Reel Addiction of Ika Lahi Lodge

Reel Addiction ..... 2008 Season Highlights

Reel Addiction finished the 2008 season on a roll .... with the most billfish caught in Tongan Waters for the 8th consecutive year. 76% of billfish were tagged & released, down on our average of 87% - this was related to a number of fish being DOA which is concerning. The DOA status is difficult to interpret as it was a mix of fish size and line classes and most were not played longer than 20 minutes. It may be related to migratory status where the fish were not in top condition when arriving in Tongan waters.

Steve's billfish tally now stands at 1,204 inclusive of two grander Blue Marlin and 4 billfish grand slams!

No really big Marlin this year .... heaviest Blue was 250kg with a lot around the 200kg - 220kg size. The fishing was not as consistent as previous years for Blue Marlin not so much related to adverse weather but dramatic current changes that broke up the inshore bait fish and pushed them out wider to the norwest. The infamous South Bank and the 'Squiggles' did not fire this year but the outer seas mounts certainly fished well, perhaps the best on record.

Despite a lot of time spent hunting Dog Tooth Tuna the results were poor and when we did encounter good fish, we simply got blown away.

The Yellow Fin run this year was one of the best on record, especially December - a lot of fish caught most days between 60kg - 70kg! And .... who ever said the skipper can't catch fish! ..... a whopping 94.3kg Yellow Fin Tuna on 37kg caught single handily! .... a new all tackle and line class record (see photo)

The Reel Addiction team fishing the 17th Tonga International Billfish Tournament did well to take out the event and win an invitation to fish the IGFA World off Shore Championship to be held in Cabo San Lucas - May 2009. Gary Krom, Martin Askes, Owen Reynolds and Rodney Howard invited Steve to tag along so in due course he will provide a write up on how they did.

Reel Addiction also did well in the NZFN Tournament, finishing runner up .... they were leading for 3 days and then got pipped at the post on the last day by the Kiwi Magic Team - well done.

The season was full of surprises and we ended up with 296 game fish all up. On the record status we ended the year with 9 out of the 15 New National Records and 15 out of the 27 new Club Records.
Steve's record tally is now 70 Current Records and 27 All Tackle Records .... an all time record in Tonga's game fishing history.

Some of the memorable 2008 catches were:

Carl Angus - 44.8kg Sailfish on 3kg Line - new line class record (see photo)
Tony Driscoll - 23.5kg Mahimahi on 37kg - a new line class record (see photo)
Andrew Marshall - 4.60kg & 3.40kg Skipjack on Fly - 12lb & 8lb tippet respectively, both new records
Clive Sharp - 221kg Blue Marlin .... 3rd time lucky for Clive ... all the others threw the hook and one was a "bucket" .... never pays to sleep when it's your turn (see photo)

We look forward to the 2009 Season ..... and as always, the chance of catching of the big one ....

Tight lines and hope you can make Ika Lahi in 2009

Best Wishes Capt. Steve & Caroline

Ika Lahi Lodge
Private Bag 24,
Neiafu Vava'u,
Tonga ph. +67 6 70 611
www. tongafishing. com
e-mail: ikalahi@tongafishing.com

Blue marlin 150Kg

Clive Sharp's Blue marlin 221kg

Carl Angus - 44.8kg Sailfish on 3kg Line - new line class record

Steve Campbell's whopping 94.3kg Yellow Fin Tuna on 37kg caught single handily!

Tony Driscoll - 23.5kg Mahimahi on 37kg - a new line class record

A good day at the office