Tourette Fishing Send us this interesting report:“Tim was going to be our guide today.
Since we hadn’t yet fished with Tim, or explored the western side of the Atoll, we were eager to do both.
The morning started slowly, with the dropping tide we decided to walk a long section of The Ridge, with the hope of spotting some GT’s. Although our search for GT’s was fruitless, we did however land some very good Bluefin Trevally. One in particular was an excellent specimen. Rob spotted a big cruising shark about 150 meters in front of him, and knowing the high likelihood of there being a GT with the shark, he ran to get into position. As the shark came clearly into view, Rob spotted a very big Bluefin Trevally swimming close to the back of the shark. One short cast, and the Bluefin exploded forward to chase down the fly. With the big Bluefin well connected, the shark instantly became highly switched on. It first turned its attention on the struggling Bluefin, but only momentarily before turning and heading straight towards Rob. The shark picked up and speed and seemed intent on turning Rob into a meal. When the shark was within half a meter of Robs legs, Rob used the butt of the 12 weight to hit the shark on the nose. After this the shark raced out towards the deep blue, thankfully loosing interest in Rob and the Bluefin.
The morning started slowly, with the dropping tide we decided to walk a long section of The Ridge, with the hope of spotting some GT’s. Although our search for GT’s was fruitless, we did however land some very good Bluefin Trevally. One in particular was an excellent specimen. Rob spotted a big cruising shark about Tim decided that it would be more conducive to look for fish off the boat. Since this side of the Atoll is strewn with treacherous rocks, that make the going slow. In the boat we could cover more ground, and hopefully find more fish. It turned out to be a good decision, as within 5 minutes we spotted a good GT sitting perfectly still in a small depression. Keith made a good cast, and although the fish at first seemed uninterested, it suddenly burst forward out of its hole and swam with incredible speed towards the fly. Unfortunately the GT was now swimming directly towards Keith, as well as the direction in which the fly was being retrieved. Without effort the GT caught up with the fly, and promptly ate it. Unhappy with merely one meal, the GT continued in the same direction, obviously still looking for more baitfish. With the GT swimming in this direction, it made it impossible for Keith to set the hook. Feeling that the fly wasn’t the real deal, the GT spat out the fly and turned slowly back towards the area in which we had first spotted the fish.
Another 5 minutes later and another GT was spotted, this time Rob climbed off the boat and quickly got into a position to cast. Two strips and the GT burst out the water attacking the fly with all its energy. Rob sent the hook home with three solid strikes.
Although the GT was initially thought to be a really good one, with the tremendously powerful first run, it turned out to be not as big as expected, but another great fish never the less.
This spot seemed to have a number of GT’s moving around, and it wasn’t long before Keith got another shot a really big GT. This time he connected well with the fish, and within seconds the fish was peeling line in an attempt to reach the edge of the atoll, as well as the sharp coral to cut itself off. Even though Keith applied as much pressure as the 12wt could muster, he could stop the fish, and after a brief but powerful fight, the GT reached a coral bommie and reefed up the leader. Leaving Keith feeling exhilarated, but disappointed.
With good numbers of GT’s around, it was expected to be an amzing session in the afternoon, when the start of the push began. After lunch we were high in hope of having some move shots at GTs. We worked the western Edge hard, but unfortunately we couldn’t find any notable fish.”
