25 Dec 2009

'Tease Me' Goes Into Action

Our brand new inshore popper boat 'Tease Me' just had her first popper casting bash taking visiting anglers Sam Cheadle and Dave Olson out for a couple of popper casting sessions along Kadavu Island's Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef. Sam and Dave are new to heavy tackle poppering but came well prepared with Stellas, Dogfights and Shimano GT Specials.
A couple of sessons on Tease Me followed by a day on Bite Me and some nice GTs hit the deck (gently of course !)

Dave with a GT caught on a Buffalo Prototype

Tease Me performed perfectly and proved to be an excellent platform for popper casting, despite the day being a little breezy.


Dave Christens 'Tease Me' with a cracker

Best fish of the first day aboard 'Tease Me' was this excellent 46 Inch (short length) GT above for Dave that would have weighed in around 40kg had we not released.


Sam with some sensible protection from the Tropical sun

The next day we took Bite Me to go long range in breezy choppy conditions and headed out to work the Great Sea Reef area. Despite an awkward SE 5 foot short period wind chop and SW ground swell, both Sam and Dave landed into some nice GTs as well as a Spanish Mackerel for dinner and some Red Bass for a bit of variety.

Dave seems happy !

Dave with yet another GT - this one measuring 43" short length

Sam hooked up to a dinosaur on a black Buffalo prototype that probably would have gone 40+kg but despite upwards of 20kg of drag the fish peeled line off Sam's Dogfight and made it to the shallow breakers to bust us off.


Sam knocks off another GT - this one measuring 38" short length

Sam and Dave were a lot of fun and a pleasure to have aboard. Thanks for Christening Tease Me and hope you guys had fun with the Kadavu Island GTs.

New Inshore Popper Boat "Tease Me"

Tease Me

We have just taken delivery of our new inshore popping & jigging boat 'Tease Me' and despite the recent direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Mick, she now rests safely on her mooring at Matava Resort.


Full specs will be detailed soon on the gamefishing website but here are a couple of pics to wet your appetite.

Extended high side rails for added safety, coolboxes for chilled drinks and storage for safety equipment


Full walk-around for fighting fish and T-top for shade

Tease Me should be an ideal platform for anglers to work the inshore coral lagoons, outer barrier reef drop-offs and breakers popper casting for GTs, bluefin trevally, yellowfin tuna, Spanish Mackerel, jobfish and jigging for a whole host of species including dogtooth tuna, amberjack, giant grouper and deepwater snappers.

December Gamefishing Report


It has been a bit of a topsy turvey run up to Christmas with very unusual water temperatures and even a direct hit from a Cat 2 Cyclone thrown in for good measure.
Whilst the normal incoming flood of hot summer water hovers to the North West of the Fiji Islands, the rest of Fiji is still experiencing water temps some 3 degrees lower than normal.
The winter wahoo season that normally comes to an end in September actually extended right through to the end of the year. In fact we are still finding wahoo though not quite in the big mid-winter numbers.
Around October, huge numbers of Mahi Mahi flooded in, a welcome by-catch for the marlin anglers. The marlin bite has been fairly average though boats able to find and fish a temp break are having great success on blues.


The delay in the warmer water moving in has however meant that the Christmas run of Yellowfin Tuna looks to be starting late this year. Only now are we seeing the first few schools of smaller fish around Kadavu Island though several 150lb fish were recently landed off the west coast of the main island.


The summer popper casting season has got off to a great start, the big GTs obviously don't mind the unseasonably cooler waters. Both of our gamefishing vessels 'Bite Me' and the new inshore popper boat 'Tease Me' will be spending most of their time in the next few months focused on popper casting for GTs and jigging for dogtooth tuna. Jan - April being peak season.


We just missed out on taking the Dogtooth IGFA All-Tackle World Record last season. Hopes are high for the coming few months.
Happy holidays everyone....

18 Dec 2009

Matava fully operational after Cyclone MICK - Matava - Fijis Premier Eco Adventure Resort

http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/e/en/enimal/905450_merry_christmas.jpgOn Monday 14th December 2009 Fiji was hit by a Tropical Cyclone, TC Mick. The cyclone passed straight over the main island and just to the East of Kadavu Island. Although the resort experienced high winds and heavy rain, no damage was done to the resort at all, apart from the loss of some thatch from the corner of the roof of the dive centre. The guests and staff spent the whole day playing cards, board games and reading books safely in the Main Bure while Maggie served breakfast, lunch and dinner as normal. Richard has said that the biggest thing he is upset about is that most of the mangoes came down out the big mango tree! No mango jam this year!

By Tuesday 15th December we were once again fishing, diving and trekking as normal, in glorious sunshine albeit with a stiff breeze!

The cyclone passed quickly and was over in less than a day, however Kadavu island, like the main island, did experiences high winds. Kadavu's main Telecom Fiji tower in Vunisea sustained damage and at the moment, all communication (including mobile services) are down on Kadavu.

Unfortunately this means that we are currently unable to communicate directly with our reservations system at the resort. A communications issue such as this would normally be repaired quickly however with the other wind damage to many systems on the main island, it may be a few days before normal communications with the resort is re-established. Please bear with us.

Furthermore, Airports Fiji Ltd was also engaged in an upgrade to Kadavu Airport last week. Although no interruptions to services were expected, the works (now delayed by the cyclone) have now caused short term interruptions to flight services. All flights to and from Kadavu from Nadi International Airport and Suva Airport are currently suspended and we have been advised that the airport will re-open on the 18th December 2009.

We appreciate your patience in these matters, and rest assured that we are all fine and 100% fully operational at Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort.

May we take this opportunity to wish you and your family all the best for this festive season

Richard, Adrian, Jeanie, Stuart & The Team

Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort


Matava fully operational after Cyclone MICK - Matava - Fijis Premier Eco Adventure Resort

12 Dec 2009

Simon fishing on Bite Me in the Fiji Islands