IGFA GT Record up for Grabs

As most anglers will be aware, the IGFA now has a new Record Catagory - The All Tackle Length Record. This is strictly a Release Catagory so all eligible fish must be released in healthy condition.
 As we release all GTs caught here, this record catagory is ideal for us to have a go at the World Record.

Wait ! Measure that !

The current record is 107cm so about 42 Inches, held by Patrick Sebil
We have released plenty of GTs larger than that... This season we will be measuring all the big ones with our brand new IGFA Length Scale !

For those of you aware of the hand made custom Eyre rods we use on Bite Me, you might like to take a quick look at the new Eyre Nano Technology GT Bone Popping rods. I expect them to compare well this season against the top end Ripple Fishers and Hots...

This fish would have taken the IGFA Length World Record !

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 !

World Record Hunting on Bite Me

Owen from Eyre Custom Rods Australia landed this 40lb Wahoo on 3kg line class using an Avet SX on an Eyre Pirate custom rod aboard Bite Me. Fight time about one hour and a very nice fish on 3kg line class !

Want your own Custom Rod ?

Graeme landing a Southern Bluefin Tuna last week on 3kg line
using an Eyre Game On 3-4kg rod

Eyre Rods based in South Australia hand build custom light and ultra-light tackle gamefishing rods for the discerning record hunter....Want one of your own ?
Its easy ! Just land an IGFA certified World Record aboard Bite Me and you can keep the rod....or they will make you a brand new one !
Bite Me now carries a range of these beautiful custom rods for any angler wishing to make an attempt.
You can see details here.
If you think catching a World Record is next to impossible, we have already taken the Wahoo M-04 and W-03 World Records Your name could be on the next one we knock off, oh and on your brand new hand made custom rod as well !

Good luck to all anglers booked in for this winter wahoo season !

New Eyre Custom Rods for Bite Me

Owen loads up an Eyre Rod on 4kg with a stubbourn Southern Bluefin Tuna

Owen Spalding and his mate Graeme were here last winter for a few days fishing aboard Bite Me. We had some fun with the wahoo on 15kg, then we switched to 10kg and 8kg line classes for some light tackle challenges.
With some good successes under our belts (Owen smashed the 8kg Barracuda Fiji National Record) we had a play with the 4kg ultra-light gear and a chance of a World Record.
We had one potential record sharked and landed several fish that were just shy of setting records but Owen and Graeme definately caught the Ultra Light Tackle bug.
Owen has now started his own rod building company - Eyre Rods and hand crafts custom ultra-light rods for World Record hunters (and nutters wanting to fish for trophy gamefish on 1-4kg)
Bite Me will be carrying a full spread of these rods this coming winter wahoo season and we fully expect to take yet another wahoo IGFA World Record.
With a little help from Halco we have all the ingredients to challenge ALL the IGFA ultra-light wahoo records.
The latest rods are currently being tested on the Southern Bluefin Tuna and proving more than capable.

Graeme with an SBT on 4kg Eyre Custom Rod

We look forward to giving them a good workout on the Kadavu wahoo aboard Bite Me

IGFA World Record Wahoo

We have just heard some great news from the IGFA. Our World Record Application for the W-03 line class Wahoo World Record has been approved.
Back in September, Fiona Stallard landed a 21kg Wahoo on 3kg line whilst fishing aboard Bite Me.
Congratulations to Fiona ! She is now the new holder of the International Game Fish Association W-03 Wahoo World Record.

Bite Me now has two ultra-light Wahoo World Records to her credit:
W-03 - Fiona Stallard
M-04 - Tim Simpson

Tim Simpsons World Record Wahoo on 4kg line class

Anyone care to have a go at some more ?
We would be delighted to try !

Fiji National and World Records Currently Held by Bite Me

Species	Line Class	Record	Angler
Pacific Sailfish	M-10	60.30 kg	Remco Hanibal
Pacific Sailfish	M-08	46.60 kg	Shane Cole
Pacific Sailfish	M-04	31.40 kg	Bill Boyce
Pacific Sailfish	W-10	47.80 kg	Lyn Salvidge
Wahoo	M-15	44.00 kg	Edmund Sturdy
Wahoo	M-06	26.00 kg	Adrian Watt
Wahoo	M-04	31.60 kg	Tim Simpson (World Record)
Wahoo	M-03	19.40 kg	Tim Simpson
Wahoo	W-03	21.00 kg	Fiona Stallard (World Record)
Wahoo	W-06	4.80 kg	Diane Woods
Dolphinfish	M-04	7.20 kg	Tim Simpson
Dolphinfish	W-08	7.00 kg	Renae Perryman
Dolphinfish	W-06	7.80 kg	Toni Carlsson
Giant Trevally	M-04	10.20kg	Adrian Watt
Giant Trevally	W-04	7.00 kg	Diane Woods
Giant Trevally	W-08	9.40kg	Magdeline Ko
Bluefin Trevally	M-15	5.80 kg	Richard Akhtar
Bluefin Trevally	M-06	7.20 kg	Glen Gardener (All Tackle)
Bluefin Trevally	W-15	4.80 kg
Bluefin Trevally	W-10	3.00 kg	Teresa Clemmer
Yellowfin Tuna	M-04	14.60kg	Tim Simpson
Yellowfin Tuna	W-15	25.50 kg	Anne Oberg
Yellowfin Tuna	W-10	20.50 kg	Teresa Clemmer
Yellowfin Tuna	W-08	6.20 kg	Cherie Gardner
Yellowfin Tuna	W-06	5.80 kg	Cherie Gardner
Yellowfin Tuna	W-04	9.40 kg	Diane Woods
Mackerel	M-04	5.00 kg	Shane Warmington
Mackerel	W-06	3.20 kg	Susan Raebitt
Marlin, Black	M-60	103.40 kg	Peter Mumford
Great Barracuda	M-10	19.20 kg	Owen Spalding (Pending)
Great Barracuda	M-04	6.20 kg	Tim Simpson
Rainbow Runner	M-15	9.00 kg	Michael LeHanie (All Tackle)
Rainbow Runner	M-04	3.00 kg	Tim Simpson
Kawakawa	M-06	5.00 kg	Remco Hanibal
Kawakawa	M-04	3.40 kg	Adrian Watt
Kawakawa	W-04	4.60 kg	Diane Woods
Skipjack Tuna	M-04	4.00 kg	Tim Simpson
Skipjack Tuna	W-06	7.60 kg	Toni Carlsson
Dogtooth Tuna	M-36	90.60 kg	Bill Busch (All Tackle)
Dogtooth Tuna	M-06	1.80 kg	Shane Warmington
Dogtooth Tuna	W-15	5.60 kg	Mary Alice Migge

 

 ** Latest Record Taken – Sept 2010

August Roars, September Fizzles

We had an awsome August with numerous wahoo packs, glorious weather, Fiji Records and even a new pending womens Wahoo IGFA World Record aboard Bite Me but I suppose it couldn't continue for ever....
September has opened up with windy weather and a rapidly increasing water temp, neither of which is positive news for the wahoo.
Despite this, we still continued to catch wahoo whenever we were able to access the hotspots.

Another Hoo hits the deck

Michael's first Wahoo

Alex's first Wahoo

Nick Kennedy with a nice Mackerel

Doggies and emperors on jigs

Some big Bull Dolphinfish around

The weather and the water temperatures will now dictate the fishing for the next 2 months. The wahoo will soon start to thin out and we enter that 'grey' area between the winter and summer seasons. Normally we would expect the first run of summer yellowfin tuna around December but with this early winter season ending and the water temperatures rocketing we hope and expect expect the summer yellowfin to show early.

Some winter yellowfin - Scarce this season

And the prize for 'Most Bizzare Catch of the Month' goes to Bob for this Starry Triggerfish (abalistes stellatus )

Hmmm....."I'm not getting *that* thing off the hook Bob, you're on your own mate...."

Bite Me Smashes Ladies World Record Wahoo - Story

Pending IGFA World Record

For over 8 years the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Ladies 3kg line class wahoo World Record has stood at 13.18kg. A very respectable fish caught by Ms Dianne Cross in Papua New Guinea. That record now has a challenger, currently undergoing the IGFA record application process.
Fiona Stallard and her partner Mark Lacey were staying at Matava Eco-Adventure Resort on Kadavu Island, Fiji. There to enjoy some diving, snorkeling and a week of relaxation in the warm Fiji Islands tropical sunshine. Every evening, Australian anglers Graeme McKinnell and Owen Spalding, then fishing aboard the resorts charterboat 'Bite Me', would entertain all the guests with tales of their days light tackle exploits. When Owen returned one evening with a new M-10 Barracuda Fiji National Record and colourful stories of leaping wahoo packs, Mark and Fiona decided have a go and see for themselves. Plans were set and soon we were heading out.


By lunch time, with several nice wahoo and dolphinfish on deck, dinner was secured so I invited them to try a little record hunting. Conditions were ideal and Mark & Fiona were keen to have a go....

Fiona warms up with a wahoo on 8kg

Fiona first landed a wahoo on 8kg with no problem at all so we went one step further and broke out the ultra-light tackle, Avet SX reels on Stickfacewrangler custom rods hand made for Bite Me by Glen Gardener in Sydney. Our prefered set-up, a short double, a 14ft Platypus 80lb leader and single strand wire bite leader terminating in the wahoo's favourite snack, a Halco Laser-Pro.

The Ultra-light tackle is set and Joe goes over tactics

Our first hook-up was a short lived affair. The wahoo screamed off across the surface in one direction then abruptly stopped, changed direction and bust us off in an instant. The next hook-up was a double but Mark and Fiona had the fish to the boat within minutes and a scad and rainbow runner were quickly released. All excellent practice for the real thing...

Double hook-up and both anglers are into a fight

At 2.55pm both rods loaded up and line melted off the reels as a pair of wahoo streaked across the surface. Fiona's fish settled down and cruised out wide but Mark's fish headed down under the boat. With 1kg of fighting drag and a green fish, all Fiona could do for now was to keep the rod tip high and loaded up. After 10 minutes Mark almost had his fish to the boat but just as we saw colour a shark pounced and ended the fight.

What was left of Mark's wahoo

Not a record fish but would have been an excellent catch on 3kg. Still, now Mark could pick up the video camera we were able to chase down Fiona's fish that still cruised away from us on the surface heading for open water. A battle ensued with Bite Me charging backwards across the calm waters and Fiona cranking on every inch of line she could as the wahoo made the fatal mistake of staying on the surface. At 3.18pm, 23 minutes after hook-up, deckie Joeli Tuku, standing on the marlin board of a hard charging Bite Me, stretched out, grabbed the flimsy leader and gaffed the fish. Whoops of delight, high fives all round and a new pending W-03 World Record Wahoo hit the deck.

New pending World Record hits the deck

Halco Laser-Pro does the business

Fionas delighted with her catch....Wouldn't you be !

Joe holds up another World Record for Bite Me

Later, back at the resort, (an IGFA Weighstation) the wahoo weighed in at 21.0kg on the certified scales.


Angler - Fiona Stallard (Australian)

Species - Wahoo

Weight - 21.0kg

Long Length - 151cm

Girth - 59cm

Line Class - 3kg

Line - Maxima 6lb / 3kg IGFA line class

Rod - Stickfacewrangler Custom made by Glen Gardener in Sydney

Reel - Avet SX

Lure - Halco Lazer-Pro 160 (Golden green)

Fight time - 23 minutes

Video to follow shortly....

Bite Me Smashes Another World Record

Angler Fiona from Australia just smashed the Womens 3kg line class Wahoo IGFA World Record aboard Bite Me.
Full story and Video to follow shortly....

Royal Slam Completed aboard Bite Me

According to the 2009 IGFA World Record Game Fishes book, just 71 people in the world have achieved a Royal Slam. Membership of this exclusive club means that you have achieved the capture of every single billfish species recognised by the International Game Fish Association.
( Pacific and Atlantic Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, White Marlin, Striped Marlin, Pacific and Atlantic Sailfish, Spearfish and Broadbill Swordfish)
The list will soon be amended to include John Angus who completed his Royal Slam aboard Bite Me last week with his last remaining species, the Pacific Sailfish.

Deckie Joe takes the leader

The sailfish bite was oddly quiet but through a bit of perseverance, John landed a sail of about 80lbs and the TBF Release card was duly completed and sent. Wahoo and yellowfin by-catch kept us on our toes and Daisy-chain Teasers took a bit of a battering but it was all worth the fun. John then rounded of the trip with a nice Blue Marlin of about 130kg.

A beautiful blue marlin lights up for the cameras

Well done John ! A rare achievement and one any billfish angler would be proud of.
You can read about some of John's gamefishing exploits in his book "Confessions of a Billfisherman" published by the Halcyon Press.

Sons Robbie and James Angus hold or have held multiple IGFA Smallfry and Junior IGFA World Records including the Black and PAcific Blue marlin. In a couple of weeks time Robbie will be making a bid to reclaim his M-Junior Black Marlin World Record from Alex Johnston off Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Alex's record stands at a whopping 496kg...
Good luck Robbie !

The Art of angling runs right through the Angus family. Robbie is also an acomplished artist
painting many of the sights he sees out gamefishing.
He was kind enough to paint a scene experienced aboard Bite Me and the painting will hang in Matava Resort's main bure for all guests to see.

A sail hook-up aboard Bite Me

TIM'S World Record

Hi Guys,

Thought you may be interested to know you made the Gold Coast press with Tim’s wahoo catch.

Cheers,

Renee Rogowski

Sub-editor

BlueWater Boats & Sportsfishing magazine  

BlueWater Publishing Pty Ltd

PO Box 1456, Runaway Bay

Queensland, 4216 Australia

Tel: (07) 5501 5410

Website: www.bluewatermag.com.au

World Record !

Day two of our ultra-light tackle World Record hunting quest turned into a day to remember when we found the first wahoo pack....
With three rods set and a Boone Sundancer teaser run down the prop wash, carnage ensued when the wahoo pack mass attacked. Three reels instantly lit up and a seriously mauled teaser flashed a mayday as it was repeatedly struck by multiple wahoo. We didn't stand a chance as one after the other, we got bitten off. With such a large pack right under Bite Me and lines cris-crossing the surface waters, anything moving got chomped...including leaders, swivels, plaited doubles...
So, we re-tie doubles, re-set with new leaders and lures and off we go again...
At around 12.00 we run over another wahoo pack and once again everything lights up. This time though its curtains for the teaser as its is again repeatedly struck by one wahoo after another. Deckie Joe hauls it in as fast as he can watching one wahoo after another tear in for a bite. Just as the teaser clears the water the last wahoo screams in and launches at the teaser in mid air. For a second I thought the fish was going to clear the transom and land in the cockpit but it missed the corner by a couple of inches and landed beside the boat, along with the disintegrated remains of half the teaser...
Probably a good job too what with us being connected to three wahoo on 4kg at the time...not exactly what you want flipping and snapping about the cockpit floor !
Now we got lucky...with Tim on a rod, Bill on a rod and Matava Resort Director Richard on a rod and each wahoo steaming off in a different direction, something had to give. Richard's wahoo headed back to the pack and 'chomp' went the pack on Richard's lure, leader, swivel and double.
The other two however headed away from the pack - Now we have a chance !
Tims fish seemed to not be able to make up its mind where it actually wanted to go and we almost got an early shot at the leader but just a few feet shy of Joe's grasp the fish finally came to a decision and headed off left and down deep. Meanwhile Bill's fish stayed shallow but headed right...
Hmmm...Interesting dilema for a skipper... Go backwards hard for a shot at the shallow fish and probably at best lose a lot of line to the deep fish...or stay put and keep that deep fish in range.
We didn't know which was bigger so we sat still. Now it was down to angler skill for a while.
For the first half hour Bill's fish just cruised the surface as Bill fought to turn its head or coax it into a circle towards Bite Me. Tim's fish just crept line off the spool as Tim applied the maximum pressure he dared with a little extra finger pressure on the line. At one point Tim had upwards of 500 yards of line out and Bill a good 400.
The next half hour was pretty much a stalemate with me gently nudging Bite Me backwards whenever I could help the anglers make some line. At about the 50 minute mark Tim's fish finally started to tire and after Tim managed to just get the head angle up a fraction he began to slowly plane the fish upwards in gentle circles.

Here we go, we probably have one shot at this as the wahoo circles in towards Bite Me. Everybody on board is holding their breath as they see the big wahoo dorsal and tail break the surface and circle in towards us. Tim steps back, Joe takes the leader and Richard goes in with the gaff....and nails it perfectly. Textbook !

Cameras flash

When we see the wahoo's head come over the covering board Tim's realises that not only did he just hook, fight and land a good wahoo on 4kg...its a VERY good wahoo...in fact its possibly a World Record wahoo !

A World Record smile !

I have never seen a grin that big before ! Lots of high fives and cameras flashing but hang on - Bill is still hooked up !and his fish is starting to tire...and Bill is now making line back on the reel...He works the fish till Joe calls "Colour !" and BANG ! The little Shimano TLD 5 spool implodes under the extreme line pressure.. $#$$ !! Unfazed, Bill grabs the line off the rod tip and with fingertips keeps the pressure on and the fish is still coming up...a birds nest of line at his feet....a minute later, Joe grabs the leader and Tim goes in with the gaff..Success ! 2 wahoo landed on 4kg line class and some serious bragging rights earned for the resort bar happy hour.

Bills excellent wahoon on 4kg complete with birdsnest line and wrecked spool

Bills fish looked to be over 20kg but Tim's fish was bigger and had us all guessing. With the existing World Record standing for the past 10 years at just over 25kg we knew we might well have done it...but nobody wanted to celebrate yet.
We carefully put the wahoo in a kill bag with the lure and leader and over 50ft of line attached and floored it for Matava Resort, an IGFA Weighstation.

The fish weighed in at 31.60kg and is now a pending new IGFA World Record.

Yeah Baby !

Record Dogtooth Tuna

Now I am back ashore, some more info on the big doggie.
It was caught jigging on a Shimano 325g butterfly jig by angler Bill Busch aboard Bite Me using a Zenaq jig rod and Shimano Trinidad spooled with Power Pro 80lb spectra.
Fight time 45 minutes.
It was actually one of four dogtooth tuna we caught that afternoon, (3 others released) the morning being spent popper casting for GTs (we released 16)
The fish weighed in at 90.60 Kg on our Certified Scales (Matava Resort being an IGFA Weighstation) and is a pending new Fiji National All-Tackle Record.

Well done Bill ! Our biggest doggie so far. Just 9.9Kg off the M-36 IGFA World Record and 15kg off the IGFA All-Tackle World Record...