Traveled to the South coast of of Fiji’s Viti Vevu (main island) and got to do quite a bit of fishing. We hooked up on quite a bit both trolling and spearing off of what is called the “Pacific Harbor” - or - “Coral Coast” of Fiji. The Yellowfin are THICK in these waters despite the overfishing done by China’s fishing presence in the area. According to the locals the size of the average yellowfin is down considerably after only 10 years of China fishing the waters but the population is still thick. It’s only a matter of time before the population matches the size decrease if the country doesn’t get it’s fishing right back. The wonderful part about the island chain is that most of the areas around the 300+ individual islands are MPA’d unless you belong to a local tribe so the reefs are wonderfully packed with tropical fish and commercial trolling is almost non-existent.
Here is a video and pic of the first Yellowfin we hooked up on trolling in an old penga style boat with just a 15 hp tiller a few miles off the coast:
You need to make the trip my friend. I learned a lot while I was there and I’d be happy to hep you plan a trip without making the same mistakes I did. We spent 11 days there and we were on the water almost every day. If done right, you can have the fishing trip of a lifetime without spending a fortune (but spending a fortune is easy to do there if it’s your first time). If you ever make the trip reach out to me and I’d be happy to share some tips on what worked for us and who to charter for not much $$$ that still hook up. As you can see from the video the first big yellowfin and grouper were from a boat that was being pushed by a 15hp tiller – you can kill it with light equipment and a few gallons of gas down there. It’s an amazing place!
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@Oceanlegare - I chartered a boat to take us to Plantation Island (snorkeling was amazing out there) which is right by the famous “Cloud Break”. I got to see with my own eyes the amazing surf. I am not a surfer but if I was I’d be on a plane right now heading back that way. It looked fantastic.
@javanbogart- how was the spearing down there? im sure it was amazing with that viz, di you travel with all your gear down there (guns,fins,floats etc)???
@bjj – the spearing is fantastic. You’ve never seen clearer water in your life and the marine life is thick at the bottom. You just have to be careful because there are a great deal of MPAs (especially close to the reefs). All I took with me was a 3 piece 8’ Hawaiian Sling and my own snorkel gear (boots, fins and mask – bring your own swim / snorkel gear as what they provide is sub par) but the 3 different fishing boats I chartered all had really nice guns and equipment. The sling was great on the shallower reefs but I definitely appreciated the bigger guns when we were going deeper. Maybe I got lucky but having nice spearing equipment on board seemed to be the status quo.
The best advice I can give you is stay clear of the resort offered and bigger charters and hire the locals. Not only is the price much better but they will take you where the real action is. The bigger charters and resort charters - from my experience - were all garbage, amateur focused and way overpriced.
Of all the videos posted on cf over the years, this one was one of the better ones. Fishing without all the BS electronics, deck cluttered up, in a panga with a Nassau life ring with a 15hp tiller, NICE AND SIMPLE. That was a well excuted gaff shot to the head.
