It was a great day on Nambas during one of our trips in November. We went from battling Dogtooth on topwater lures, with explosive bites and screaming drag to battling a classic Vanuatu Black Marlin on the spin gear. Having already caught 2 nice sail fish on trolling gear, we then hooked up to this awesome little Black Marlin on the Shimano Saragosa spinning set up. The Black didn't like the situation and after getting tail wrapped started to go down. With some changes in pressure and some boat manoeuvring by Captain Housby we managed to get the fish unwrapped and back up on the surface. To try and ensure we realeased the fish in the healthiest state Russ then backed up hard on the fish leading to a speedy and healthy release and a good drenching for angler and crew. When the weather is a good as it is in Vanuatu a bit of cooling salt water is a nice relief! As you can see the fish swam away in great condition. Unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn't go in search of a Blue Marlin for a slam...next time!

It was a dream come true for novice angler Andrea Delaney, she was clearly excited by the prospect of her first big game fishing trip. As the lures went out Captain Housby showed her the ropes and correct technique in the chair. It wasn't long before she had her first fish on, a nice Mahi Mahi. At this point Andrea would have been happy with that but we still had plenty of fishing time left so Captain Housby started working his marks looking for Andrea's first Marlin. After a couple of hours Captain Housby called out as he saw a movement behind the long rigger, instantly followed by a huge crash bite... the fish pulled line off the 130 shimano reel then unfortunately disconnected. The disappointment didn't last long though a couple of striped Marlin started to attack every lure in the spread. Crewman Lani Mantai quickly dropped a lure back to a fish and Andrea was hooked up to her first Marlin which went leaping across the surface in a blistering run. Andrea couldn't believe what she was seeing but kept her head and did a great job in the chair to quickly get the fish to the boat. To celebrate everyone headed to the local Wahoo bar to eat the Mahi Mahi and weigh the Marlin. The Marlin didn't go to waste and was donated to 2 of the local villages for their upcoming celebrations of Independence Day in Vanuatu.

It was a fantastic trip for Englishman Peter Brumby. Having only had a couple of drops with our lightweight Jigging gear, Peter soon realised he was connected to a seriously hard fighting fish. Peter being an experienced angler eventually managed to slow the GTs run and start winning some line back. Having lost so much line in the initial run Captain Russ Housby manoeuvred the boat on the fish to make Peters life a bit easier. After a 15 minute battle the fish was brought through the door for a few pictures. It was by far Peter's biggest GT to date!

Our 2 anglers got more than they bargained for yesterday on a half day charter with Nambas Fishing Charters. Both anglers were clear that they wanted a bit of fun and would be happy with a 15KG Yellowfin Tuna. Having only put the lines in the water 30 minutes before we were approaching the FAD when the long corner popped out of the clip. We knew it was a decent Blue Marlin when an enormous tail could be seen cruising away after the bite. Line was screaming off the 130 Shimano Tiagra. The angler was positioned in the chair a little did he know what he was in for. After 45 minutes it was clear that this was going to be a prolonged fight. The fish has gone straight down and we suspected it was tail wrapped. With over 650 metres of line out we all settled in for some hard graft. The Anglers swap out of the chair a few time to try and rest aching muscles and even the skipper took a turn so the guys could rest. Eventually after 5 hours of grim determination we got the fish to the surface. It looked a good fish and unfortunately as we suspected it was badly tail wrapped and had died during the fight. Despite 5 people and several rope systems there was no way this fish was coming in the boat. We started a steady tow back to base at Havannah. Word had spread that a decent fish was coming in and we were greeted by an excited audience at Havannah's famous Wahoo Bar. The fish came out 670lbs and obviously the anglers were exhausted but delighted. In true Vanuatu style nothing went to waste and the Marlin was shared amongst the local villages. A great effort by all!

It doesn’t get much better than todays trip. As the fishing had been so good recently we got an early start and headed out at 5:00am. It turned out to be well worth the early start. Before 6:00am just as the first time angler was being taught the technique in the chair a good size Blue Marlin took the long corner lure. It screamed line off the reel and then treated us to very acrobatic display right up the side of the boat. The angler did well and soon lost her nerves and found her rhythm. After about 40 minutes the fish was alongside the boat for a photo and then released. Next up was an angler who really wanted their first decent Yellowfin Tuna. It wasn’t long before the Tuna were busting all around us and we were hooked into a nice fish. After a short fight the angler was rewarded with a beautiful 60KG Tuna and her first fish caught on 130lb from the chair. We didn’t think it could get much better than this but then we had another Tuna hooked up. After a good fight and some great gaff work by the crew we had another big Tuna on board. More Tuna sashimi on the way home!!!

Today we had a 6 hour charter with the wonderful Schell family who were visiting Vanuatu on a cruise from Australia. Helen had arranged the trip as a surprise for her sons Cameron and Jay. It was a late start due to the arrival time of the cruise ship, but despite missing the first tide we had fantastic fishing. With no experience of Game Fishing before the family were very excited about what was to come. It wasn’t long before Jay was connected to a Yellowfin Tuna which screamed line of the reel at a blistering pace. Jay did an excellent job in the chair and soon realised how much easier it looks on TV! In no time at all we had a nice 50KG yellowfin on the deck and a very happy Angler. Next it was Dad, Kieran’s turn and in no time he was onto a small Mahi Mahi, which he quickly over powered and caught. Next up it was older brother Jay, out of nowhere came the bite and again we were connected to another decent Yellowfin. Jay, not to be outdone by his brother worked hard in the chair and got the job done. Unfortunately the fish had other ideas and came off at the side of the boat. Still it was a caught fish and a very happy family. Especially when they had the fresh Tuna Sashimi on the way in.