Hats the way to Popper in Style

There have been a great many technological advances in popper casting and jigging fishing gear in the past few years. Nowadays a popping and jigging expedition with a few mates to some far flung tropical destination requires more than a few Stellas on Hots Gipangs and a bag full of expensive lures that would qualify for a wall space in a museum of modern art.
The sun. Nice though it is to bask in its warming rays, the damn things can kill you. Pretty much everybody knows now about the sun's harmfull UVB radiation that at best will cook you to wrinkled bronze colour and at worst, can cause malignant melanoma that if not caught quickly will absolutely terminate your fishing activities and probably you.
Fortunately a range of products are now available to keep anglers popping like Englishmen in the mid-day sun.
Here are some examples seen recently aboard Bite Me :

The good old original Baseball cap and PFG / Colombia spf shirt

The Panama Look

Masau displays the traditional Fijian T-Shirt on the head trick

The just cover everything and try not to die from heat exhaustion option

The wouldn't be seen dead in that (good job it covers my face) accessory

and last but not least, the I don't give a stuff, I'm on holiday look

I just had a solar keratosis burnt off my nose by a doc wielding a 20,000v zapper thingy. (that's a technical term by the way). The sun needs to be taken seriously.
If you can see the sky.......you are getting a dose of UV radiation.

This Week's Tally

The GT bite has been a bit quiet this past week. Bill and Marc visiting from Australia had to work hard for their fish. Not quite sure why, perhaps the run up to the full moon yesterday had something to do with it although most people think that's a good time to popper !
The fish were there... they just demanded a bit of extra effort from anglers.
Thanks for the pics guys !

Bill with his new Personal Best GT of around 30kg

Small doggies on jigs

Fair few Yellowfin around but mostly schoolies

The ever present Red Bass are always a bit of fun

Marc aboard Tease Me with a respectable GT taken on a Halco Haymaker

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

Some Pics from this week

Le explains to the GTs what is required of them

Excellent popping weather that day

One of the new Hammerhead Designs - Worked very well

A big Patriot, didn't work so well for us here

Tri with a GT around 30kg

One of several caught on trolled stickbaits

A nice GT around 30kg for Le

African Pompano on a Popper

Brett & Ashley

Took a very nice couple out for a bit of a fish aboard Tease Me last week.
Brett and Ashley from Montana USA. The bite was a little slow but Brett's dogged persistance paid off with a nice GT on a new style Buffalo Popper.


Ashley however first managed to snag a crocodile longtom in her braid line (and landed the fish !) and then proceeded to be the first ever angler here to land an African Pompano on a popper.


Resort divers often see Snub Nosed Dart (Pompano) and occasionally African Pompano but its the first African Pompano ever landed on rod and reel here !

Distinctive barring on the flanks

The African Pompano looks like a sort of cross between a GT and a Roosterfish. This one is a bit of a teenager as it is still showing some of its juvenile long trailing dorsal fins.

Only a face a mother could love !

Don't Fancy one of these on a Jig !

We just made our first attempt at a daytime broadbill swordfish aboard Bite Me yesterday afternoon.
Fishing a deep bait on the outer barrier reef drop-off we had considered a possible by-catch of bigeye tuna or better still on of Kadavu Island's big Dogtooth Tuna....


But we didn't count on this awsome fella dropping in.... a 400lb Shortfin Mako shark....
Full story on my gamefishing blog.

Thank goodness we were not jigging !

Shy Blue Marlin but More GTs Tagged

Tim and Paul Wedlock came with their father John to treat themselves to a boys fishing get-away and have a go for some marlin with the heavy tackle aboard Bite Me. Unfortunately the marlin bite was very quiet this week. In three days of offshore fishing in some pretty ordinary weather, the boys raised just one nice blue marlin around 400lbs that smashed a rigger, jumped around the spread and managed to throw the hook. There were plenty of school yellowfin around and catching dinner at least was easy. With the weather starting to improve on their last day the guys decided to have a go at Kadavu Islands famous GTs....

Tim tagged and released this excellent fish of around 30kg measuring 44" short length, 32" girth using a pink/white R2S Dumbell 200 Popper

Paul weighed in first with his first GT around 12kg...

Then upped his PB with this healthy 40" fish of about 25kg on a red/gold Buffalo Popper

All three GTs were tagged and released quickly and in good condition. Lets hope we see them again next season and get some new measurements.