Christmas Is. - Under the Southern Cross Part 3
Wanting to try something different, our group next decides to head toward the “back country”, an area several miles to the south reserved as a bird sanctuary and private milkfish ponds. No boats here, and we're dropped off along the way at various spots to walk the shore next to deeper water. No long flats here just lots of mating and nesting Frigate birds and Blue-footed Boobies.
We stop at the end of a road and there's a nice rest area with a dam separating the milkfish farms from the open water of the lagoon and I can see lots of fish cruising everywhere. A quick toss of my airhead and I get instantly slammed by a GT, then another almost a carbon copy of the first.
I move farther out to a point and deeper water. This time I get slammed hard and it's BIG. Line and backing is disappearing and my drag is tightened to max. My #4 Abel is starting to show the bottom of the spool before this fish even starts to slow down. Gawd! What an Adrenalin rush this is. I need to regain some of my backing but can't lift the fish at all. I decide to keep the rod straight and walk slowly backwards letting the drag do the work. This works. I turn the fish and start to get some backing back on the spool. Slowly my fish comes in and I've got what I really came for, another Giant Trevally.
With arms still shaking, T.J. our guide helps me lift my trophy. Enough for one day.
Our last day starts on the flats again with lots of small bones and GT's. At one spot I even get two GT's at a time as one chases the other trying to take the fly out of the first ones mouth. T.J. hands me my second rod and without even a long cast I get my second hook-up instantly.
With the boat coming for us to move to another flat, I make one more cast and get another instant grab. This one goes airborne and I'm not sure what I've got. Several more jumps and I've landed a Queenfish. My first ever Queenfish without having to travel to Australia.
Our last night back at the lodge we're treated to a Kiribati luau before heading home. Platters of fresh sashimi, barbecued lobster, and whole roasted pig finished off our trip, all under the stars and the Southern Cross. Another great trip.
Tony
TONY BUZOLICH
Feather River Fly
Yuba City, CA.
(530) 790-7180
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