Sports Fishing Fiji Islands - Angler's Paradise

Gary Crombie. Owner "Oblivienne" Sportsfishing Lord Howe Island.
"Great Fishing destination serviced by a truly professional operation. I have been a fishing guide and charter boat owner /operator on Lord Howe Island Australia for over 20 years, I currently operate 5 boats. I have been a customer with other operators on 3 oceans and 5 seas around the world and I know the difference between a professional charter boat operation and someone who just wants to take you for a boat ride. This was my 5th trip to Fiji but my 1st to Anglers Paradise. Jim and Conrad Siers are pros. They know their water and their fish and they have the equipment and staff to do the job. We were very impressed with their fishing lodge, certainly not 5 star but a great set up for 4 to 6 guys or two couples. My wife fishes with me and she gave the meals and accommodation a big thumbs up, she loved the fishing too! Their location would be hard to beat. Right on the doorstep of a huge expanse of reef systems and in a lee from the South East trades that blow from May to November. It would be a rare day that they could not get out for a fish, something that few destinations on the Coral Coast side can offer. If you are serious about chasing big GTs on Poppers with a bit of jigging thrown in for variety then you need to be talking to Jim and Conrad. Fiji has much to recommend it as a winter break for ANZAC anglers but the draw backs have always been the SE trades and a paucity of knowledgeable guides who can be relied on to produce the goods. I've found a way to beat both those problems and I'll be back."

Jim Ring – Nelson New Zealand
"My wife, Fleur, and I have visited Angler’s Paradise on several occasions and always had a great time. We generally stay for about a week. Accommodation and food are excellent. The boat is ideally designed; the tackle provided perfect for the job. Friendly company from our hosts is terrific; and the fishing is unbelievable.
The main target species are Giant Trevally, Caranx ignobilis, the method popping. Or Dogtooth Tuna, Gymnosarda unicolor, the method jigging.
I have boated a lot of other species as well and they are all great to catch and mostly good to eat. I once had my popper followed to the boat by a Black Marlin - unfortunately it would not take.
I am not very keen on trolling, I prefer to be fully involved in the fishing and a day out at Angler’s Paradise has one fully involved; it is exhausting but exhilarating.
Popping involves motoring very slowly upwind of a coral reef and casting the popper over the reef, then winding back rapidly to induce a strike. A hooked fish must be held to prevent it regaining the safety of the coral, however a big GT sometimes stays high in the water and may be led a short distance away from the danger before the struggle really begins. Those who have not caught GTs cannot imagine how strong they are.
I have fished tropical Australia from Queensland through Arnhem Land and the Kimberley to Broome and have had arguments with guides (sometimes heated) because the fish they call a ‘GT’ is almost always a Papuan or Brassy Trevally, Caranx papuensis. I have caught plenty of these at Angler’s Paradise too, and they are good fish, but once you hook a real GT you realise it is something else again. If your Aussie guide can use a ‘Bogor lip grip’ your fish is not a GT. The powerful massive jaws of a GT can crush a popper and are far too large to fit into a lip grip.
When playing a GT a rod bucket is essential to prevent disembowelment but a ‘fighting chair’ is not an option. One needs to follow a good fish while trying to stay on one’s feet. I have been pulled all round the boat, pulled onto my knees, or flat on the deck. I have been pinned to the rail with the deckie hanging onto my belt to ensure I stayed aboard. It is ‘extreme sport’ fishing that makes trolling seem very tame.
On our last holiday in June 2008, I boated twenty GTs in six and a half days fishing, plus a heap of fish of other species; pretty good by any standard. However one day in 2006 we found huge shoals of bait-fish and I boated twelve fish, including GTs, Papuan Trevally, Bluefin Trevally, Spanish mackerel and Barracuda before Jim Siers would let me stop for lunch; he said with the fish taking like that it was madness to stop."