Awesome Catch for Billy & His Mates

Billy and three of his mates are in Samoa, working as salvage divers, removing the fuel from the wreck of the Manawanui. A couple of days before Xmas Billy contacted me and it was decided to fish Christmas Eve. It was a another perfect day, with a slight easterly breeze over very little swell. First up, we trolled Andy's Reef, where the boys landed a nice dogtooth and a swag of barracuda. We then headed out to The Finger and trolled north along the eastern 2000m contour. Not much sign. Then Tautua spots birds "noddies" working a mile to the east. No sooner did we reach them when BANG the JB "Little Dingo" running on the long rigger is engulfed by a decent fish. Quickly, one of the anglers is on the standup gear and fighting the fish. As the fish goes deep we soon know it's a solid yft. After a 30min fight and lots of anglers sweat later, the big yellow hits the deck.

We take a few pics and off we go, trolling east and following the bait, now showing on the sounder. It wasn't lang before WHAM, the Pakula "Cockroach" running in the "short shotgun" position is nailed by a feisty blue marlin. The lure is a setup from Perter that includes a bird and daisy chain running as a teaser in front of the lure. On calmer days we run it in the middle of the spread so the Bird can create some additional noise (splash). Bill takes the rod and it's not long before the fish is tagged. The amount of jewelry the fish was wearing throughout the fight may have something to do with the short fight time lol.

After some pics of Billy releasing his first marlin we are off again, following the bait east, towards the ridge off Falefaa. As we approach the 1700m high point WHACK, the Little Dingo is struck again and another mighty yellowfin takes off. This one is a ripper and takes 300m of line is seconds. Once the angler is set, I slow the boat and the fight is on. After another 40mins of sweat and swears the solid fish is gaffed by Tautua and Aussie and is hauled over the gunnel and onto the deck.

After taking some pics the angler gives his big yellow a kiss and we head for home. Wow, what a great day! Well done boys, Merry Christmas, it doesn't get better than that.... Good luck on the wreck and we will all look forward to seeing you back for more tight lines in a few weeks. Cheers. Capt Hoppo & Team Troppo