Fresh Port Vila Fishing Reports

It was a great day on the water with the guys. We started off at one of the nearby fads and were getting covered up by small Yellowfin, Skipjack and even a Rainbow Runner. After deciding they wanted to go for something bigger. We put out the Marlin spread including our new short corner lure. It didnt take long and we got a crash bite on the short. The fish took off but only jumped once so we knew it would be pretty green on the leader. Our crew Laura got wraps on the leader but quickly had to dump the fish as it was a serious handful and we got some more jumps and a good show out of the fish. Quickly on the leader again and Laura had the fish under control. Once the fish was boatside on the last wrap the hook pulled, leaving the Marlin's eyeball still attached to the hook. Not the ideal release but a caught fish none the less and the whole crew had a great time.

We had a great group today from all walks of life. The weather was pretty glamour with a nice steady breeze and a bit of cloud cover. The day started great with a Blue marlin that had a go on the long rigger. When he came back, the crew backed of the drag and gave him a chance as the bite was half-hearted. We got him on, and after a fun little fight, we had the fish on the leader and boatside for a nice healthy release. Then we had a quick session at the fad, which resulted in a Mahi each for two of our anglers and a Wahoo for Glenn. We filleted up the fish for them on the way back so everyone went home with a nice dinner.

The end of cyclone season and the start of the tradewinds looks like it's here. As the water cools, we start to see more variety of fish. We have had a nice selection of Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Yellowfin Tuna, and Blue Marlin. All the anglers did a great job with some first time anglers setting some good PBs and ticking off bucket list fish.

It was a father and son trip today for anglers Lance and Tye who joined Nambas on a half day fishing. The day could not have started better, after just 30 minutes of fishing we raised a small Blue Marlin on the lures, he didn't stick but we could already see birds in the distance and knew there was a good chance of a bite going off. It wasnt long before we were in the middle of bait balls turning the water white and within minutes we were hooked up on double and triple headers of smaller Yellowfin Tuna. The guys did a great job but it wasnt long before we got some real Yellowfin on. Both Father (Lance) and Son (Tye) realy worked on the 50lb stand up both landing their PB Yellowfins one with a 26KG fish and one with a 30KG fish. Then they kept coming. When the guys were too tired to fight Tunas anymore we put the Marlin Lures out to give them a breather...No Chance! In minutes we were hooked up and Tye was fighting his first Blue Marlin. He soon got the hang of the chair and fought hard to release a nice healthy 200lbs Blue Marlin. Not long after we released Tye's fish and put the lures back out we raised a nicer Blue Marlin which ate the long corner. The fish went airborne and it was clear to see that it was a bit bigger, around 350lbs. This time Lance took his turn in the chair and fought the fish to the boat for a nice clean release. It's safe to say that both Father and Son had a day to remember and will most likely need a day of rest tomorrow with a few beers to celebrate.

It was only a quick half day trip today for anglers Craig & Cheryl from Australia. What started out as quite slow ended in our angler Cheryl catching her bucket list Blue Marlin. The fish smashed the short corner lure but missed the hook up, having got the lure back into position the fish came back for another go and this time it was on! After a 30 minute fight and a quick initiation to Marlin fishing Cheryl did a great job, getting this one to our crew Alex on the leader so it could have the hooks removed and released to fight another day. About an hour later we raised another 2 smaller fish that ran riot through the spread but didn't want to hook up.

Terry Carter has fished all over the world armed only with his Fly Rod. Travelling all the way to Vanuatu from Cincinnati in the USA was nothing for a man on a mission. Terry wanted to chase Blue Marlin on the fly and that was what he got. Terry brought all his own gear including his Sage Fly Rod and Mako reel, along with an assortment of tippets and lines. The teasers had only been in the water around 15 minutes one morning when we raised a perfect sized Blue Marlin on the long teaser pole. The short teaser was quickly cleared and the fish teased beautifully to the back of the boat. When the boat was out of gear Terry made an almost textbook cast and the Blue Marlin inhaled the fly and was hooked. Completely perfect! But hey this is fly fishing, as the fish started ripping line off suddenly we were not connected anymore!!!! It turned out Terry's connection from braid to fly line had decided to fail us. Gutted is an understatement. We made good later in the trip raising another perfect sized Blue Marlin which smashed the short teaser. Having that temptation cleared out of his way he switched onto the long and the crew teased him to the back of the boat, the wind had started to pick up but Terry got the cast and the fish nailed the fly beautifully. Line started streaming and off we went chasing in reverse, everyone getting drenched in the process. The fish gave us an incredible show on the surface with countless acrobatics before finally sounding. Terry had to fight hard to lift the fish on the fly rod but he did an amazing angling job and was not going to give in. Terry had decided at the start of the trip that he wanted to release any Marlin he caught on the fly...this is easier said than done as it's not like you have a long strong leader to hang onto. This fish helped us out and the hook pulled boat side giving a perfect end to a great day. It wasn't our last shot either, the following day we raised another two Blue Marlin, the first fish was around 500lbs and really far bigger than you want to mess with on a fly rod. It teased and despite the wind the cast was made but thankfully it wasn't that interested in the fly. It was quite happy swimming around the transom lit up neon blue which gave us a great show. It was joined by a smaller fish that again teased several times but was not loving the fly. Any day you get to see multiple Blue Marlin swimming round the back of the boat is a pretty good day though! Terry is already planning his next trip and we are looking forward to fishing with him next year!