Samoa forms the heart of Polynesia and offers warm waters, fantastic climate and year-round fishing for all pelagic species. Samoa offers great fishing for popular gamefish species including blue marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, and mahimahi and is just starting to be discovered as an exciting gamefishing destination.
Blue Marlin are in the area all year however the larger catches are usually made in the period November through to May. As an added bonus, trophy yellowfin up to 80kg and over are a possibility for lucky anglers during this part of the year.
Samoa has a wide range of species on offer including blue marlin; broadbill swordfish; tuna; snapper; giant trevally; wahoo; mahi-mahi; sailfish; spanish mackerel and barracuda.
March to May - generally settled weather with good fishing for blue & black marlin, yellow fin tuna, sailfish, mahi mahi, wahoo, spanish mackerel, and dogtooth tuna.
June to August - the dry season with good fishing for blue & black marlin, sailfish, mahi mahi, wahoo, spanish mackerel, and dogtooth tuna.
September to November - can be the best time of the year for fishing for blue & black marlin, sailfish, yellow fin tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, yellow fin tuna, spanish mackerel, and dogtooth tuna.
December to February - wet season and excellent fishing for blue marlin, yellow fin tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, sailfish, spanish mackerel, dogtooth tuna.
The first thing to do is check with your charter operator exactly what gear they have on board. Some of the local charter fleet are very well equipped and as an example on board Extreme Measures, you'll find a range of gear on that most small tackle shops would aspire to.
Gear you might like to pack would include a few favourite lures, stickbaits, poppers (ensure your poppers or stickbaits are well made with through-wire construction) and jigs (they're heavy so watch the extra weight).
A solid popper/stickbait rod and a decent spinning reel such as a Saltiga or Stella with 80lb braid could be added and some leader material in the 100lb to 130lb mono range is handy. Smaller poppers tend to work well with a ST66 5/0 Owner treble and you can use an 8/0 owner Jobu or longline hook on the tails. Don't go smaller than a #10 Owner HyperWire but #11H are overkill and not necessary. Stick-baits can be rigged using ST66 4/0 trebles or similar and using an SJ41 11/0 with a single hook on the rear will work too - it may cause the bait to be a little heavier which can help for windy days which are common during the SE trade season. Crush the barbs or grind them off and should you bust off you may get your lure back, plus it makes them easier to release the fish.
A jig set that will handle 80lb braid or PE8 and 130-150 fluoro trace is recommended. Take a few jigs in the 200 to 400g range for options. Wire assist hooks are advised Inshore:
A light spin set with a couple of spare spools for casting in and around the local reefy areas is likely to be a bit of fun and gives an option to flick out a stripbait or softbait around the fads for football sized yellowfin, or mahimahi which are both great fun on the lighter gear.
Trolling lures is the most popular form of fishing for blue marlin however, bibbed minnows and diving lures like mackerel maulers etc are sometimes used. Your charter operator will be well prepared but check what gear they have before you go. Extreme Measures have a great range of top quality Shimano trolling gear sets from light (10g) up to 37kg.
We fished with the team on Extreme Measures Charters and had a fantastic day. Highly recommended - more info here.
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