08/12/2019
27 November to 04 December 2019.
Pacific Battle in paradise
26 Hrs door to door we found ourselves arriving at Kiribati ( christmas ) Island
a small part of the pacific nation of Tarawa . Due to our departure origan we we’re met by a doctor and a nurse on the tarmac that told us we would need a blood test to clear us of measles so then and there it was done and so the final hurdle was covered. After clearing customs and purchasing our fishing licenses
We were meet by who would be our guide and driver for the next 7 days and off to our accommodation (Lagoon View Lodge) we went to settle for a few hrs before we hit the water for the first time together to set the patern for the week to come
The plan for the week was to chase our favourite adversarial GT and if possible to try and tick the infamous Bonefish (Bone) of the bucket list , little were we to know the week ahead would surpass all our expectations.
leading up to our departure we had time to do some study but had know idea as to how equally powerful and allusive Mr Bonie can and would prove to be , and the GT we were going to meet with our drags full lock were keen for a bare knuckle fight to the end .
Every morning after Breakfast at 6 am we would setoff for a very full day of fishing . Our wepons of choice for the trip were a Shimano Ocia 7ft fitted with Kiyomi,s Stella 8000 loaded with 90lb sunline and my Zenac 7.6 ft and Stella 14000 with 118 lb Saltiga , for bones we both carried our 6.6 ft Zing travel 10/20 lb married with a tricked up Certate loaded with 20lb braid mine was a Sustain 4000 . with the right gear in hand and our steely eyed guide Nario by our side it was time to step up to the mark and see if we were good enough.
We were soon to find that the our local surounds were absolutely alive with life above and beneath the water including frigid and boobie birds turtles endless feeding milkfish and spinning dolphins . Points were soon on the board in the way of some honest GT , too only one lure being lost in the shallow reef.Note ! More Drag Needed !! 2 days on the Geets all knots held tight and no more lure casualties it was time for a change of pace.
Day 3 and an education in bone on spin , lite gear a good eye and listen to your guide found me locking horns with a fine golden trevally , Nario told us that these fish have become a rear catch and he seemed most happy with himself .
Kiyomi was the first to hear the scream and feel the explosive acceleration of the ghost of the flats
and landed a magnificent specimen coming in at 5 .5 lb which would be followed up by another 10 over our stay , I managed 9 for our 2 days effort on the flats and for a couple of newbees we were both over the moon , could it get any better ?
Evenings at the lodge after dinners of crayfish and other wonderful and exotic local tucker not to mention the foot long Manta shrimps we managed to lure from their caves , there was a chance to relax and reflect on the day and study the map of the lagoon and wonder what Nario had in plan for us for the next day .
By now we were all starting to find our feet ,strengths and weekness,s 4 5 6 days in the boat and on the reef our skiff driver was positioning the boat to suit our casting with the current and wind , being left and right handed casters we each had our own end of the boat which made for very comfortable fishing .
Come our last day of fishing we felt pretty content with our rewards for efforts spent and feeling pretty confident and a early knock off ,
the morning pasted with reasonable size GT mixed with red bass . While we were having lunch I changed lures to something I’ve had for a while but never used because it just never grabbed my eye .
So lunch done we resumed our positions and got back into it at a steady pace , after about 5 speedy retreaves across the surface and just as I saying (Told ya so this thing is boring) up from the bottom 25 to 30 ft comes the best GT of the week .
It surfaced like a ballistic submarine about 5 ft behind the skittering lure and made ground in a heartbeat with it mouth wide open i could see blue sky through its mouth and out the other side of it gills ,
the strike was for want of a better word Awesome the amount of water shifted colossal, Now the drag was very tight , and I found myself nearly in all kinds of lots of trouble , Where I did find myself on on my backside of the front deck with feet up against the gun wall and thats were I stayed until I have to say the Zenax did its job what a rod Woooo Hoooo , So by now I was getting on top of this situation and kiyomi,s calling it for fish of the week and the local guide and driver are comenting in their yanky english hey Ali that might goood fish if you can land it hahaha ? LOL I was nearly expecting to see a black cat walk around the boat , but it seemed the stars were shining on me that afternoon and the fish was boated there were a few high 5 s
getting around , what a way to finish the week. We called it a day and the afternoon was spent rather Quilty derigging lure cleaning and packing for our flight to Fiji the following day . It’s often difficult to return to the same distant far away destination in fear of disappointment but in the case of Kiribati We think we’re pretty safe .
By Ali Glasser
