For the waters around Kadavu Island- Fiji Islands
Charter Operator – Matava Resort Gamefishing
Boat Names – Bite Me (Offshore) and Offensive Tackle (Inshore)
Average Water Temp – 25.5
Average Sea State – Wind chop to 6ft, Occasional groundswell to 4ft
Average Winds – Breezy to 20kts mostly ESE
Water Clarity – Good inshore, good offshore
We are now well into the winter wahoo and Pacific sailfish run but this year continues to disappoint a little. The large packs of marauding wahoo that congregate along the barrier reef are fewer in number than normal. Though packs are being found in some of the usual places, some sites that normally hold wahoo packs are just not firing up yet. The average wahoo size is also lower than normal at about 20kg rather than 26kg though some big solitary fish have been seen. The sails have also been down in numbers though some very nice fish to 60kgs have been tagged & released. Normally the average sail pack consists of about 5 to 6 fish but this year, so far, sails have been raised as solo fish or in pairs. It may well be that the late fall in water temperature is leading to a late season here and September may be the peak month rather than the usual July / August.
The upside though is the blue marlin fishing. Normally fairly quiet at this time of year, there seems to be significant numbers of blues close in to the reefs ranging in size from 80kgs to 200kgs. During the recent Pacific Harbour Tournament, charter boat ‘Opulence' hooked up a blue estimated at 600lbs on 15kg line class but the fish was lost. ‘Bite Me' had a blue of about 150kgs free-jumping behind the spread but couldn't get a shot. Another competitor on ‘Catalina' was spooled on 24kg before the deck could be cleared. There are clearly some good sized blues out there in the mix.
The yellowfin are coming through in waves so one week they are everywhere and the next, hard to find anywhere other than the Kadavu seamount. This area always holds tuna.
Quite a few mahi mahi around with the average size around 10kg though some nice fish to 20kg were weighed during the recent tournament.
The GTs are still active in the surf zones with a lot of smaller fish to 15kg giving great sport on 15kg line class.
Summary
Water – Still slightly warmer than normal but continuing to fall slowly.
Weather – The usual winter trade winds often making it choppy
Blue Marlin – More around than usual and some big ones present
Sailfish – Ones and twos in all the usual place
Wahoo – Not a great year so far but still good wahoo fishing by anyone's standard
Yellowfin - Here in good numbers but can be patchy as schools move throug
Mackerel – Plenty of small ones inshore, the bigger guys now hitting ballyhoo rig
Mahi Mahi – Yes, lots to 20lbs and some bigger fish showin
GTs – Excellent popper casting fishing at the moment but the weather sometimes interferes
Captain Adrian Watt
Director, Matava Resort Gamefishing,
Tel: + (679) 333 6222 or 333 6098
