Vava’u Sport Fishing Club
Tonga Fish Tales Newsletter – June 2011 Tonga Fish Tales © Copyright
June ... Apart from a few days of squally wind & rain, the weather was settled with lots of sunny days, calm seas and the start of cooler waters that averaged 26.5 degrees. The bait concentrations included skipjack, flying fish, squid and school size yellow fin and along with these came a good influx of billfish and the common pelagic.
Billfish Action ......... A marked improvement in Blue Marlin size with most fish reported being in the 130kg-150kg range. The Middle grounds and out west of the FAD proved to be the hot spots and one could expect 3-4 bites a day. A few bigger fish were reported in the 200kg plus range ... Reel Addiction’s transom almost collected a feisty 230kg Blue that charged the boat on hook up, turned and had another go before busting off. A few good sailfish reported in the 60kg range, mostly found between Hunga Island and North to the Big Bay area.
Yellow Fin Action ...... Despite a few reports of bigger fish busting the surface most of the caught fish were between 10kg-15kg. The masses of bird life suggested yellow fin but the schools were feeding deep and any surface action was short lived. The tuna caught were chocker full of small squid.
Wahoo Action ............ Still a bit slow with most reports of fish in the 12kg range. The Middle FAD produced a few reasonable fish and even the south bank was slow.
Mahimahi Action ........ At long last the Mahimahi have arrived in reasonable numbers with good sized Bulls up to 20kg. The fish are hungry and lots of multiple hooks ups being reported. The Mahimahi were found in good concentrations of flying fish and strip-baiting also worked a treat, especially around the FAD.
Reef Fishing Action .......... Several reports of reasonable GT action all caught on poppers and reef drifts producing the odd Coral Trout and associated reef species.
New FAD to be deployed .... a replacement deep water FAD should be in the water in August just in time to coincide with the 20th TIBT, starting mid September.
New Records ...
11.9kg Mahimahi on 1kg – A new male National & Club Record to Steve Campbell

2011 Tournaments Dates – Write them in your Diary ............
20th Anniversary Tonga International Billfish Tournament
15th - 21st September, 2011. This is Tonga’s most prestigious event for the year and is a qualifying tournament for the IGFA Offshore World Championship.
NZFN Tournament - 20th- 26th October, 2011
Tonga Nationals Tournament - Saturday 26th November, Saturday 3rd & Monday 5th December,
Don’t forget to check out the clubs new web site: www.vavausportfishingclub.com
Steve Campbell - ikalahi@tongafishing.com
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