May 20, 2013
Departing Fatu Hiva and sailing to Tahuata was not dull by any means. As we sailed away from Fatu Hiva, we immediately caught two Big Eye Tuna. We had seen where the small fishing boats were sitting just offshore, and sailing past them paid off.
Then, rather than sail directly to Tahuata, we decided to do a “drive-by” at the southern end of Mohotani. When I had visited with the local family in Fatu Hiva, the guy had told us about a great fishing spot where the locals like to go. Sure enough, the southern tip of Mohotani was a spectacular place for fishing! Since it is a nature reserve, we made sure to stay outside the park boundaries.
Just as we arrived to our intended destination, we immediately had a huge fish on the line. It took some time to reel in the large tuna. Unfortunately, just as we were getting ready to pull it from the water, the huge fish managed to get loose, taking with it our best fishing lure, a yellow and black cedar plug.
We had no sooner put in another line when we had another large tuna on the hook. This one was not quite as big as the one that got away, but we successfully managed to get this one onboard. It was another Big Eye Tuna, and weighing about 30+ pounds, it was the largest tuna we’d ever caught.
Soon we were underway again. We trolled up the west coast of Mohotani before heading across to the northern end of Tahuata. It was when we reached the channel between Tahuata and Hiva Oa that we started to catch fish again. Before we knew it we had three more Big Eye Tuna onboard!
By the end of the day, we totaled 70 pounds of tuna meat. As we made our approach to Hanamoenoa Bay at Tahuata, we bagged the tuna into portions for giveaway. The moment the anchor was down, Wil dinghied around the anchorage passing out tuna filets to the many cruising boats. We gave away 30 pounds of meat and still had plenty for ourselves.
In addition to our fish that we’d caught, s/v Sueño had sailed up the western side of Tahuata, and they had 45 pounds of tuna meat onboard. We both arrived at the anchorage at the same time, from opposite directions, with boat loads of tuna. They too shared their catch with the anchorage.
That was our best fishing day ever!
