South pacific bonefish – photo essay / trip report
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It seems almost criminal to leave New Zealand just as a new trout season opens, but in early October one of my mates and I did just that. We left behind our fleece and gore-tex, ditching the early season mayfly sippers (and the rain storms that so-often accompany them) to head to the islands for two weeks of chasing bonefish on the flats. For me, this trip was a gift to myself for finishing my doctoral thesis a couple months prior; for Paul, it didn’t take much convincing to come along.
Our destination was a familiar one for us – we had been there a bit over two years ago, but we each felt like we departed that trip with unfinished business. This particular destination is known for big fish – it doesn’t boast particularly huge quantities of fish, but I dare say that it gives anglers the best shot at 10lb+ bones of any destination in the world. So with visions of trophy fish dancing in our minds, we set forth on what turned out to be one of the best trips either of us has ever taken.
I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story:
The island we went to is paradise.
And the bones were big.
Most evenings ended with a cold beer, or five.
As always with a destination trip like this, the fishing was only a small portion of the overall experience. I absolutely love the pacific islands, and this destination was no different – beautiful sights, amazing people, and a culture that you can’t help but fall in love with.
The dude in the foreground of this photo was about 10 years old and was one of the best of the entire group.
Obligatory IA food shots:
The mood never got too serious.
Juvenile trevally filled in the down-time between shots at bones.
And a few different species kept things interesting. On a side note, puffers will try to bite your finger off with their giant horse-teeth.
We spent a bit of time chasing adult GTs, had a few great shots at good fish, hooked a couple, and landed zero.
Paul hooked up on an absolute freight-train of a GT one afternoon, and all hell quickly broke loose – the Hatch was singing the sweet song of inevitable disaster, and the guide and I were yelling at Paul to tighten the drag. Paul was no-doubt thinking ‘shut the hell up’ because, unknown to us, the drag was already maxed out and was having absolutely no effect on the GT, which quickly wrapped around a massive coral bommie and sped off toward the crashing surf as the 80lb flouro snapped like twine.
We did our fair share of swimming to get DIY access to many of the flats.
Over the course of the two weeks we hooked fish on nearly every flat on the island, and plenty of quality fish were brought to hand…
And promptly released.
We arrived with unfinished business, and had assumed that after 2 weeks we would have our fill of this destination and be ready to head somewhere else for our next saltwater flats adventure. However, the feelings that eventuated at the end of the trip were the exact opposite – we fell more in love with the island, uncovered new fishing options to explore in future visits, and already can’t wait to return.
…(yawn)…yeah…I suppose I might tag along next time. (Just so you’ve got a back up camera option, should it all turn to custard)
Incredible – thanks for sharing! I’d go for another PhD if that were the reward – nice way to treat yourself!
Love it! This post is great! And those bones are HUGE by the standards of what I’ve seen in the Caribbean.
Zach
Sweet photos and trip Tim…. I’m making plans for next year hopefully??
Looking at these makes the wait even harder 🙂Cheers guys, glad you enjoyed the photos. It was an awesome trip, and I’m still on cloud nine as I relive it in my mind.
Mike – let me know if you want any info in preparation for your trip. I will likely be returning next year as well.
Here are a few more shots:
And yes, there were small fish too:
You Kiwis have it made in the South Pacific when it comes to Monster sized fish and pristine water. What an amazing trip and Excellent photos.
Maybe if I work hard for the next 20 years, invest well, and still have a 401K…just maybe I can visit some of these places by the time I retire.
Thanks for the previews of a dream trip for the golden years.Travis
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