I’d forgotten just how truly lovely Rarotonga is – possibly because I hadn’t spent time there for almost 20 years.

In my mind it was this thoroughly pleasant, fluffy, almost manufactured paradise made for tourists, where the pareu (sarong) demonstration held by the pool while you sipped a cocktail on a lounger was the day’s highlight.

However, while this may have been my experience many years ago, especially in some of the bigger tourist resorts, Raro’ has moved on, and this has mostly been for the good. Despite increasingly gearing itself towards tourism and providing the necessities demanded by a modern world, Raro has managed to retain and develop many of its more attractive and engaging traits. Consequently, this destination has just enough adventure, colour and rawness to keep it ‘real’.

Nor was I disappointed to discover, upon checking-in to Club Raro accompanied by NZFN Advertising Manager Brett Patterson, that the level of service has gone up several notches. In the past I’d been frustrated waiting around for service in the Cooks, but that’s no longer the case. This time, on the whole, I enjoyed friendly and efficient service.

Our rooms were a short walk through a crazy-paved courtyard, complete with sparkling pool, and along a palm-lined promenade overlooking a huge expanse of blue ocean. Constant lines of white, thundering surf rose and crashed hypnotically just eighty metres away.

What a place to stay – especially as we later discovered that humpback whales could regularly be seen erupting from the sea nearby in displays of incredible power and grace. Indeed, with all the facilities and mod cons available at Club Raro, I would have happily lazed around on the premises – but unfortunately Brett and I had work to do!

In this case ‘work’ meant going aboard NZFN Rarotonga Area reporter Wayne Barclay’s nicely decked-out charter boat Reel Time to chase tropical powerhouses such as wahoo, yellowfin, giant trevally, mahimahi, dogtooth and marlin. Boohoo, poor me.

I also liked the 7am pick-up – as a man with two ‘early bird’ pre-schoolers, this represented the chance for a lie-in, yet we still left the mooring pre-dawn.

Better still, Reel Time’s outriggers were deployed and the trolling lures set after travelling just 70-80 metres, as opportunities for giant trevally and wahoo begin immediately, while those chasing marlin have to be patient and wait until the harbour entrance is cleared a minute or so later!

However, despite Wayne catching large numbers of big wahoo and mahimahi on virtually every recent expedition (supported by the many images he’d sent in the weeks leading up to the trip), the fishing was uncharacteristically slow for the area. And I have a fair idea why, as a very full and icily-bright moon greeted us early in the morning. Like me, Wayne generally finds the fishing harder than usual over the full-moon-after period, so we’d already commiserated on the fact and hoped to prove it wrong this time.

Hard or easy though, it felt phenomenally good to simply be lounging around on Reel Time’s open-plan saloon, a light, balmy breeze keeping conditions pleasant, while the lures fizzed and popped enticingly in the white-marbled blue of our wake.

However, when a mahimahi finally appeared, bounding enthusiastically towards us like a dog spotting a cyclist, it was the rod dragging the River2Sea bibless VIB minnow that proved irresistible, the tip slamming down seconds later.

This signalled the beginning of Brett’s first-ever battle with a mahimahi, and same as anyone who’s caught one knows, he found these fish give a great account of themselves, even on 24kg trolling gear. In addition to hurling itself skyward in a thoroughly reckless fashion, this mahimahi also bored away on powerful runs, its strength belying its size.

Consequently, when finally gaffed and carefully brought on board, Brett was amazed to see that his prize catch only weighed 12kg. However, it must be said that this certainly didn’t deter him from stepping up to the plate for a second time, when a second, slightly bigger specimen grabbed the River2Sea lure. No doubt about it – mahimahi are the complete gamefish – and are very tasty, too.

At this stage I can’t continue without mentioning the whales again, as they were literally hard to miss. Apparently we’d arrived in the midst of the humpback breeding season and, quite understandably, a good number of them like to snuggle up in this tropical paradise. These whales are pretty frisky, so repeated broaching and tail slapping were common, creating some very interesting moments. Perhaps the most memorable occurred early one morning, while it was still more dark than light, when one hurled itself skywards just 50 metres away. To suddenly see that huge, building-sized dark shape bursting out of the water so nearby was exhilarating, as well as a little unnerving, especially as its huge splash nearly reached the boat.

And then, later that afternoon, Wayne had to bring the Reel Time to a complete halt as two whales bisected our path, completely ignoring our presence, and he was only split-seconds away from having to engage reverse – a manoeuvre that would have placed our trolled lures in mortal peril.

While these impressive mammals were a welcome bonus, it was Rarotonga’s fishing that we’d come to sample, so when further trolling proved uneventful, Wayne suggested trying poppers. Having watched kilometre upon kilometre of spectacular GT territory slide by while trolling just out from the fringing reef, Brett and I didn’t need a second invitation.

Wayne’s first spot was at a hectic, current-filled reef entrance, and almost right away Brett was shouting as a huge barracuda crashed, slashed and jumped behind his popper, but unfortunately didn’t hook up. It honestly looked to be around 20kg – a real beauty.

Then, soon after, Brett brought in a pretty, but hard-fighting, bluefin trevally. Interestingly, although considered a delicacy in many other tropical destinations – especially eaten raw as sashimi – they can have ciguatera in Raro, so it was released.

My own luck shifted upon changing over to my usual favourite, a Williamson Jet popper. First up was the rare hooking of a large longtom – basically an oversized piper with needle-like teeth – but despite it putting on an impressive ‘whirling dervish’ performance on the line, I brought it in with little trouble and quickly let it go.

The next hook-up was a lot more serious. I’d just completed the very first bloop and was slowly winding in the slack to do another, when the motionless lure disappeared in an explosion of foam as a 25-30kg trevally monstered it.

Next thing, line was hissing through my guides at a frightening rate, despite maximum drag pressure, so I clamped my gloved fingers on the spool, and in the midst of this all the load suddenly came off. My Owner treble had snapped for the first time ever. My faith in them remains unshaken though, as that particular lure had already endured a huge amount of uncompromising attention in previous trips.

A little later a 5kg bluefin took pity, allowing me to land it as some consolation, but I’d obviously missed my big opportunity, as despite occasional swirls, splashes and shadowy chasers, that was it for the ninety-minute session.

Indeed, my luck was so out of whack that while straining to see a whale broaching behind an obstructive part of the boat, I felt a hard, sudden pull, and looked back in time to see a humping swirl where my popper had been – but no hook-up eventuated.

Upon our return, and to rub salt into our wounds, we found a couple of locals with some nice wahoo to 36kg. But hey, let’s leave catching all those big wahoo till next time!

Catering for the fishermen

Like the rest of Rarotonga, the local fishing charter fleet is coming of age nicely. There is now a good range of charter craft available, from colourful, basic yet seaworthy fizz-boats mostly owned by the locals, through to the upper end serviced by the very experienced Wayne Barclay and Reel Time, and even further, thanks to the impressively equipped Akura, owned by Malcom Sword

And although getting what is needed when it’s needed can still be a problem for the fleet – leading to some pretty inventive jury-rigging taking place at times – overall the situation is vastly improved.

Consequently, even though the standard of tackle-maintenance may not always be up to what we take for granted here, the better boats generally have trolling gear that will catch fish, so it’s not essential to bring your own. But I still do, certainly in the case of jigging and casting outfits, along with a hook file, super-glue, reel lube and an assortment of spare guides.

I also recommend taking some packs of Owner treble hooks in 2/0-4/0 sizes to re-arm the popular Halco and Rapala bibbed minnows; the uncompromising mix of 24-37kg tackle and large, powerful fish can prove too much for their original hooks at times.

The complete package

The wide assortment of accommodation available surprised me; again, things have changed in recent years. Options include back-packers and self-catering budget options all the way through to the more upmarket establishments, including the Edgewater Resort, probably the best known venue on the island.

Then there are the cafes, restaurants and beachside bars, which are equally diverse, with many also offering views to the crashing and hissing oceanic swells, as well as the possibility of spectacular whale displays. (In fact, whilst flying out towards Aitutaki, we could see a huge humpback cavorting around right in the lagoon inlet, less than a hundred metres from the well-known eatery, Trader Jacks. Their customers would have got particularly good value for money that day!)

I also enjoyed visiting the Rarotonga Game Fishing Club. In addition to a warm welcome, the club has a great venue, enabling us to sit and drink chilled beers in the semi-open, looking out towards the deep-blue horizon. And I loved where the food was prepared and distributed – from an old launch tucked in amongst the foliage.

There’s plenty of things to do. In addition to the many obvious fishing, swimming, snorkelling, cruising, sailing, whale watching and diving opportunities, there are also scooters, bikes and quads to hire, and mountains to climb; Rarotonga is not a big island, so is easily explored. Or, if you don’t fancy doing it yourself, there are guides to take you around instead, their 4WD vehicles capable of accessing the more interesting and challenging locations. Next, add to the mix various culture and heritage sites, as well as arts and crafts and enough interesting shops to keep those inclined happily occupied for a day or two, and there’s something for everyone.

Acknowledgements

Mark and Brett would like to thank the friendly people at the Cook Islands Tourism for providing the Air New Zealand flights; Club Raro for a truly comfortable and pleasant stay (we’ll be back); the Raratonga Game Fishing Club for their warm smiles and chilly beers; and Trader Jacks for a very tasty meal. Finally, without the efforts of Wayne Barclay and Jenny Sorensen, this trip would not have been possible. Thanks for all you did folks, including providing some very memorable fishing in a lovely location.

	This article is reproduced with express permission of Mark Kitteridge by Mark Kitteridge  - 2010 Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited Originally published in New Zealand Fishing News