Kadavu GT Popping Update

We had an unusual summer of popper casting for GTs with the La Nina weather paterns making for unfavourable conditions and sometimes a very poor bite by our standards.
On a normal summer season day with a couple of anglers popping we expect around a 10 GT average and 15-20 on a hot bite day. This season we averaged about 5....

One after another, summer tropical depressions came by to the West of the Fiji Islands on their way South. Normally they sink by us to the East. These tropical lows sent some sizable South Westerly swells that churned up the inner lagoon water...which emptied out of the passageways. They also stalled the current that normally sweeps along the outer barrier reef bring clear oceanic waters. So coloured water emptied out of the lagoons...and just stayed there with little or no current to clear it away.
The solution aboard Bite Me - Stickbaits !
In a normal year we generally catch 75% of our GTs on poppers...This year we landed at least half the GTs on stickbaits.

The Nomad Wahho & Dogtooth stickbaits were very effective

Also the Orion Bigfoot in Fusilear colour

The best poppers this season were still the Cuberas, Craftbaits, Buffalo, Orions and of course if you have the cash..FCL and Hammerheads...

Cubera / El Toro still produced

Even so, some late summer season anglers did get some reasonably good GT fishing with most fish averaging 15-20kg and a few bigger ones around the 25-30kg.

Now that's a seriously long pencil for a Bluefin Trevally !

GT Popping 2010 Season Summary

"Mine's bigger than yours "

Its been a tough season weather-wise, the worst I can recall in 8 years of gamefishing around Kadavu Island waters. January was great but the next 4 months were a mixture of cyclones, big swells and out of season tradewinds. Not what you need when you are trying to park a 7 ton gamefishing boat 30 yards from the outer barrier reef breakers... Even so, we managed a lot of nice GTs nudging 100lbs and a fair few doggies aboard Bite Me and Tease Me, the best of which were around 65kg.

Here are the Top Ten GTs on poppers this season (at least the ones I got a half decent photo of)
Not in any particular order....
Congrats guys, you popped hard and saw the best fish.

Tri (Australia)

Tim (Australia)

Scott (Australia)

Margaret (England)

Jin (Brazil)

Dave (Australia)

Dave (Australia)

Dan (Oz / South Africa)

Christian (France)

Bruno (France)

Brendan (Australia)

As for the hot poppers this season, the popper that accounted for the most fish was the Cubera. 150 or 180, they are relatively easy to work, pop well in all conditions and proved themselves over and over again.
Also fishing well were the usual top suspects - the FCL Labo EBIPOP, the Craftbait Megamouth, the Hammer Heads, the Halco Haymakers and the River 2 Sea Dumbell 200 poppers.
Full Scale was a newcomer this year with some Australian anglers and proved very tough and effective.
Buffalo lures were on test on Bite Me. Some early models had paintwork issues and have been changed but all proved themselves tough enough for the GTs here and have caught many fish. Not had one single failure.

Cubera 150 The all round winner

The Craftbait Megamouth in this clown triggerfish colour was deadly

Buffalo Lures on test - Very effective and good value for money

FCL Labo EBI POP

Newcomer Full Scale was very effective

River 2 Sea Dumbell Cheap but very effective

Funkey Hammerhead

FCL Panic Trout, pretty damn good actually....

Whackiest Newcomer ?

This Patriot Fizzer

Best Stickbait ?

The Orion Bigfoot

Most unusual catch ?
A Diamond Trevally (Alectis indicus) caught on a Buffalo popper

Ashley (USA)

Latest Popping & Jigging Pics

Just before I zoomed off to the main island to haul-out and do my Marine Survey I had Brendan and Justin over from Australia for a few days popping and jigging. Both were new to the popping dark arts but they armed themselves with the right gear and put the effort in to get some nice fish.

Brendan brought one of the new FCL Panic Trout lures and tried it out on a spot we call 'Double Trouble'. On the third cast it got smashed by a very big mackerel. After a brief struggle the mackerel bit through the leader and we thought it and the lure were gone....luckily a minute later up poped the lure....smashed to pieces and with a big Owner Jobu hook snapped.... That was one BIG mackerel.

That's one very Panicked Trout

Justin with a nice GT

A tastey Mackerel on a silver Cubera 150

Brendan's best GT around 30kg

Black trevally on a jig

A chunky green jobfish for Justin

Brendan gets ready to cast at a school of boiling yellowfin tuna

Joe had a cast and took this nice fish on a popper

Fiji Gamefishing Seasons Go Nuts

Thorsten recently had a few days popper casting aboard 'Tease Me' whilst staying at Matava Eco-Adventure Resort and despite some early ordinary weather, managed to rack up a few nice GTs.

One of Thorsten's best GTs around 30kg

One day Skipper Joe spotted some birds working off the reef and they headed over to have a go at some yellowfin tuna on a popper or stickbait. First couple of casts and Thorsten had a little yellowfin hooked up but before Joe could whip out his sashimi knife, it was 'sharked'.
Undaunted, Thorsten cast again and was quickly connected to something that screamed off across the surface.....Another shark ?
No ! a Wahoo !!


We are way out of wahoo season here but it just goes to show, you never know what you are going to hook up next.

Yesterday anglers aboard Bite Me were jigging the outer reef slopes for doggies and we hooked up something fairly big... It was a bit of a surprise when our doggie hook-up came screaming up to the surface right behind Bite Me and transformed into an airbourne Pacific sailfish that cavorted about for 10 seconds right in our laps before throwing the hook...
Wahoo and sails in the middle of summer ??? The seasons have gone nuts...

Busted Cubera Popper

Here is something you don't see every day. A Nomad Cubera 150 Popper (also sold in the Far East as an ' El Toro" ) with a centre swivel letting go on a big GT.
To be fair, This popper took a battering all week aboard Bite Me and Tease Me, it did let go on a very big GT and its the first time I have ever seen it happen.....
Just goes to show, the big GTs here can break anything !

Its not the size of the dog in the fight....

If you think that big game fishing is a battle of brute force over monster fish, think again. A bit of technique and a 'can do' attitude goes a long way. When 16 year old Melissa Baxter Mackay and 12 year old Mason Court from Auckland, New Zealand came aboard Bite Me with their fathers Sherriden and Owen for a couple of days fishing, I expected the dads to be handling the big ones. Not a bit of it. Melissa and Mason were the anglers on strike and I was amazed and delighted when Mason stepped up to a screaming Penn International 30, yanked it out of the rod holder, planted the butt in the butt pad and began to fight a 60lb wahoo without the slightest assistance save for some verbal encouragement from dad.15 minutes later after some tough battling by Mason, deckie Joe gaffed the fish and Mason was delighted with his first ever Kadavu wahoo. Pretty damn good if you ask me.

Next day we decided to throw some poppers for GTs and yet again I was amazed as Melissa and Mason stepped up to the gunnels and fought some of the toughest fighting fish found on the reef. Both Mason and Melissa fought and landed GTs in excess of 20kgs as well as a number of good sized bluefin trevally.

Melissa battles a big Giant Trevally

One of several Trevally Melissa fought and landed

Deckie Joe releasing yet another nice GT

Just goes to prove the old saying.

Its not the size of the dog in the fight.....Its the size of the fight in the dog....

Nice GT Mason !