Editor Grant Dixon returned to the Cook Islands in late August for his second taste of the long-running Gary Parlour Wahoo Contest, this time travelling to the island of Aitutaki…

Essentially an annual interclub between the Aitutaki Game Fishing Club and the Rarotonga-based Cook Islands Game Fishing Club, the Gary Parlour Wahoo Contest, sponsored by Kate and Gary Parlour for the last 20 years, is fished alternate years in the respective club’s waters. Tuna, mahimahi, barracuda and ‘other species’ are eligible for prizes, but the main focus is on wahoo.

Reports a month out from the contest had been good, with some nice fish caught, but although the anglers answered the call to compete come contest time, someone obviously forgot to invite the fish to join in the fun! Fishing was therefore rather tough over the two days, not helped by the 20-25 knot trade winds kicking up twometre swells.

This year’s honours went to Kyle Matheson with a relatively modest 16.5kg wahoo, fishing aboard Wet and Wild, followed by Junior Maki aboard JNR with a 7.0kg entry. Third place went to Aquila Tatira, aboard Aquila Rentals 1, with a 6.5kg wahoo.

Perhaps the best catch of the tournament was a 19.0kg mahimahi caught by Makaro, fishing aboard Baby Mac 3 – a nice fish and the heaviest recorded overall. Quinton, fishing on Wet and Wild, landed a 14.5kg mahimahi, while Mundose aboard Seabreeze/Taramai produced the best yellowfin at 17.0kg.

Rima, fishing on Miss Terito, landed the best ‘other species’, a 3.5kg amberjack, as well as the best fish for a female angler, a 16.0kg mahimahi. The junior prize went to Daniel, fishing on POU, with a 6.5kg yellowfin.

The crew aboard Seabreeze/Taramai took out the aggregate weight of 91.5kg.

Up until this contest, the Rarotongan Club held the upper hand at 10-9, but in 2016 the Aitutakians squared the ledger at 10 contests all. For next year’s 21st anniversary event, fished out of Rarotonga, it will be ‘all on’ to decide whose name goes on the trophy!

About the Gary Parlour Tournament

A couple of decades ago a keen Kiwi angler, Gary Parlour, fished Rarotonga waters for the first time and became enamoured with what he found.

While he enjoyed other Pacific destinations, Gary kept coming back to the Cook Islands, and 20 years ago decided to sponsor a tournament to be fished in the paara (wahoo) season – roughly June, July and August.

He and wife Kate put up the prizes for the wahoo section of the tournament, as well as $1000 for a wahoo over 45kg. If it is not struck, the jackpot target reduces by five kilograms each year.

In 2015, Aitutakian John Winchester nailed the pot with a 28.8kg fish, which was comfortably over the reduced 25kg target, fished out of Rarotonga. This year the target was back up to 45kg and no one came close to it, so it will be 40kg next year.

Interestingly, the week after this year’s Aitutaki tournament (August 26-27), a 45kg wahoo was landed by a client fishing with skipper Eva Koteka aboard Akura Charters, so big wahoo are about and the jackpot’s quite achievable.

The tournament is quite unique: as well as serving as an interclub event, it’s open to international visitors, with the alternating host club’s boat owners making their vessels available. The boat names go up on the board at the briefing, and those with spaces fill them with guest anglers.

Consequently, the members of each individual boat may be fishing against each other. This is indicative of how laid-back this event is – despite the opportunity to have your name on the trophy being up for grabs!

The hospitality is typical of what you can experience throughout the Pacific. There is a breakfast before you head out – unless you are a very early starter – with lunch provided after the first of the day’s two weigh-in times. Consequently, the teams generally take a break for a meal and some refreshments before heading back out for the afternoon’s fishing session.

In both locations, once the reef passage has been cleared the lures go in, and it is not uncommon to be hooked up within 500 metres or so of the starting point.

While there is competition on the water between the two clubs, it appears as though there is a secondary contest as to who can be the best host – the guests being the winners!

The importance of FADs

Both destinations rely heavily on their FADS to produce and hold fish in the area, with wahoo, tuna and billfish often caught within a nautical mile or two radius from their respective positions. However, areas where currents run strongly around prominent points of the island and reefs are also good places to troll. The boats run a mix of baits and lures in their spreads. A typical pattern might include a chin-weighted flying fish run from a long shotgun position, up to 100 metres behind the boat, with bibbed and un-bibbed minnows such as Rapala X-Raps and Halco Lasers and Tremblers deployed from the short ‘riggers and long corners. The long ‘riggers and short corners often have skirted lures in pride of place. Every skipper has his own idea as to what works best on his vessel and sets the spread accordingly.

Most lures and baits are rigged with multi-strand wire when run around the FADs and in the shallower territory close to the reef. Wahoo (paara) and barracuda (ono) have sharp teeth that make light work of even the toughest mono or fluorocarbon leader. Most boats run black swivels to make them less evident to these fish, which will snap at anything when on the chew.

There is nothing more frustrating than having your prize billfish lure chopped off by a wahoo, and even if they don‘t manage to cut the trace, they often devastate the plastic skirts. That’s partly why 
teasers such as daisy chains, dredges and ‘Boone Birds’ are rarely deployed – along with a tendency by all boats to follow the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid!).

Deploying soft-plastic baits – as small as three-inch – is one of the more recent trends when trolling around the FADs, which tend to be hoovered up by yellowfin. There is also fun to be had casting soft-baits around the general area following the initial hook-up and the boat has slowed down. Smaller ‘knuckle’ jigs dropped down and slowly mechanically retrieved also produce results.

Accommodation options

During this trip the writer experienced a wide range of accommodation options, from a fishing lodge in Rarotonga to a family home, and then a luxury villa in Aitutaki – and there was a common theme that ran through them all: a warm welcome and genuine hospitality!

Grant and Touzelle Wilson run a charter business (Blackwatch Charters) as well as a fishing lodge, Rarotonga’s G&T Lodge, which was purpose built with hospitality in mind. Abandoned by its original owners a number of years ago, the Wilsons recognised its potential and went all-out over a short period of time to make it guest-friendly.

There are three guest rooms: two under the original roof with shared bathroom facilities, and an additional room which has its own en suite.

They have been offering packages that include a week’s accommodation, the use of a vehicle, breakfasts and two days’ fishing, which can be customised to suit each guest’s requirements.

Grant was involved in the importation of vehicles into New Zealand, while Touzelle served as a chef aboard a number of superyachts, the latter standing her in good stead for her role as hostess of the fishing lodge.

The lodge is set in large grounds that include a beautiful pool area – a perfect place to sit and kick back after a day on the water. The property is located five minutes away from the main centre, away from the hustle and bustle, but still close enough to be handy to all the amenities.

My first ‘home’ experience in Aitutaki was exactly that: the family residence of Ian and Margaret Maungin. The good thing about the Cook Islands is that everything is close at hand; the Maugin’s home was a five-minute scooter ride from the fishing club, where Ian is the weighmaster and recently re-appointed bar manager. Ian, Margaret and their children could not have been more hospitable hosts, despite the interruption I caused to their daily routines.

For the last part of my stay I was hosted by Thomas and Elizabeth Koteka at the upmarket 4.5-5.0 star Aituaki Escape Villas.

These villas – two single bedroom units and one double – are tucked side by side, but offer great individual privacy. They have been built using a great deal of natural material, including local timber and stone, which creates a coolness that’s much appreciated in a warm South Pacific location. Each has its own swimming pool enclosed within the individual villa’s compound as part of the entranceway.

Leading off the lounge is a ‘runway’ down to what Thomas described as the ‘helipad’ – a decked relaxation area within casting distance of the water’s edge. The view is to die for, and I enjoyed several Appletons rum and cokes watching the sun go down from here.

In front is a beautiful lagoon where it is possible to swim, snorkel and kayak in safety.

The units are 12 years old, and the Kotekas, who took over the property’s management in 2015, are currently planning upgrades. A covered reception area has been added, which also includes Rumours Café.

A close call

While in Aitutaki I fished with ‘Poppa’ Ena Kaikura, who recently had the misfortune of being ‘run over’ at sea.

Ena was drop-line fishing at the Edgewater FAD from a smaller traditional-style centre-console boat alongside another fisherman, Pupuke Robati, when a yacht appeared from over the horizon, bearing down on them. Poppa didn’t take too much notice as he concentrated on his fishing – until the yacht was literally on top of him.

At the time of impact there didn’t appear to be anyone on watch, something that was hard to understand, as the vessel was just a few nautical miles off Rarotonga.

Poppa’s boat was jammed between the catamaran’s hulls, snapping off two of his rods in their holders and half-filling his boat with water.

“I was pretty lucky – I had my seaboots and wet weather gear on – so it could all have turned out quite differently,” Enu said.

Once realising what had happened, Pupuke gave chase for a short distance, but with the yacht showing no indication of wanting to stop, he returned to the FAD to ensure Poppa was okay.

Apart from a huge fright, some minor damage to the hull, two broken rods and a smashed engine cowling, Poppa survived the incident largely unhurt.

The yacht, which was under power, not sail, turned away from Rarotonga and has yet to be found. Police are investigating but without a result so far.

The fishing

Soon after arrival in Raro’, I jumped onto Vision, a former ex-commercial Randall skippered by Keith Christian, who was taking two groups of tourists out for a few hours of ‘casual’ fishing, where they also hoped to see some whales.

The beauty about fishing in Rarotonga is you don’t have to go far. The lines were in immediately after clearing the harbour, and the whales were passed while heading out to the nearest FAD. It was a pleasant enough afternoon, and we were rewarded with a triple strike of wahoo, two of which were boated, with the better fish being 18kg.

Upon returning to the dock, several other crews were dealing with their catch, which included some nice mahimahi to 15kg, a couple of smaller wahoo, and a number of juvenile yellowfin.

Heading to Aitutaki the next day for the Gary Parlour Contest, I met Black Jack, who has grown up on the island and was my skipper for the first day. One of several charter operators based in Aitutaki, Black Jack runs a locally built eight-metre vessel.

The weather was typical south-east trade conditions – 20-25 knots and two-metre-plus seas – but we managed to circumnavigate the island, fishing the current line.

Our only claim to fame for the morning session was a 16.5kg yellowfin, the best on day one. We caught several other smaller yellowfin in the afternoon too, but none bettered five kilos.

The next day I was a guest aboard John Winchester’s sevenmetre boat, fishing in similar conditions. Unfortunately we went 0,0,0 for the day – no strikes, no hook-ups and no results! However, John is an affable host and we spent an enjoyable day chewing the fat. Then, in the last hour, I was introduced to the local snapper (sweetlip) population, which we caught by stray-lining baits close to the reef in the lee of the island.

One of the beauties of Aitutaki is you don’t necessarily need a boat to enjoy some great fishing. The lagoon is famous for its trophy bonefish, which you can target from the shore, along with several trevally species, including GTs.

I didn’t have any luck in that department either, although several other Kiwis who were holidaying there at around the same time – Bryce Helms and Kieron Olsen – enjoyed some great action.

Returning to Rarotonga, I jumped on board Marlin Queen for an afternoon fish, which produced a dozen or so yellowfin around the FADs. Skipper Junior Loapa was trolling soft-baits to good effect on the smaller tuna, which had me wishing I’d brought along my own light spin set.

On returning back to the dock, we heard the news that one of the other boats had nailed a 45kg wahoo – so they were there!

While none of the action experienced over my few days in the Cooks could be described as ‘fast and furious’, I spoke to anglers who enjoyed much better luck, with some good marlin, tuna and wahoo action occurring out of Rarotonga in particular. And, if saltwater fly is your thing, there are few places better in the world to cast your fly than in Aitutaki Lagoon for its legendary bonefish – and poppering for giant trevally can be a blast at times, too! 
Auckland’s 

	This article is reproduced with permission of    New Zealand Fishing News October 2016 - By Grant Dixon Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited