Charter Operator
Nambas Fishing Charters

Member since August 2015 Port Vila, Vanuatu
Background
Capt. Russ has been born and raised on fishing. Son to a famous angling journalist, Capt. Russ has fished for a variety of species worldwide. Fly fishing for Trout in English chalk streams, going after Porbeagle Shark in the English Channel, then moving onto game fishing in Madeira. Capt. Russ spent his summer holidays lure fishing for Blue Marlin for some nine years. He has and caught and released many of these massive fish. He has also fished around top Marlin destinations, including Cairns, Bom Bom Island, Ghana, and Brazil. He's a specialist in ultra light, light, and heavy tackle, and has worked with some of the most skillful captains around the world. Capt. Russ has been fishing the local waters of Vanuatu for the past 12 years, and has set many world records.
Techniques
Vanuatu offers some of the most exciting and varied fishing in the world and for this reason we use a full range of different techniques to best suit the situation or species we're targeting. That means over the course of single day we often troll lures, live & dead bait, drop Jig's or popper fish. I love the visual aspect, so for me bait and switching billfish on to either fly or conventional gear or casting poppers to Big dogtooth and GT's has to be some of the most fun things we do. Having said that, live baiting or jigging can both be very productive, and always interesting as you never know what you can hook. Live baiting can be particularly successful and whether its outside at one of the FAD's or on top of a shallow seamount, it often produces the best fish. We carry a full range of tackle onboard Nambas from #130 chair rods to popping, jigging & fly rods but also are happy to use customers tackle as long as its of a high quality to deal with the monsters Vanuatu is famous for.

Hey, we're Nambas Fishing Charters

Port Vila, Vanuatu
Background
Capt. Russ has been born and raised on fishing. Son to a famous angling journalist, Capt. Russ has fished for a variety of species worldwide. Fly fishing for Trout in English chalk streams, going after Porbeagle Shark in the English Channel, then moving onto game fishing in Madeira. Capt. Russ spent his summer holidays lure fishing for Blue Marlin for some nine years. He has and caught and released many of these massive fish. He has also fished around top Marlin destinations, including Cairns, Bom Bom Island, Ghana, and Brazil. He's a specialist in ultra light, light, and heavy tackle, and has worked with some of the most skillful captains around the world. Capt. Russ has been fishing the local waters of Vanuatu for the past 12 years, and has set many world records.
Techniques
Vanuatu offers some of the most exciting and varied fishing in the world and for this reason we use a full range of different techniques to best suit the situation or species we're targeting. That means over the course of single day we often troll lures, live & dead bait, drop Jig's or popper fish. I love the visual aspect, so for me bait and switching billfish on to either fly or conventional gear or casting poppers to Big dogtooth and GT's has to be some of the most fun things we do. Having said that, live baiting or jigging can both be very productive, and always interesting as you never know what you can hook. Live baiting can be particularly successful and whether its outside at one of the FAD's or on top of a shallow seamount, it often produces the best fish. We carry a full range of tackle onboard Nambas from #130 chair rods to popping, jigging & fly rods but also are happy to use customers tackle as long as its of a high quality to deal with the monsters Vanuatu is famous for.

My Charter Listing

Excellent
5.0 / 5
(17 reviews)
Port Vila
 2 bookings in the past week.
Trips from US $291

Fishing Reports

460Lbs Marlin for Christmas
460Lbs Marlin for Christmas
Dec 23, 2017 Port Vila
Well today was a good day for the Geddes family from Sydney who are enjoying the festive season in Vanuatu. The weather was perfect with flat calm seas and clear skies. It was only a 4 hour charter today so the pressure was on to try and get Mark a fish in a small window. A quick chair demonstration to show 1st time heavy tackle angler Mark the ropes and we were away. As usual at the FADs the Yellowfin Tuna were busting all around us, with lots of birds working the area. In the calm weather it was hard to tempt the Tuna and despite a couple of tackle changes they were not biting. We decided to stick to chasing the ultimate goal of a Blue Marlin so left the temptation of the birds and Tunas to work our usual Marlin spots. As usual the lure spread was representing some of the best lure craftsmen in the business with Koya's and Crampton lures taking the short corner and long corner. It wasn't long before a good sized marlin appeared inside of the long corner, the fish was lit up with electric blue tail on full display. Just as the Captain gave the shout, the fish piled on the Crampton Hog lure and line started to peel off the Shimano 130. The fish gave a short display of thrashing turning the water white before screaming off into the distance. The crew had to move fast to clear the gear as this Marlin was not waiting for anyone. The speed of the run was blistering! In no time at all the top shot was off the reel and we were well into the dacron! Russ started chasing down on the fish to try and get some line back, despite it being his first time fishing out of the chair Mark put on a masterful display of angling with excellent technique and plenty of grit. As the top shot was safely back on the reel Russ made a few manoeuvres with the boat to encourage the fish to co-operate which she did and up she came. The look on the anglers face and the whole family as they saw a decent sized Blue Marlin swimming along was priceless. In around 30 minutes of fight Laura grabbed the leader and got the fish under control at the side of the boat and Lani deployed the flying gaff with a solid shot to secure the fish. We would normally release the fish but a local village was desperately in need of food for there community Christmas lunch and we thought we would give them a helping hand. The fish was boated and measured and using the IGFA formula had an estimated weight of 213 KG (468lbs). To say that Mark and family were happy is an understatement, and the local islanders from Lelepa have already been calling to thank the Nambas Team and the Geddes family for their Christmas feast. Merry Christmas Everyone!
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Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
5.0 / 5
out of 5 stars from 17 reviews
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (16)
November fishing trip
Best crew & fishing trip ever
Best crew & fishing trip ever
+13
Angler rating
17
0
0
0
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
100%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
100%
Appropriate for children
80%
Satisfied with the boat
100%
Caught fish
93%
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5 of 17 reviews
Andrew F.
Excellent
4.7 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Very good
4.0 / 5
Overall

Great day out

VERIFIED   NEW  Share Charter - 5 hours on May 2, 2025
Really enjoyed my trip with Russ, Laura & Marcel. Very professional outfit. We managed to land a Dolphin fish, which was a...
Andrew F. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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Steve I.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Best crew & fishing trip ever

VERIFIED   5 Hour Trip – Shared on September 19, 2024
Best boat crew & fishing trip ever you want to catch big blue Marlin go with NAMBAS FISHING CHARTER 10 out of 10
Steve I. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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Andrew H.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

October fishing trip

VERIFIED   Full Day Trip on October 20, 2024
Crew were great but unfortunately fish weren’t on the go but that’s fishing
Andrew H. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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Matthew T.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Will be back for another trip

VERIFIED   5 Hour Trip – Shared on July 15, 2024
Have recommended them to my fishing mates all ready.
Matthew T. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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1 person finds this review helpful
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Matthew T. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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1 person finds this review helpful
You and 1 other person found this review helpful

Denis G.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

November fishing trip

VERIFIED   5 Hour Trip on November 4, 2024
Denis G. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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Denis G. recommends Nambas Fishing Charters
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