The first four days of our five were proving uncannily tough for all on board. The lack of interest for the myriad of lures we chucked was baffling, it was as if the fish had all vanished! We worked hard none the less and a few fish were landed each day to keep the glimmer of hope alive. Thankfully on the very last day a tiny window opened for a few hours and we were able to experience once again a typical New Caledonian session...
The jigging was producing so we stuck around for a few drifts, with hook ups on every one....
Another big Cod, this one with a Sevenseas Revolver jig in its mouth...
Like the few before it, this guy weighed about 40kgs as well...
Another big strike but this fish found a hole and buried itself in it...
We then tried casting in the lagoon and was rewarded by this Long Nosed Emperor on a large stickbait...
As the day drew to a close, we anchored for the night and whipped out the light outfits. The DUO Ikakko was shining throughout the trip and accounted for this nice Emperor...
Next up was this spectacular Spangled Emperor on the Ikakko, a super hard fighter on any tackle let alone the 4lb outfits we were using...
Another Javelin Fish on Ikakko...
A nice Golden Trevally plucked from passing school...
Ikakko of course...
As night fell another Spangled Emperor was picked up, this one took the Bassday Nin Sui mini madai that had been so effective...
GT love the mini madai as well, one of two taken at dawn...
GT on DUO Ikakko...
This day we tried the inner reef because we had failed miserably on past days on the outer edges. FCL Labo SPP 140 was a treat to use in these shallow waters and that morning we hit the Coral Trout payload, many were lost due to bad hook-ups but we still boated quite a few, like this one...
Coral Trouts love FCL Squidpens and small ones weren't hesitant at all...
This mother made the fat SPP look small...
A personal best Coral Trout that was almost lost when it headed straight for a bommie and had to be skull-dragged out...
Fisherman Delta 5 stickbait and its victim...
Beautiful colours in the morning sunshine...
SPP 140 with yet another Trout, it was eventually lost to a big GT strike which resulted in a busted line...
Squidpen rigged to dive and swim - deadly in the reefs...
We never tired of catching these amazing fish...
Next up we encountered some nice Goldspot Trevs terrorizing the reefs, SPP did the trick!
Nice fish but no match for GT gear...
A second Goldspot before they fled the scene...
A solid Coral Trout on jig with amazing colouration...
Estuary Cod were a welcome sight, check out that bent Shout! Slide Actor jig...
This Bluefin Trevally biting off abit more than he can chew, attacking this massive SPP200!
A small Amberjack on the new Shout! Flash jig...
The new Flash jig produces another...
A baby Estuary Cod compared to previous ones...
Then rain fell and a big one was hooked, it was brutal and no fun at all under the treacherous conditions...
Fisherman Andaman does it again...
Another 40+kg GT on jig, what was going on?
We returned to popping after the downpour and scored this GT on an Ebipop...
And another, they were loving poppers for some reason...
FCL EXT 81 MH loaded up on a gee...
Stickbait scores at last...
End of another day meant light tackle game with the DUO Ikakko again!
Even a Bonefish found us...
Ikakko again!
Casting into the sunset with slightly beefier gear yielded this 4kg+ Mangrove Jack...
Jackall Bros Squad Minnow did the trick...
A nice Bigeye Trevally which gave a good fight...
Ikakko of course...
Up early the next morning and the DUO Ikakko did the trick again...
An 8 pounder Golden Trev, magic on 4lb gear...
A Remora also got fooled...
Along with a Trumpetfish...
And a small Queenie...
Squad Minnow did the trick on this GT from the reef edge...
A tough customer on a bass rod - the Majorcraft Arrival...
A hefty Red Bass from deep on the Shout! Flash jig. It is the only fish on jig for this day...
FCL Ebipop does this GT in. This is the only fish on popper for this day...
After a tough and fruitless day we retired into the shallows and chased small fish. This nice Papuan Trevally nailed an IMA Melty Nymph soft plastic...
Ikakko found another Goldie...
And a nice one at that, especially on the ultralight Evergreen Kaleido stick...
We had arrived at the Northern tip of the mainland and after our last night's rest we were ready to continue trying on the last day...
First few casts of the day was rewarded when this GT hit the Ebipop...
No NC monster but a nice fish nonetheless...
A smaller one followed suit, on the Ebipop as well...
Then this Flowery Cod showed up, a welcome change to the GTs...
This Red Bass took a big Maggy Gara stickbait...
It was a pretty big one and showed some tenacity too...
After a few botched hook-ups we encountered a pack of GTs and we had 3 guys loaded up simultaneously. One small GT was quickly landed and released while the other two took a tad longer...
Bad luck meant one GT broke through the 200lb leader, so it was two FCL 'Red' rods down to one...
The rod took it beautifully in its stride and the fish was landed shortly after a careful fight. The lure that did the damage was our favourite FCL CSP 260, a big lure which is made to look small here in the gob of a nice GT...
At 45kgs or so this fish was our reward for a hard week's fishing, and a taste of what might've been...
The sad ending of a different tale - pig's tail says it all...
Back to casting and it wasn't long before another hook up...
The big Maggy Gara GT stickbait again made to look small on this fish...
Another big Coral Trout - a personal best for a proud angler...
More Coral Trout but this was no monster...
Red Bass on the smaller CSP 200...
Small Trout on huge SPP 200 swimmer...
A rare catch - a small Emperor on a GT sized stickbait...
A Spanish Mackeral taken from really shallow reefs on the SPP 200...
Lunchtime gave us an opportunity to cast lighter lures into the reefs for fish like this smaller Coral Trout which took a liking to the Jackson Muscle Shot sinking stickbait...
This other Trout fell for the Jackall Bros Squad Minnow...
On one of the lasts casts we got another rare Flowery Cod on the CSP 200, a good way to end the trip...
We were sad to know that very shortly after our trip the amazing operation that is Le Poisson Banane would be no more. Brothers David and Rudy would be moving on to newer ventures but what they had delivered over the years would be remembered by many and sorely missed.Au revoir, Jack Yvan's...
