Techniques

Popping

Popping is a technique used to catch fish on the surface of the water, so we tend to stay in shallow water or reef drop off’s. It is a visual fishing style and takes can be explosive. When a large GT hits in shallow water it is a sight that you will never forget.

We will look for bait fish on the surface and get you to cast just beyond them, popping the lure over them and creating a large disturbance catching the predators’ attention.  Heavy gear is recommended for this as allot of pressure is required to keep the fish out of the reef. We want to get the fish to the boat as soon as possible so it can be returned safely. Long specialized tropical popping rods of 2.40 cm with a rating of 50-80lb backed up with 300m of PE8 line will be the minimum requirement for this. The main target species is Giant Trevally, but you are also likely to hook in to dog tooth tuna, groupers, wahoo or the odd sailfish.

Jigging

Jigging is done in water ranging between 30-120m of water.  The numerous deep water reefs around Havelock provide plenty of jigging locations. Using sonar we are always finding new reefs, the thrill of being the first to drop and see what hits is exhilarating.

The gear for this is short and stiff rods, 1.80cm, with a rating of 50-80lbs or above as there are some huge fish that roam the deep waters. Make sure you have plenty of line on your reel, as some edges drop from 90m to over 300m.

The fish you are likely to catch in these deep waters are dog tooth tuna, amber jacks , GT’s, snappers or groupers.

Trolling

Trolling can be a nice way to see allot of area and catch a wide range of species.  Here the boat will be constantly moving with the lures being pulled behind the boat. We can trawl between the islands for reef fish or the blue water for pelagic fish.  Here the gear will range from 30lb set ups for the smaller reef species or 50lb and above for the blue water species. The list of species is endless when trolling with some very unusual catches often possible.