Matt O’Brien’s Trip Trifecta

March 17th, 2011 | By Ocean Blue

We have recently arrived back from a wonderful week’s fishing at Ono Island, Fiji. I would like to thank David and Rowan from Oceanblue for organising another great trip. This was my third Oceanblue trip in 12 months and I am happy to say this trip was the best yet.

The fishing highlights of the trip for me included landing my biggest GT to date, a 36kg back-breaking brute of a fish after watching it smash my Sebile Popper on the surface, catching a great Coral Trout and a 6ft reef shark on a ‘Octa’ Jig and battling and eventually landing numerous other GT’s from the reef, just inside the crashing swell.

The fishing at Ono was some of the best I have ever experienced and it’s stunning scenery was simply breathtaking. After spending over 8 tiring hours a day throwing big poppers and dropping jigs, it was a pleasure arriving back to Oneta resort each afternoon. The resort itself is beautiful, set by the water’s edge and surrounded by lush green vegetation, and then there is our host, Piero and his amazing staff. I have never experienced such kind and friendly people, it really was a pleasure staying there and getting to know them all.

I cannot thank Piero, Simeli, Joe, Kara and the rest of the staff for their amazing hospitality. It was truly unforgettable and I cannot wait to go back there with Ocean Blue.

Matt O’Brien

From LA to Fiji – the sequel

February 24th, 2011 | By Ocean Blue

It was on it’s way to low tide, and our popping game had started to change. And not in our favor!

I sent my 10 inch Blue Komodo Popper about 70 yards from the boat, hitting white water, maybe 3 feet deep,  as the waves crashed onto the Astralobe Reef.  My Shimano Stella 8000 locked down tight,  55lbs of drag,  knowing I could not give up any line. None!
From the darker chasms came black monsters, known as GTs,  Giant Trevallys, exploding on our lures, bent on returning  to the abyss before we could persuade them out.

Suddenly I saw him. My grip tighten, eyes strained, as he crashed hard from the left side, swallowing my lure as he reentered the gin clear waters on the right!
“Big GT” our Fijian deck hand Simeli yelled, as my rod bent from its power. Our boat Captain Piero put the boat into gear to steer him to deeper waters as he shouted “hold on David”.

It was my 5th GT of the day, but I could tell this one was the strongest!

My Diawa Saltiga rod, specifically built for these demons, arced in defiance, as he pulled  line from the Stella like it was nothing. My left hand helping my spool as he sped towards darkness.

I thought he had me as the trench appeared closer. I moved to the other side of the stern trying to gain some leverage on him.  Somehow he turned out into the deep allowing me to gain back line & some easier breathing room
“50 meters” Piero shouted,  as I knew I had him!. With more water to work with,  I lessened my drag alittle for some relief  but soon learned he had  played this game before.

Line started to peel off my reel  as I watched in horror, the big black Gt sped straight down for the unknown. I retighten  the drag but it was too late. He had  felt freedom as he shook his head from side to side, in an effort to remove my grip from him. Line steadily inched from me as I held on tight. My grip weakening, muscles aching I felt beaten.

“Bommie” Simeelee yelled from the front of the boat. Not what I wanted to here.

The engine roared as Piero slalomed the boat away from the upcoming disaster as the GT zeroed in on it. I tightened the drag again to max as he pulled with his all, rod bent to the rail. My legs felt weak as his run lessened. Single pumps of the reel & rod turned his head up. I was gaining. Big circles turned to smaller ones as he still shook his large head in defiance. Again I gained when I heard  ”I got color” my friend Craig shouted,  as Simeelee readied with the gaff.

Aboard the boat, our GT weighed in about 65lbs. My biggest to date. I was so spent, I had nothing left to lift him for pictures before we revived him and sent him back to the abyss.

David Ferrario

Where The Wild Things Are!

November 19th, 2010 | By Brent Delaney

I floated along a board walk that snaked through verdant tropical gardens. Land crabs scuttled into their holes. Fruit bats screeched. Silhouetted Palm trees framed the sky as my bure came into view, awash with the emanations of the near-full moon. I entered the bure, my fishing equipment fell to the floor and I collapsed on the big four-poster bed and exhaled – muscles aching, heart racing, a dream achieved. A tropical zephyr caressed the mosquito netting around me as the rhythmic sounds of lapping warm water on the beach only metres away slowed my thoughts. As I melted into satisfied yet exhausted sleep, a faint hint of guitar and melodic island voice carried on the breeze across the small island to my ears.

That day was the apex of an astonishing two weeks of piscatorial action based out of the Oneta Resort, located on Fiji’s remote Ono Island. It was my second trip to this tropical paradise for Modern Fishing, and proof some things really do need to be experienced more than once in a lifetime!

Island magic

Oneta is set among tropical gardens on the small island of Ono in the south of the Fijian archipelago. Ono sits in the lagoon of the Great Astrolabe Reef – one of the longest continuous reef systems in the world. The resort is boutique and only caters for single groups. Guests stay in Fijian bures and are fed amazing food and strong Italian coffee (important to an addict like me!)– all at a reasonable price.

The fishing stirs…

The main game here is throwing surface lures for GTs (and sometimes big yellowfin tuna) and jigging for dogtooth tuna and reef species. For those looking for a lower energy alternative there is some premium bluewater trolling for wahoo and Spanish mackerel and the lagoon and reef flats are great places to flick small soft plastics and metals for coral trout, red bass and bluefin trevally – a stack of fun on light tackle! For those not in the know, bluefin trevally provide some of the finest sashimi tropical waters can produce. Chef Kara will prepare any you catch to perfection.

Blowing in the wind

Our early efforts were focused on the northern lee side of the Astrolabe Reef as the exposed side of the reef was inaccessible due to strong winds. That’s the beauty of being based at Ono – there’s always a place tucked out of the wind. The lee side of the reef is comprised of clustered bomboras and reef passages and provided plenty of red bass on poppers but no GTs. We switched our focus to jigging over the next few days and caught dogtooth tuna, amberjack, mangrove jack, some massive coral trout, puka puka and the usual reefies. The wind finally abated later in the first week and we launched our attack on the outside reef edge. We started the day by jigging up some reel-screaming doggies and big coral trout off the top corner of the reef. We then moved in and launched poppers and sinking stickbaits at the reef edge. Instantly we were knee-deep in GT chaos!

Pop ’til you drop

Over the next week we worked different sections of the reef and found large GTs to well over 45kg in residence, gorging on fusiliers. We were soon shaking off 25kg ‘tiddler’ GTs at the side of the boat – in between losing popper after popper to GT’s that were just unstoppable. We landed fish to 38kg and had near-captures of larger fish that always managed to escape!

During the trip, patterns started to emerge. I began by using predominately sinking stickbaits. When it was windy, these lures seemed to out-fish poppers by a wide margin. When the wind calmed slightly, poppers emerged supreme. When it went dead calm, sinking stickbaits again rose to the fore.

We also found ourselves hoping for hook-ups right on top of the reef in the impact zone – contrary to instinct! If a large GT took the lure more than halfway back to the boat, it would associate the boat with danger and would make a high-speed run back to the hardline, through the breakers and into the sunset, never to be seen! If a large fish took the lure on top of the reef, that would be its ‘danger zone’ and it would usually arc out to deep water, with the boat arcing out after it.

fish were often rubbing their faces on the coral and busting off our heavy mono leaders. This forced our hand and we added a short section of heavy wire above our poppers and the number of big fish we landed increased. As we got closer to the full moon, the fishing got hotter. On one afternoon Piero was blown away by eight GTs in succession – each powered straight back through the pounding surf and into the lagoon – brutal fishing!

Finally all of the pieces of the puzzle linked together and I dragged one of the big fish into the boat. Read my Classic Catches column on page 122 for the full details of the capture of a GT of more than 100lb that saw me finally break a personal hoodoo.

The reef was clearly fishing well due to the presence of the fusiliers. However, Piero had an extra two years’ experience on the reef since my last visit and knew where the huge fish resided. In another improvement, he and headdeckie Simeli have mastered positioning anglers close to the impact zone and using the boat to drag fish off the reef as they arc to deeper water. In big-GT fishing, the captain plays a huge role in any capture – positioning is crucial!

Farewell to heaven

Of course, my idyllic island lifestyle had to end. Kara and the locals marked the occasion by preparing a traditional ‘lovo’, where pork, fish, taro and other local produce are wrapped in palm leaves and buried in hot coals. Simeli and co pulled out the guitars and sung village songs into the night as we gorged on the lovo meal. Swinging in a hammock; listening to island music; muscles sore from huge fish… Heaven.

Giant Troubles!

November 11th, 2010 | By Brent Delaney

The capture of a giant trevally weighing more than 100lb requires thorough preparation, tremendous physical exertion and a large measure of luck.

The mightY giant trevally (GT) is a rather common fish that can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. However, the fact that it can grow to more than 60kg and that it responds to a wide variety of cast-and-retrieved lures has seen a devoted army of anglers emerge who wander the world to do battle with ‘car bonnet-sized’ GTs. Once these monarchs of the reef edges reach 30kg-plus they become legitimate gamefish capable of destroying tackle – and anglers! It is for this reason that a whole ‘GT industry’ has developed that has spawned specialist tackle, techniques, knots, apparel, fishing forums, travel agents and fishing destinations to cater for kamikaze anglers that want to try to drag a large GT away from its reefy lair. I must admit to being one of these kamikaze GT addicts! I have chased them far and wide, including on the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, Northern Australia, Ningaloo Reef, Papua New Guinea, the Maldives, Fiji, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste. In these wanderings I have caught my fill of big GTs, however that truly impressive fish of more than 100lb (45kg) proved elusive. I encountered numerous fish this size in my travels… but every time I hooked one something went wrong or I was just plain smashed! So it was that the landing of a genuine hundred-pounder became a goal that I was struggling to achieve!

That is until my recent trip to Oneta Resort on Fiji’s remote Ono Island. In the preceding week we had landed a stack of large GTs to 38kg. On one day we were busted off by eight specimens that could each have been over 100lbs. Surely my time was close! Yes, it was. It was the day after the full moon. The seas were heaving onto the outside edge of the Great Astrolabe Reef. We bashed out through the reef pass and headed to the first major point in the reef, directly in front of the Oneta Resort. Piero Piva was on the helm, and he daringly darted the boat in to the impact zone so that I could get a cast to hit the right spot. Piero would yell “Cast now!”, then “Hang on!” as we raced to get over incoming swells.

On my second cast my Halco Haymaker was engulfed by a GT of dramatic proportions… only it fell off the hooks after a surging run! I refocused and fired a long cast in and worked the popper down the back of a large breaker. On again! This time the hooks held and the fish arced out towards deep water – only it had to pass over 50m of bomboras before it got there! The fish buried into the reef and locked me in tight. Luckily I had tied on a heavy wire trace and I survived the reefing. The fish finally made it to deep water but was immovable – at this stage all on board were calling it for a large shark – including me.

Twenty minutes later my body was surging with lactic acid and I was on the edge of collapse from fighting the ridiculous drag setting that I had applied to my Stella 18000 reel. Inch by inch the fish came to the surface. I finally saw that silver flash in the deep and had the feeling my goal was close to being achieved. It took three people to drag the beast on board– a GT of well over 100lb! We had weighed a 38kg fish the day before and this fish dwarfed it – I had no hesitation calling it over 100lb, just how far over 100lb it was though, I’m not game to say!

Only on inspection of my tackle did I realise how lucky I had been. Both trebles had opened, the wire shockleader was shredded, the wire clip had opened and my leader was completely scuffed. That’s what it takes to land a huge GT on a shallow reef – sore arms and an ocean-full of luck!

Ono Island November Scheduled Trip

July 1st, 2010 | By Rowan Stanek

To get on board the scheduled trip, head to the November Ono Island Scheduled Trip page.

Danny & The Dogtooth – Ono Island, Fiji

June 11th, 2010 | By Rowan Stanek

Dan Theodoulou’s first jig dropped off Ono Island produces a new resort record – 65kg of angry, gaff-bending dogtooth tuna!

Ono Island GT Popping, Fiji!

May 24th, 2010 | By Rowan Stanek

Check out Jack Olmos’s awesome Fiji GT popping video, filmed during a trip to Ono Island with friends Dave Lorenzato, Bernard Kong and Andrew Bolton in March 2010.
Read Dave’s report from the same trip here.

PART 1

PART 2

Fiji’s Coral Coast is Going Off!

May 7th, 2010 | By Rowan Stanek

We’ve just launched some new Fiji sport fishing packages for the Coral Coast.

This area has been getting some incredible fishing over the last few weeks, with yellowfin tuna, GTs, mahi mahi and wahoo all making an appearance. Read Danny’s reports below!

“The boys caught 7 over 20kg yellowfin all on poppers today. One was 29kg. That’s over 28 yellowfin caught in 4 days, all decent size. But today was the first day the boys decided to pop for them for some fun and the fishing then turned ballistic!!!!!!!!!!”

“After speaking to [deck hand] Johnny, it sounds like the doggie he lost was an absolute ripper and almost spooled the reel and only snapped of after being forced to tighten the drag all the way up! The last 3 days I have lost over 4 spools of braid on massive unstoppable doggie!”

“Went out on the boat finally yesterday. I cant remember the last time I was on it, had an awesome day. Popped up 7 yellowfin which was incredible fun. They were all between 10kg – 17kg. Next we caught 2 mahi mahi on the way home, then popped right out the front of the resort and caught 2 nice size GT’s.”

“The second boat that went out yesterday brought back a 175kg blue, the fight lasted 4 hours 20 minutes!”

GT Popping Junkies!

April 19th, 2010 | By Rowan Stanek

Well the day finally arrived! After what felt like eternity, it was time for our first GT popping trip to Ono Island Fiji. Between my close friends Bernard, Jack, Drew and myself, the closest any of us had been to popping GTs is popping bream in Cowan creek! Armed with heaps of new tackle, we were super keen to get casting.

After a short flight and boat ride we anchored the boat in front of Oneta resort. My first impression was, “Wow, this is paradise!” and after looking around, I was right. The owner, Piero, and his staff at the resort greeted us; everyone is so cool and the service at the resort makes 5 star hotels look like backpacker hostels! The resort makes you feel very welcome and adds to the experience. All the meals that are cooked are fine dining quality and each day’s fishing is finished with a massage.

The first day’s fishing was difficult due to strong winds so we were restricted to fish sheltered areas, which were not as productive. We managed to catch a tasty bluefin trevally on a jig, then a red bass and good size coral trout on a popper. During the day we were photographing some casts when one of the funniest things happened, check out the pics! In the arvo we had another go at jigging and after a few drops Drew hooked the only doggie of the trip.

The second day saw us venturing to the outer reef. It was still windy and still not where Piero wanted to pop, but at least it put us in with a chance at GTs. Piero told me to throw out a small dark popper, looking through my bag the only small dark I had was a 120gm Sea Frog. Damn it, it was the only one I had, but it worked!!! I scored my first GT, a nice one to start with at around 20kg. I got another around 15kg and Bernard also got 1 around 10kg.

The third day gave us quick opportunity to fish Piero’s favourite area while the tide was up in the morning, and it was awesome! In a period of what must’ve been 30 minutes we had 2 GTs hooked and landed, 2 GTs hooked and busted us off, and 2 GTs that didn’t find the hooks. After that the wind picked up again and we went back to the area fished the day before. Conditions started to affect us and it showed with 3 of us sitting back most of the day except for Jack, who persisted with cast after cast and it paid off with a really good GT on the outer reef. Later we entered the lagoon, which we hadn’t paid much attention to previously. We were all casting lures of different size with small poppers getting constant hook ups on coral trout and red bass. Piero was casting a Heru Tuna 100 when a massive GT erupted from behind his popper and dragged it back to the bommie he came from. Jack then cast over to the bommie and a second GT came out from behind. This time Jack was able to control it and landed a very nice GT estimated at 35kg. Jack’s persistence this day was awesome and it paid off!!

Day four was the windiest of the trip, which had us fishing the lagoon for green jobfish and red bass. We also managed to sneak out to the reef after lunch where I got a small GT.

Last day of the trip rolled up and the weather was sensational. Finally Piero could take us to the section of reef he considers to be the best. He wasn’t joking; this days fishing was absolute mayhem, a truly unforgettable day with so many hook ups it was exhausting! My first fish was massive and took my favourite black Kong straight back to its home. Changed to a blue Wiggle and I was on to a smaller fish that we watched surf the break to grab my popper. Then as Bernard was working his stick bait, a good size GT followed his lure all the way to the boat, before dropping back. I threw my popper only 3-4 meters from the boat and we watched this GT came straight back up and slurp it down. Later in the day I threw a suicide cast right on top of the reef and without even blooping the popper it got engulfed by a really good size GT. After a fair battle I landed a nice 38kg GT. Everyone on this day got into some nice GTs. Being our last day at Ono we begged Piero to bring us out for an extended arvo session which he agreed to without an issue. We didn’t stay out long, and still managed 2 nice GTs with Bernard getting his PB, estimated at 30kg.

So unfortunately the trip had to come to an end, but I will never forget the experience. Everyone in the group is now a GT popping junkie and I can’t wait for my next hit! Great friends, great place, great fishing, great experience; what more could you want?

Dave Lorenzato

Ono Island Article in NZ Fishing News!

December 14th, 2009 | By Rowan Stanek

Click the link below to view the pdf of Mark Kitteridge’s article on Ono Island, published in the June 2009 issue of NZ Fishing News.

Ono – Island of Giants

Ono Island Adventure, late May 2009

July 2nd, 2009 | By Rowan Stanek

After losing a day due to weather, the boys got straight out and into some outstanding topwater action. In just two days, the pair racked up 12 species between them, including GTs, Red Bass and Spanish Mackeral, most of which came off the surface.

As David described it to me, “In just one word, incredible!”

Ono! On Again! – Modern Fishing, June 2009

June 29th, 2009 | By Rowan Stanek

The article that got Dave on the cover! Our most recent Modern Fishing Article, where Brent Delaney recounts the trip where he joined Dave, Kerry Wilson and NZ Fishing journo Mark Kitteridge for a week on Ono Island.

Modern Fishing – Ono Island Feature Article by Brent Delaney

Modern Fishing Cover, June 2009

May 28th, 2009 | By Rowan Stanek

1 Week On Ono Island, February 2009

May 28th, 2009 | By David Noble

I’ve recently returned from a fantastic week away sportfishing Ono island, Fiji. I was accompanied by Brent Delaney (Modern Fishing), Mark Kitteridge (NZ Fishing News) and Sydney angler/photographer Kerry Wilson. All top anglers and really good guys to share the experience with. The angler’s lodge is a quality sport fisherman’s ecolodge and we enjoyed superb food and great facilities, did I mention the resort masseuse was very good also!

The fishing turned on quality and quantity! On poppers we caught GT’s, yellowfin tuna, red bass, maori wrasse, bluefin trevally and longnose emperor to name a few. Plenty of highlights, including coming across a school of yellowfin on our boat transfer from the Kadavu airport to the resort! I quickly rigged up and was hooked up to a feisty YFT within 30mins of stepping off the plane. What a welcome!

The next morning Kerry got a 25kg GT on one of his first casts of the trip! We also enjoyed a triple hookup on GT’s in the shallows, with all fish landed. Mark wasn’t as lucky only half an hour later when a big GT hit his popper and powered back over the shallow reef break and into the lagoon. The video footage we got of the fight is quite something!

On jigs we caught dogtooth tuna, red bass, XOS GT, pukapuka (red snapper), mangrove jack and more. The jigging we experienced was as good as the popping. Each session had it standout event!!

I’m really looking forward to reliving the experience in the upcoming magazine articles, keep an eye out for these! Till then, I have some great memories, awesome photo’s and some pretty tragic poppers and jigs to remember it by.

David Noble

Mixed Bag In Fiji, Summer 2008

May 28th, 2009 | By Rowan Stanek

Fishing the top areas off the Coral Coast has provided great captures of wahoo, mahi mahi, GT’s which have been the most active species recently. Billfish have been present also with blue and black marlin providing some great action for anglers. Warmer currents will soon be arriving and with them the yellowfin tuna, spanish mackeral (walu), summer GT’s and red bass. The Coral Coast’s hot spots can really turn on the action and have provided many great sessions recently. Day charter groups have been rewarded with numerous fish coming onboard in close succession giving all anglers plenty to do. For the more adventurous angler the pristine destinations of Ono island and Kadavu offer a spectacular fishing getaway. Fiji offers something for everyone, be it bluewater trolling, popper casting, reef fishing or jigging.