A great catch [September 2003]

When Shayne Dibben married Shimano’s Mark Mikkelsen in Vanuatu recently, there was never any doubt that they’d have a fishing honeymoon. The surprise was that the wedding album will now include photos of Shayne proudly nursing a world record wahoo caught on fly.

The mad keen angling couple chose to exchange vows at the Iririki Island Resort in Port Vila, a decision based on the resort’s romantic getaway reputation and its access to red hot gamefishing – not necessarily in that order.

After the nuptials, Mark and Shayne -- who is a well known game fisher and an active 10-year member of the Port Hacking gamefishing club -- spent several days of great blue marlin fishing aboard leading charter boat Nevagivup.

Witnessing Shayne’s prowess with rod and reel, Capt Charles Wheeler and crewman Eric Festa suggested the lanky blonde try her skills with a fly rod against the local wahoo population. Having caught only trout on fly, Shayne didn’t like her chances with these notorious marine missiles, but she was keen to give it a go.

On Friday, September 19, after a couple of near catches of both wahoo and world record sized sailfish, her determination and skill won out when she boated a 26.3 pound wahoo on 10 kg tippet. If her world record claim is accepted, she’ll make the IGFA books as the first woman to take this speedy species on the fly.

Congratulations to Shayne and Mark on tying the knot and for making great catches all round!

Big Blacks in Vanuatu ? [July 2003]

The recent capture in Vanuatu of a black marlin tipping the scales at nearly 400 kgs has drawn renewed attention to the South Pacific fishery and sparked speculation that the island group may be a staging point for giant blacks en route to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

On July 19, Capt Charles Wheeler, skipper of the charter boat Nevagivup, boated the 397 kg (875 pounds) marlin with the aid of local crewman Eric Feasta, It was the largest black yet taken in Vanuatu and the second largest billfish to be caught there on IGFA class tackle.

Becoming known in recent years as a high calibre blue marlin fishery, Vanuatu may also become a hot destination for black marlin captures as more is learned about the movements of the species through the region.

In the eight months he has skippered a professional charter boat in Vanuatu, English-born Capt Wheeler says he has encountered reasonable numbers of black marlin and had caught and released an 850 pound specimen in May. “There are often black marlin, but the blues are more prolific, so when fishing for big billfish we have tended to specifically target blues, which like deeper water than the black marlin,” he said.

With relatively little known about the billfish potential of Vanuatu in general, Wheeler aims to spend more time studying the movements of black marlin here. “During the winter months, we plan to devote more time to fishing baits in the shallows (100 to 700 metres) to see just how good this black marlin fishery may be,” he said.

If there proves to be a consistent mid-year run of black marlin through the Vanuatu islands, as is speculated, could this be a migration stopover for the big blacks that arrive in the waters off Cairns around November? According to leading Australian marine researcher Dr Julian Pepperell, it's a strong possibility.

Says Pepperell: "We know they go somewhere -- why not Vanuatu? Recent encounters and captures would certainly suggest that."

Anglers interested in learning more about Vanuatu's blue and black marlin, and general gamefishing in the islands, should contact Kahuna Charters through dbsportfish@ozemail.com.au

Vanuatu's little boat - big blue [April 2003]

Vanuatu may yet be in its infancy as a world renowned game fishing destination, but a recent capture suggests it's only a matter of time before the true potential of this fishery is realised.

A mere half dozen game boats currently operate from the capital Port Vila, and only half of these are professionally equipped to fish the productive blue marlin grounds just 12 miles from the Port. Alongside the gamefishers, a small fleet of open boats work the local FADS for skipjack and yellowfin tuna for sale on the local market It was aboard one of these small commercial craft that, on April 19 [2003], a trio of local fishermen enacted a Hemingway-style adventure that culminated in the capture of a leviathan blue marlin.

Trolling at Tukatuk Fad, just five miles offshore, it was business as usual aboard one of Ren "Daddy" Laura's 14-foot skipjack boats. Crewmen Anatole Coulon, John Pascal and Tout Lorenzo were fishing 400 pound line with an Alvey deck winch when the huge marlin nailed their Pakula-copy medium Sprocket lure. On its first run, the fish snatched their full load of line, and the crewmen chose to secure the winch handles, lock off the line, and kill the 25 hp outboard. For the next three and a half hours, they let the big blue tow them out to sea.

The sleigh ride ended when the exhausted fish gave up and sank, and another arduous hour was spent getting the fish back to the boat and tying it alongside. With insufficient fuel to get back to base, the crew headed to the nearest land, to arrange more fuel for the final leg. Their eventual return to Devil's Point in Vila Harbour was met by an excited gathering who'd turned out to celebrate the return of the missing boatmen and to witness the monster they'd pulled from the deep.

With no adequate scales available, the marlin was hung from a beachside tree for measurement and photography. As the fish was hoisted, a hole had to be quickly dug in the sand to make way for most of its bill. Weight approximations based on measurements -- short length 3.3 metres (130 inches), girth 2.00 metres (79 inches), overall length 3.6 metres (142 inches) -- put the blue at around 1000 pounds. Subsequent estimations by experienced game skippers who've viewed the photos, range around the 1100 pound mark, due to how fat the fish was. Whatever the exact weight, it was unquestionably a phenomenal catch from a 14-foot boat.

The capture of this goliath followed months of notable runs of blues in the 140–300 pound range. Since late 2002, swarms of these smaller marlin had been encountered on the local grounds and skippers were laying odds that the big fish would not be far behind. Though no others were caught, several more giant fish were fought and lost during the months of April and May, adding credence to the growing speculation that Vanuatu may be a spawning ground for the Pacific blue marlin.

A new charter operation in Vanuatu [Dec 2002]

Just two weeks after being hoisted from a cargo ship, Vanuatu's newest gamefishing charter boat has captured that country's first broadbill swordfish on rod and reel.

The custom outfitted 34 foot Blackwatch Nevagivup is owned and run by English skipper Charles Wheeler, who arrived in Vanuatu in April 2002 after spending two years charter fishing in Kenya.

With the late November arrival of Nevagivup, Capt Wheeler wasted little time in applying the deep-trolling techniques he'd honed on Kenyan broadbill to the fish-rich waters of Vanuatu.

His first broadbill outing, on the night of December 10, resulted in three shots and the captures of a 65kg and a 25kg fish on Pakula lures – another milestone in Vanuatu's growing reputation as the Pacific's newest gamefishing Mecca. And, coming after Nevagivup's tally of 13 blue marlin raised for six releases in its first five fishing days, it was a spectacular debut for Wheeler's charter company, Blue Marlin Gamefishing Vanuatu.

Alongside Wheeler in the new operation are Vanuatuan Captain Eric Festa, widely regarded as the country's finest skipper, and experienced Vanuatu sport, game and fly fishing guide Dean Butler.

Nevagivup, (which boasts an impressive CV from its former guise as Devil's Pride, owned and operated by renowned Australian Captain Paul Whelan) has been fully outfitted with Shimano reels and custom built Ian Miller rods, in readiness for the serious pursuit of all of Vanuatu's wealth of gamefishing targets.

Already, record hunters have signed up for 60 days in 2003, looking to target Vanuatu's legendary blue marlin on ultra light and fly tackle and there are charters already in place to specifically targeting grander blues. With the potential for world class blue marlin fishing and some of the best medium to light tackle fishing for wahoo, yellow fin tuna, sailfish and dog tooth tuna going in the world today it is exciting times ahead for the crew and guests of Nevagivup.