge the 10 best lures than a panel of 900lb-plus blue marlin off Kona, Hawaii?


smoke and mirrors
JB Lures ‘Chook’
Something specifically crafted to be snapped up by big marlin could hardly be called ‘chicken’.


BOAT FEATURES 

PEDIGREE CAT
Noosa Cat 3000 Sportsman
Built on a proud history of quality offshore cats designed to break through treacherous river bars, Noosa Cat’s latest offering delivers refined design that will surprise with its rough-riding abilities, economy, and comforts.


TOP SHELF
Sailfish Shelf Runner
With expertise in tough, marine rescue cats, Sailfish have now refocused for the offshore angler.


AUSSIE MADE TO RIVAL THE WORLD
Cruise Craft Outsider 595
Patriotic Aussies will be more than proud after reading Warren Steptoe’s glowing review of this local hero.

BlueWater Magazine

Old School Gamefishing

Before.....

(Those were the days !)

After.....

Damn I forgot my bow tie....

Fame Anybody ?

We are arranging an opportunity for World renown photographer Jon Schwartz to visit us and photograph GT Poping aboard Tease Me this summer. We need a couple of GT anglers willing to model !
You have probably seen many of Jon's photos gracing the covers of publications such as Marlin Magazine and BlueWater Magazine. You can see some of his work here www.bluewaterjon.com
Jon will be taking action stills of anglers fighting GTs, posing with their catch and releasing, some of which will be filmed from underwater......


We need to fit this in between the 18th and 25th February. Matava Eco-Adventure Resort currently has a 'Special' on for February but it does not include Fishing Packages.
As this would not be a 'normal' fishing trip we are offering to extend this Special Second Person Half Price deal for anbody who wants to GT Pop on Tease Me and be photographed all day long !
Our primary target will be GTs, the bigger the better but if we see an opportunity to pop for yellowfin, wahoo or jig for dogtooth tuna and film that as well, excllent !

This is a great opportunity to get a ridiculously cheap GT Popping trip for two on the Great Astroabe Barrier Reef, Kadavu and be presented with your own professional photos of the trip. Oh, and you might get famous as well.
Drop us an email if you are interested.....

Take a Friend to Fiji for 50% off Matava package: 2nd Person Half Price on Land and Air! | Matava - Fijis Premier Eco Adventure Resort

Matava Summer Special

2nd Person 50% off

Escape to Fiji to Matava – Fiji’s Premier Eco Adventure Resort and the Second Person stays Half Price !

Valid for travel between 1st December 2011 – 29th February 2012

Details:

• valid for double / twin share
• ANY Matava Dive, Romance or Adventure Package
• 5 nights stay or longer
• All meals and airport transfers included
• Complimentary Snorkelling on Critter Junction
• Waterfall hike and village afternoon
• Lovo feast and kava ceremony

Additions:

• Extra night – 2nd person half price (based on double occupancy)
• Extra days diving – 2nd person half price
• Single Supplement – Waived
• Based on published package and add on rates
• Excludes gamefishing and kayaking packages
• Travel through 29th February 2011 subject to availability
• Blackout period: travel Between 23rd December 2011 and 29th December 2011 excluded

Air Pacific Special

Take a Friend to Fiji for Half Price Air special.

Discover the wonders of Matava in Fiji and save money on the second person.

For a limited time, 2nd passenger gets 50 % off airfare from Los Angeles on Air Pacific.

From now until March 31, 2012 travel to fabulous Fiji and the second passenger travels for 50% off airfare!

TRAVEL DATES: valid 1 Oct 2011 through 31 March 2012
Sale ends Dec. 31

(No travel on the special airfare permitted during the blackout of 15-Dec-11 to 15-Jan-12)

—

Book your Escape to Fiji to Matava – Fiji’s Premier Eco Adventure Resort and the Second Person stays Half Price !

Click here to book your private haven in a Honeymoon Bure today and see the panoramas and vista for yourself from your own private deck in Kadavu, Fiji!!

Book Now by Contacting Us!

Take a Friend to Fiji for 50% off Matava package: 2nd Person Half Price on Land and Air!

Sea Save Foundation - Auction Home Page - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

The Sea Save Foundation Holiday Auction is now open!

The proceeds will go to Sea Save Foundation in order to support ocean conservation.

Auction items range from exotic diving vacation getaways, diving equipment and gear, underwater photography courses by noted oceanographers, and incredible hand crafted works of art guaranteed to delight and surprise.

So, tell your friends, family, and community. Let the bidding begin!

Sea Save Foundation - Auction Home Page - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

Prime Slot opens up for Anglers

Summer Dolphinfish are numerous

Matava Eco-Adventure Resort was totally fully booked with divers for early January however it has just had a cancellation from the 1st to the 10th January 2012 opening up some accommodation space.
This means that Bite Me Gamefishing Charters now has a slot available for any anglers who might wish to charter Bite Me or Tease Me between the 1-10th January 2012

During our summer season we usually concentrate on offshore heavy tackle gamefishing for blue marlin and yellowfin tuna or we focus on heavy tackle popping for GTs and deepwater jigging for Dogtooth Tuna.

Summer time is usually when we see the larger blue marlin

The summer Yellowfin Tuna run is when we get the big cow yellowfin

Yellowfin boiling on glassy seas....a typical summer sight

Weather conditions are usually hot, humid and calm, ideal for offshore gamefishing, working outer barrier reef slopes with poppers for huge GTs and deepwater jigging.

If anybody is interested, please drop me a line any time at adrian@GameFishingFiji.com

October 2011 GT Popping

Its still early days yet with the summer Popping and Jigging season starting in December but a couple of anglers from Australia caught a break with the Spring weather and got some great GT Popping in.

Justin's pretty pleased with this 45 inch short length GT

Red Bass

Double Hook-upfor Brendan & Justin

Another nice GT pushing 40kg for Justin

Last season the Pacific Ocean experienced a strong La Nina event. This meant that higher than normal sea surface temperatures were experienced in the West Pacific, particularily the Coral Sea. Tropical cyclones derive their energy from the warm oceans so most cyclones developed to the West of Fiji and tracked away from us. For us this meant good weather but frequent large ground swells from the South West as cyclones track south to the West of Fiji. The weather patterns stalled the normal oceanic currents that sweep along the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef and the water clarity was poor compared to a normal season. We countered this by switching primarily from poppers to stickbaits as the GTs tended to sit out in deeper waters rather than their usual whitewater breakers zone.
The NOAA weather gurus are forecasting another La Nina event this year but it is expected to be much weaker than last year and shorter lived.



The above chart from NOAA shows current sea surface temperature anomolies. You can see the La Nina effects with a big slug of warmer than normal water in the SW Pacific and cooler than normal sea surface temperatures off the Americas.
So, all in all, we are expecting fewer than average cyclones for Fiji this summer and a better GT Popping season than last year.
Not such good news for Queenslanders....Expect above average numbers of cyclones this summer....

Pilot Whales Check Out Bite Me

Ultra Light IGFA Wahoo World Record Hunting

Graeme and Owen fron South Australia spent a week with us at Matava Lodge with the intention of going after the M-03 Wahoo IGFA World Record. Owen makes a range of ultra-light custom rods and this was a great opportunity to put them through their paces on some relatively big fish.

We started off with a bit of a warm-up on some small yellowfin. Despit their small size, on 3kg line these yellowfin put up quite a fight.....Fortunately the guys had been practising on the Southern Bluefin Tuna at home so we were asured of some sashimi for dinner !

A couple of Rainbow Runners later just for a bit of variety...

and we were ready for the serious stuff....Trying to beat the current M-03 IGFA Wahoo World Record of 23.13kg caught in 1978 off Puerto Rico.

Graeme was up first using an Avet SX (Florida Cam) spooled with Platypus Pre-Test on an Eyre Toxic Wahoosta. We were using the best wahoo lure money can buy...The Halco Laser Pro.
After a fight of just over an hour, Graeme had his first prize....

A little shy of the World Record but what a great catch on 3kg !

Owen then had his chance using an Eyre Pirate These rods were hand made specifically for Bite Me and the finishing is beautiful. What's more they proved to be perfect for the job in the hands of an experienced angler.

A beautiful wahoo and quite a challenge on 3kg line

Graeme then hooked up and fought a feisty Mahi Mahi that would have smashed the Fiji National Record but just as Joe went in with the gaff the fish leapt out of the water (as they so often do !) and threw the hooks boatside.

Unfortunately the weather turned on us for a few days so we had to switch tactics. One of the advantages of the Pirate is its working range up to 8kg so we re-spooled with 6kg and headed back out. Owen got this nice Mahi Mahi, again using an Avet SX on a Pirate.


By the way, if any angler catches an IGFA World Record using one of our Eyre Custom rods they get to keep the rod....Or Owen will make them a brand new one for free ! Check out his website for details.

You have to experience the fun of fighting a fish like this on ultra-light tackle. Its a lot of fun for the skipper too !

The weather got worse so we spent the last two days fishing the calmer lee side of the island with the 3kg gear, in particular, the Ono Drop-off. After having a beautiful little sailfish jump and throw the hooks on us (bugger) we found some decent sized yellowfin. A bit too decent ! We fought two yellowfin for well over an hour and a half each only to have the line break just as we were getting close..... I have hours of GoPro video footage but I won't subject readers to blubbing anglers ! These yellowfin would have smashed the Fiji Record and possibly given the IGFA World Record a scare but it was not to be.
Anyway, we just missed out on the Wahoo World Record but had a lot of fun chasing it. The Eyre rods performed beautifully and now have a proven track record. I can't wait to have another go....In the mean time I might just mount them on the wall...They are that pretty !