Tails From Niue: A Yellowfin Tuna Mission

FISHING FOR YELLOWFIN TUNA IN NIUE

Our mates Dean and Priscilla jumped on a flight up to the tiny island nation of Niue to get away from it all and chase Pacific fish for a week or so. It's not everyone's first choice of island destination due to its remoteness and the fact you can drive around the entire country in just over an hour.However, if you're anything like us, it's a hidden gem with uncrowded and seemingly untouched waters.

Just a couple of hundred meters from shore you can hook up on big pelagics such as vahakula (yellowfin tuna), haku la (striped marlin), and paala (wahoo), which is exactly exactly what Dean and Priscilla had in mind.

Dean - Desolve Albacares Towel Poncho - hoping to spot a fish in crystal clear Niue shallows

TUNA FISHING DAY:  

Off the back of a cyclone in Fiji the swell had been pumping into the wharf for the first few days we were there. Niue requires a crane to lift boats into the water so there isn’t really any launch option b in a storm surge. So, we were pretty excited when we got the message the prior evening that we were going to be able to get out in the morning!

We set out early in the AM from Alofi with the crew from Niue Fishing Charters (Brendon and Tiana Pasisi), chucked the lures in and got an immediate hit from a small tuna. The aim of the game is to get it in before the silky sharks catch on!   

Not long after landing a couple of smaller ones, Brendon pointed out a large school of Yellowfin Tuna busting up on the surface, so sure enough we headed that way and Dean hooked up on a good eater which we managed to land pretty quickly.  

Deano - wearing the Desolve Ahi Breaker Hoodie - with a small yellowfin tuna on the line

We then decided to head down toward the southern end of the island to try our luck trawling on a potential Wahoo or another large pelagic fish. Unfortunately it was pretty quiet with no strikes so we decided to turn around and make our way back, and in typical fishing irony we got a double hook up on the last stretch home! 

This time it was Priscilla's turn to get into the hot seat and judging by the way this one was peeling out line we knew it was sizeable.  

After a solid 30 minutes of a serious arm and leg workout, and making sure we didn’t lose Priscilla overboard, we were still watching line come and go off the reel.

Priscilla - wearing a Desolve Ahi Fish Face Hoodie Womens - on the end of the biggest tuna of the day

Priscilla managed to get the fish close to the boat, and we got a gauge on it, estimating it to be around the 50kg+ mark. Unfortunately the fish got a second wind once it saw the boat, dived for the bottom and ended up breaking off.  

In the midst of all this happening the other Tuna on the other rod was nicely landed so still a successful hook up! This one was roughly 30kg. 

SPEARFISHING DAY:  

The next day following our tuna fish, we were lined up for a spearfishing charter. We had a great day in the water, landing eyes on five dog tooth tunas none of which unfortunately would come in range. 

We also saw a nice Wahoo fish which also decided to stay out of range.  

Still a cool day in the water seeing the local marine life - turtles, sharks (who were loving our chum trail), and an abundance of tropical reef fish.

All in all the fishing wasn't perfect, especially with the biggest tuna of the trip getting off just before the boat, but that's fishing. This was just a taste of what is on offer here. It just means that we'll have to come back again to finish the job! We're not mad at that: even when the fish aren't biting, you're still in Niue! 

Follow Dean @nzoutdoorsman and Priscilla @priscilla.nicholls