Fiji Islands Saltwater Fishing Report - January 2009

Phil Calderon from Costa Rica with an 80lb GT

A superb start to the summer season has seen glassy seas and acres of Yellowfin and skipjack tuna smashing bait balls as far as the eye can see. Most of the yellowfin Tuna are schoolie fish to 30lbs but lurking a little further offshore are good sized yellowfin to 100lbs. These school fish are excellent fun on light tackle and of course even better as livebaits and skipbaits for the blue and black marlin. Average blue size right now is
around 300lbs but expect that to climb rapidly by February.

The popper casting and deepwater jigging fans are in seventh heaven with the millpond conditions. Best GT so far was an 80lb model which fell to Phil Calderon visiting from California with angler Dan Ryan coming in a close second with a beautiful GT of about 70lbs. Right now and for the next few months, anglers casting poppers can expect to catch GTs, dogtooth tuna, jobfish, red bass, bluefin Trevally, barracuda and even the occasional grey reef shark. The bite is so good you never now what's going to smash your lure next.

Dan Ryan with a healthy GT

Phil takes a nice Dogtooth Tuna on the popper

Dan and Joeli with a 70lb GT

A burst of monsoonal rain run-off early January has filled Fiji waters with all manner of floating FADs and the mahi mahi are everywhere. The current difficulty is deciding which log holds mahi mahi and which log holds a school of baitfish with a lurking blue marlin.


Capt Adrian Watt
Bite Me Gamefishing
www.GameFishingFiji.com