Fresh Vanuatu Fishing Reports

The fishing has gone off the charts here in Vanuatu! The weather is perfect and the fish are biting their heads off. With double hook ups of Blue Marlin there has been loads of action and some monster Yellowfin thrown in for good measure. Yesterday in a 5hr trip we went 4-4 on Blue Marlin and boated a nice 70KG Yellowfin for our experienced anglers Pete and Sean. Today saw another epic morning on the water a first time lady angler Lauren hooking up on her first Blue Marlin when we hadn't even got the full spread of lures in the water yet, she did a cracking job, with an hour long fight she had to work, but the reward was worth it! This was then followed by another Blue Marlin which launched itself like an exocet missile at the long corner and went fully airborne!!! With 6 marlin & 1 Tuna for the Nambas crew in two half days it looks like its going to be an epic June in Vanuatu.

It was a great day out for honeymoon couple Chris & Danielle. Chris had never caught a marlin and was keen to get his chance. It's the start of the inshore fishing season in Vanuatu so we decided to get some baits out there to try and raise a Sailfish or a Black Marlin. Chris got his chance as Black Marlin engulfed one of the skipping Ballyhoo baits, leaving a hole of white water and line started screaming off the reel. On only 15KG stand up gear Chris got a quick introduction to Marlin fishing and did a fantastic job. The fish gave a few jumps before disappearing into the depths. We soon realised this fish wasn't going to be easy and after an hour of Chris battling the fish we got the leader and the fish gave the classic Black Marlin display, jumping at the back of the transom. It was a nice fish of around 110KG, and gave a great fight on the lighter tackle. The fish was released and swam away healthy, and Chris now has to deal with a new found Marlin Fishing addiction.

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!

It's not always plain sailing as this video shows, but its always fun when there are this many Dogtooth around. With several failed hook ups on the popper, the Angler Neil Trujillo managed to hook the fish of a lifetime for a novice angler. When you actually get attached to a Dogtooth on any gear you really start to wonder if its a battle you can ever win...but thats the challenge and the fun of it. Surrounded by sharks and other Dogtooth the odds are stacked against you but its so worth it when you manage to stop the Doggies insane run and actually get it to the boat. During this trip the amount of life was insane, so much so the boats brand new Gopro 6 got eaten by an aggressive shark whilst filming the underwater shots. Luckily we downloaded this footage before the Shark decided it wanted a colonoscopy. Most people who go Doggie fishing openly admit it is the ultimate test of everything...angler, gear, knots, boat handling, stamina and a dose of luck on your side as well. Everyone agrees though that once you get the bug for Doggie fishing you are addicted for life!

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.