Nevagivup

The Vanuatu Marlin Classic was held from the 8th - 14th June 2008 and Crusoe Fishing Adventures had five teams entered fishing from all three of our vessels. There was a total of seventeen teams entered this year and the weather was a little ordinary. Nevagivup Team B, skippered by Charles Wheeler, managed to hook four marlin for the three days fishing with Chris on a nice Blue around the 350pd mark on 30pd for 21/2 hours only to have the hooks pull at the back of the boat.

Reel Capture Team A who consisted of Tim, Leanne and Travis and skippered by Fred Temminck, managed to tag and release a small Blue Marlin on 50pd line to take out third place. The fish was caught by Travis Auton and this was his first marlin. There was only one fish caught for 1st and 2nd place but they were on 30pd line. Plenty of fish were lost and seen and once again it was a fantastic tournament.

If you would like to fish the tournament next year, you better get in quick as we have bookings already!

This Newsletter we get up close and personal with Charles Wheeler our partner and Skipper of Nevagivup. Charles is the king of Fly Fishing in Vanuatu and has 5 World Records to his credit. He has lived in Port Vila for the last seven years and his passion for fishing originated from Hunting in England. In his spare time he loved to go game fishing around the world. His passion then turned into a new career after visiting Vanuatu and realizing the potential that Vanuatu had for big Blue Marlin and targeting them year round.  Next month we feature Fred Fly Fishing for Marlin on Nevagivup! 

If you are interested in fishing the VMC in June, you better get in quick to secure either a spot or a boat. Nevagivup and Reel Capture are fully booked and Horizon is still available.  So drop us an email to secure your spot.  For more information on the tournament go to www.vanuatumarlinclassic.com

After much discussion and perusal of sea charts between Charles and Fred, it was decided to organize a weekend away on an exploration trip of the sea mounts approximately 70nm from Port Vila in the hunt for Broadbill. The weather was kind and seas to 1 metre, so we departed at 1am on Saturday morning with Horizon and Nevagivup and 6pax on each vessel with enough food and drink to last for a week! Once the sun had risen, we trolled our way to the sea mount and Horizon hooked two Blue Marlin only to have them fall off. We reached the sea mount at approximately 11am and found a rather large long linger working to the south of us. We then headed to the northern part and found some interesting ground. Nevagivup encountered some rather xlarge Yellowfin tuna around the 70-80Kg range but were very finicky and raised a Marlin as well while Horizon worked the southern area.

As the sunset each vessel changed tactics and deployed the Broadbill gear, with baits and siloom sticks. Horizon had a solid hook up on the down rigger at 10.30pm only to have the line part At midnight we decided to head into Forari Bay in the hunt for some Dog Tooth Tuna. Nevagivup landed a nice 28Kg Doggie and Horizon ended up with two Barracuda. After a couple of hours we decided to head to Scotts Rock and circum navigate the Island as most of the crews had not been up that way. The water out wide was full of coral spawn and we feel that if the water was clearer we would have had much more success but apart from the fishing, everyone had a fantastic weekend enjoying the scenery and the company on board.

The crew headed out for a fun day out on the water and we decided to fish light tackle just for fun. With Charles Wheeler at the helm, Fred landed this 68 Kg Yellowfin Tuna on 24Kg line. Not a bad effort after 40 minutes and John tagged a Blue Marlin around the 130Kg mark on 15Kg line. A great effort after a one hour fight!

Nevagivup is a 34ft Blackwatch powered by 2 x 330Hp Cummins diesel shaft drive engines. She specializes in all tackle records and has many to her name. Nevagivup is skippered by the legendary Charles Wheeler who has been game fishing out of Vanuatu for the past six years. She is well suited for Port Vila conditions and is always ready to chase the next record.

Have you ever seen a harder looking crew? This marvelous shot was taken from low down on the fishing deck while the anglers and crew watched a Marlin toy with Nevagivup’s array of lures.

A satisfied angler displays his 18 Kg Yellowfin Tuna.  He is aboard Nevagivup and the fish took a soft head squid just off Devil’s Fad.  For Your Information: F. A. D. stands for Fish Aggregation Device and is a general term used to describe any structure placed at sea for the sole purpose of attracting fish.

Here is Nevagivup returning to her mooring after refueling.

NEVAGIVUP AND REEL CAPTURE - 1ST AND 2ND PLACE!

The 2007 PVGFC Tusker Game Fish Classic was held out of Port Vila on the 10th & 11th November 2007. There were 13 boats in total and the weather conditions were not so pleasant on the Saturday morning but the seas abated for Sunday’s fishing.

There were around 20 Blue Marlin hooked during the tournament and the aim of the tournament was to promote the skill of light tackle for all pelagics. The line class category was from 4kg-60Kg with points awarded accordingly.

Nevagivup tagged and released a Blue Marlin on Saturday on 15Kg line for maximum points on Marlin to Gayle McPhee and another Blue Marlin was tagged by Russ Housby (deck hand and his first Marlin) after there double hook up. Both fish were on 15Kg line and this was a great effort and unfortunately, Gayle’s fish was the only one that was eligible for points. This had Nevagivup sitting on 1500 Points.

Reel Capture also tagged and released a Blue Marlin on Saturday on 24Kg line for 1,000 points for Greg Procter. Greg also landed a nice Mahi Mahi on 24Kg line as well.

The round up for the Saturday afternoon was Nevagivup and Reel Capture on top of the leader board. Sunday morning saw a very hot bite of marlin around Devils FAD and there were plenty of fish hooked and lost. Reel Capture lost a nice Marlin on 15Kg after a one hour fight after pulling the hooks at the side of the boat! Nevagivup also lost a Marlin on 15Kg as well! So the end result was there being no Marlin tagged on the Sunday.

So the wash up of the tournament was 1st place - Nevagivup skippered by Charles Wheeler 2nd place - Reel Capture skippered by Fred Temminck and 3rd place - Lucky Jack. Reel Capture secured 2nd place with their weighed Mahi Mahi!

Congratulations to Gayle McPhee for cleaning up the prize pool and also to Greg with his 1st place Mahi Mahi and runner- up angler prizes.

Just another notch in the Crusoe Fishing Camp! Well done guys!