Atoll de la Surprise New Caledonia December 2015

New Caledonia, a place that is very well known by many GT fishermen around the world and it sure is a dream place to fish for many anglers including myself. There is only one word I can describe this amazing trip “OUTSTANDING” and it is by far the best fishing trip I ever had.

As usual, like all good fishing destination, the journey is always long for us but with the anticipation from the fishing; it is always worth it! I was greeted in Noumea by Captain Olivier and first mate Nicolas, we then picked up the rest of the crew Paulinho, Nakata and Akira at the hotel, as they arrived a day before me from Brazil, we then headed straight north to Koumac where the boat was and getting ready for an early departure to atoll de la Surprise in the morning.

The weather was looking very good for the next couple days, it will take a day of cruising to get to atoll de la Surprise, so we decided, instead of spending the whole day on board, why not we start fishing at the nearby atolls on the way, it was a great call, the bite was on fire, three hour of fishing and we had already lost count on how many fish we had landed and it was just the beginning of the trip.

The next morning, we continued heading north to our main target destination atoll de la Surprise, we finally arrived after lunch and started fishing. We first started from the outside of the atoll, the bite was immediately lit up by GTs, red bass, coral trout and many more species and of course sharks were around to join in the list! We hooked up some solid fish from the beginning but unfortunately it all turn into sharks, there were many sharks in the area and there are no ways to avoid them, we ended the day with countless GTs, coral trout, red bass, job fish, Spanish Mackerel…. and only one or two decent sized GTs and a doggie by Nakata on jig.

 I am not trying to be lazy on this report, but for the following days or the rest of the 5 days of fishing, I am out of words, at this moment I am still scratching my head as to how I am going to describe this magical place and how good the fishery is. Every day, every moment, every second were full of excitement, surprises and no kidding, this atoll de la surprise is really full of surprises and we were having, double, triple even quadruple hook ups even two fishes on one lure are common, it is the most unbelievable fishing I have done in this part of the world.

Although we did not land any big mama on this trip, I caught my personal best dog tooth tuna on top water with my new favorite Race Point 100 we lost the fish for a second due to an opened gaff and I almost cried, fortunately Captain Olivier’s quick thinking and experience backed up the boat fast enough to have it back on board for a picture of a life time while in the meantime Paulinho had his personal best doggie on top water a day before me as well but all this excitement were not the highlights of the trip.

The highlight was a new technique developed by Akira-san was our master, the technique was to learn how to de-hook a fish if you feel it is too small, this way you can conserve your energy to fight a bigger fish, of course we were A class students and released countless fish. Akira ended up with a new nickname which is “Auto Release Sensei”. Imagine, it is no longer about catching fish but who can release more!

I would like to thank our Captain Olivier and first mate Nicolas for the first class service and bring us to this amazing aquarium in the middle of nowhere, Nicolas… hopefully you don’t wake up from your dreams shouting; “FISH ON” “FISH OFF” “SHARK ON” “BIRD ON”! Haha!! and Captain Olivier be ready, “Team Auto Release” will be back soon.

I want to thank Paulinho, Nakata and Akira for the wonderful time spend together on board and I really enjoyed every single moment with you guys and appreciate your support as always.  

Tackle Used,

Popping Rod: Carpenter, Shimano, Race Point 100,150,200 & 250 and El Maestro 74XXH(prototype)

Jigging Rod: Fisherman, Smith AMJ, OBX300,400 & 500 and Doggie Special(prototype)

Reel: Shimano Stella 08 & 13, Daiwa and Studio Ocean Mark

Lure: Heru, Fisherman, Siren, Shell Shaping, Gamma, Hitter Lure, Hot’s Keiko, Native Works Napalm, Hammerhead and more….

Jig: Shimano, Smith Nagamasa, Mejiyume, Hot’s Drift Tune, Lamble Bait Haoli Half Pitch, Shout Shab Shab, Stay and more…..

Hook: Shout Kudako, Intense, Owner & BKK