Raivavae, French Polynesia February 2015

This was my third trip to Raivavae, French Polynesia and definitely not the last!
A special affinity I have for this little island south of Tahiti is what I’ll call – definitely a pearl in the South Pacific.
The 4 man team I had this trip hail from Denmark (Henrik), Netherlands (Arnout), Thomas (Alabama USA) and myself snagging the last spot.
Fishing was great with some PBs broken and many species checked off the list, the sunny – breezy weather was a big compliment to the awesome fishing we had!
To tell the truth I was constantly reminding myself how lucky I was while it was a blizzard back in the Noreast.
A big SHOUT OUT to Thomas, you are a rock! Your never give up attitude amaze me, be it fishing or “mountain climbing”!
Your observation skills and application right after was amazing, you caught up to the rhythm and fight in a matter of hours.
That my friend is not easy, I have seen some people jigging, casting and fighting for days and still cannot get a grasp of it.
With all preservation comes the reward…
This was Thomas virgin trip and all he wanted was to feel the power of a GT and the speed of a Dogtooth tuna.
GT and Dogtooth he had and nice sized fishes to boot!
Arnout broke his personnel best with a conservative 48kg GT and the fish taped out at 140cm CFL.
Lots of fishes caught in almost every drift from this crazy party going Dutch, he probably caught the most this trip!
Henrik our Danish Viking who recently just recovered from a nasty accident checked GTs, Doggies, Coral Trouts, Job fish, Amberjacks, Yellow fin tuna and a weird snapper off his list.
Our Viking even tried his hands at trolling for Yellow fin tunas the Polynesian way – a skirt at the end of 30m of 600lb test mono clipped to an inner tube fixed to the boat.
The nutrient rich seas of the South Pacific brought in tunas every day, skippies and Yellow fins in all sizes and you can see them darting under the boat in every direction under the crystal clear waters.
We nailed a couple for Sashimi and stopped when the taxman made their appearance in the mornings.
GTs and doggies can sometimes be seen as they chased after our offerings of jigs in depths of up to 30 meters.
It was truly an amazing experience as I could see the fishes coming out of nowhere hitting the jigs!
“Whose jig is under me??!! You’re gonna get hit!” BOOM fish on!
And then there are those that got away… both Arnout and Henrik had some crazy takes which were ear piercing as their reel screamed when the line starts peeling off at top speed.
Thomas had a monster following his popper in the lagoon and I had some crazy doggies on top water which WILL NOT commit!
Our beautiful fishing vacation came to an end on Saturday and we spend a day hiking up Mount Hero – not suitable for everyone, but if you do make it up there you will truly experience the beauty of the island and sense of accomplishment.
Enjoy the pictures and hopefully the video will be up soon!

Cheers,
Paul

Tackle used

Rods
Saltywater Tackle Race Point 100/250, Outer Banks 300/400, El Maestro 710MH/77H, Ripple Fisher Reversal, Fanta-Stick, Ocean Arrow, Carpenter Endless Passion and Black Hole Cape Cod Special.

Reels
Shimano Stella SW, Daiwa Saltiga, Maxel

Lures
Carpenter Gamma, Sea Frog, Siren Lures, CB One Ozma, Hammerhead Cups, Cherry Asymmetry, Bertox, Hot’s Keiko, Shell Shaping, Lamble Bait Haoli, ASWB, Craft Bait.

Jigs
Smith Nagamasa, Marine Bait Reppu/Shidenkai/Ouka, Lamble Bait Haoli Flashing/Half Pitch/Kampachi/Japan, CB One Zero One/Z4, Shout Shab/Width/Cradle, Jigging Master, Hot’s Drift Tune/Conkers/Y2 Jig.

Line
Jerry Brown, Sunline, Varivas, Shout Sasame, Power Pro

Leaders
Saltywater Tackle Twisted Leader System, Varivas, Sunline, Momoi, Seaguar.

Hooks and Terminals
Intense Hooks, BKK Hooks, Smith, Varivas and CB One Split rings and solid rings, Owner ball bearing swivels.

Belts
MC Works TT Belt, CB One, Swage, Patriot Design

Apparels and footwear
Aftco, Pelagic, Shimano, Columbia, Siren and Saltywater Tackle.