CRAIGS YELLOWFIN MISSION

Craig and his daughter Kiana love fishing. They fish the coast of NSW heaps, but Craig had yet to land his dream fish, a big Yellowfin Tuna. Craig’s wife has Aiaga “family” in Samoa, so they were heading to Samoa to celebrate Christmas. Craig had fished with us before, so he booked a full day charter to go and get his big fish. The day turned nasty pretty quick so, after landing a couple of small Spaniards over our inshore marks we headed back to port. Luckily we had a spare day up our sleeves prior to Christmas, so we began planning our next trip with just one fish in mind..Craigs big YELLOW.

A couple of days later we did just that, heading straight to our marks along the 3000m line. This trip Craig had invited Manu and his daughter Lepa along. They had never experienced big game fishing before and they were excited at the possibility of seeing some big fish.

The days was fishy, with overcast skies, a moderate sea and small flocks of birds working in patches over what should be fish. As we approached a group of white turns WHACK the JB “Baby Dingo” running on the long rigger was hit by a mahi mahi. It was going ballistic as Lepa was handed the rod. This was her first time fishing and she did well to play the fish to the boat, only to see the hook pull and the mahi swim away. Bummer. A few hundred meters away I spotted four black noddies circling tight, so I headed straight to them with a big yellow in mind. As we reached them BANG, the Zacatak “Cockroach” running on the shotgun was inhaled by a solid Yellowfin Tuna. Braig dived into the fighting chair as the reel screamed while big fish ripped a couple of hundred meters of line. Finally the fish settled and Craig began to wi the fight. Thirty five minutes later he had the fish at the boat. Tautua lead the fish, Olesn sunk the gaff and Craigs big yellow hit the deck. What a ripper! Craig was ecstatic.

The day was closing and we still wanted to see Lepa land a fish. So as I headed the boat for home, I made sure we trolled over our favorite Spanish marks. Whack! As we ran the first mark the Nomad running deep on the short shotty was hit by a solid fish. Lepa took the rod and after a short but brutal fight a mighty Spanish Mackerel was in the boat. Lepa was beaming. This was an experience she will rember forever.

Well done Craig. You are a real gem of a bloke and we look forward to the next time you are back fishing with us in Samoa. Merry Christmas.. Mission accomplished….