Fishing & diving in Rarotonga

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    Posted: 25 Jul 2013 at 9:02pm
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With a forecast of snow to sea-level on the South Island’s east coast, we boarded a 777 bound for Rarotonga a couple of weeks ago.

Marie and my two daughters, both at Otago Uni, were looking forward to thawing out somewhere warm, and I was looking forward to a spot of fishing and a dive or two (like you do…).

Rarotonga was everything we imagined it to be. For a start it was warm and so a winner right there. The people were welcoming, the food was great as was the accommodation.
 


We stayed 3 nights at Manuia beach resort which is 10 minutes from town and on the NW Coast. The units have just been done up and the location is perfect. Add friendly/helpful staff, great sunsets and snorkelling at your doorstep and it’s hard to beat.


 
Manuia Beach Resort was followed with 4 nights at Aroa Pool Villa  - one of the Puaikura Holiday Homes a little further down towards Muri beach and it was a stunner. The spacious open-plan villa with large ranchslider doors opening to a swimming pool was a fantastic base for the next few days. Renting a villa is a good flexible option if you have a few people in your group.

Fishing
We had two half days fishing with the very friendly team on Marlin Queen. The first trip planned was on their Stabi – ‘Bobi Marie’  and the plan was to throw poppers and stickbaits and see if we could raise a GT or two before trolling for a wahoo, yellow-fin or if we were super-lucky, having a shot at a marlin. 

The game-plan didn’t quite come off as the heavy southerly swell meant accessing the more productive GT spots in around the reef structure was too risky.  Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to really do give some lovely new kit a proper and appropriate work-out.

Sam from Reel-Appeal lures had sent me a couple of his special tropical designs – a stickbait and a popper. Both looked the business and worked brilliantly and will be secret weapons for future trips when we can get at some decent structure holding GT’s.





Willie, our skipper, was a top man on the helm, knew where to find the fish and looked after us very well. Marie bagged a very respectable 40kg wahoo and it was the biggest that had been landed for quite some time. Football sized YFT were prevalent along with schools of skippies and two days earlier the guys had landed a smallish blue marlin so there was no shortage of activity out round the FADS.
 


On the second trip, with Junior on the helm and Pauro running the deck on Marlin Queen we trolled down the eastern side towards Muri beach and were rewarded for our early start with a nice YFT which was quickly dispatched and packed in ice. The sashimi and rare-cooked fresh YFT that followed later in the day was sensational and a poignant reminder of the tragic demise of the species in  NZ. Fresh yellowfin is as good as it gets.


 
A bit later a very feisty 30kg wahoo gave Kelly a decent scrap which she won. Kelly’s wahoo ate the flyer deadbait on the shotgun and in a way I was quite happy about that as those ‘teefs’ are like razors and lots of lures get lost, according to the boys, even those rigged on wire!


 
Graham Murphy from  G-Force lures had sent these bad boys to take on this trip and they worked beautifully with great bubble trails but it was a bit early for marlin which generally turn up with the humpbacks in July. Graham’s lures are a work of art and while I would’ve been happy to see a blue climb all over one, a wahoo on a flyer was just fine.

The marlin in Rarotonga are mainly blues and average ~120kg. if you’re lucky you may encounter the occasional stripey over the winter. The main marlin season is November to March. While mahimahi are caught all year round, they more common in the August to February period. They are generally smaller in winter (8 -12kg), however in summer, mahimahi up to 20 kg are common.

Their spectacular aerials and jumps make for some exciting fishing and they’re great to target on some lighter gear. They’re school fish and if you hook one, there’ll be others with it so multiple strikes are not uncommon.

The wahoo season is June to October. They get big in rarotonga and have been caught up to 50k however the average is 20-25kg. Wahoo are among the speedsters of our oceans and a good one will pull some serious string in moments. Like mahimahi, they’re school fish and multiple strikes are common. A popular way to target them in Rarotonga is a chin-weighted dead flying fish rigged as a skipbait and works a treat. The main wahoo season is June through to October.



The occasional sailfish is caught, however they’re normally found out wide in the summer season and much of the fishing is in close to the island as it drops off to 100’s of metres very close to shore.

The reef area right round the island provides some good GT fishing options. Check your charter boat actually provides the option to target them and generally you’ll need to take your own gear. Watch the new baggage rules on Air NZ if you’re taking a rod tube as it’s an extra bag and cheaper if you pre-book.

Dogtooth tuna can be targeted in close to the drop offs and for the area, while a trophy would be up around the 60kg mark, the average is more like in the 10-15kg range.

There’s a number of FADs (fish aggregation devices) around the island in depths of a few hundred metres to 1500 metres and from about 1km to 3km from shore. The FAD’s attract a full range of species from tiny baitfish through to large pelagics and are a frequent destination for the local charter fleet.
 

If you're in Muri Beach call in at the Moorings Cafe in the . Captn Moko catches fresh fish every day.... YFT, mahimahi, wahoo, YUM!

As is common in many Pacific Island destinations, the boat generally will take a share of catch and that helps subsidise the operation. Just check with the charter when you book so you know what the story is. Di and Junior really looked after their customers and it was no problem to pick up some fresh fish a day or two after your charter if they’d had a good day on the catching front. Bobi Marie is NZ$500 for a half day, and Marlin Queen, NZ$700.

Diving


Sabine at The Dive Centre arranged a 2 tank dive trip for me and an introductory dive for the four of us in the lagoon across from The Dive Centre a bit later in the week.

The dive trip was a cracker with 30m+ vis and 26 degree water. It was my first real effort with the new GoPro and over the two dives saw lionfish, stonefish, morays and a wide range of other tropical faire. Such a nice change to be in warm crystal clear water at 25m! Here’s a quick vid of the dives - firrst effort with the new goPro Hero 3.



The food options on the island are extensive from outstanding cuisine at a number of local restaurants to self-catering from the plentiful supply of fresh fruit and vegetables available at the local supermarkets or from the side of the road. There’s several places to buy fresh fish and meat is a similar price to NZ. We had excellent meals at most places but Tamarind house and the Waterline restaurants were as good as the best in Godzone.

Rarotonga is a gem in the Pacific. The people are friendly and welcoming, there’s heaps to do and it’s all quite affordable. The fishing and diving is a great add-on to a holiday and we really had a good one with special thanks to the fine hospitality from Sue and Tom from Puaikura Reef Lodges and Manuia Beach Resort, Di and Junior at Marlin Queen fishing charters and Sabine and Sacha at The Dive Centre.


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Merlin the marlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jul 2013 at 9:42pm
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Thanks for sharing Grant, I love it up in the islands and love that fresh yellow fin tuna eaten chilled and raw with soy.
Are you heading up to Tonga any time soon? I may go up in October again.

[Edit Grunta - Vava'u late September for a week is current plan]
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote alan syme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2013 at 9:33pm
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pm sent
 
very good photos and write up, nice weather and glad you had a great time.
 
big wahoo!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote KingySlayer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2013 at 1:00pm
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Nice Grunta Nice. Gosh cannot wait even more now reading this mate. Cheers for the report and you have been thanked.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote deacs Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2013 at 1:16pm
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Cheers Grunta counting down the weeks to my trip in September, think that's the third person I know who has recommended Tamarind House so will make sure I get there!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote alan syme Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2013 at 9:03pm
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deacs, tamarind house is my favourite restaurant on raro, it is quality.
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