The Moss Family: Day 5 in Fiji: Deep Sea Fishing

My parents had talked to a few locals on who does deep sea fishing trips on the island. They suggested John, and he did not disappoint! It was a beautiful day, and we were on the boat for 4 hours. Cris was like a kid in a candy store! He had always wanted to go deep sea fishing.

Getting ready to push off

It was so neat to see a different view of island from the boat. You could truly see why it is called the "Garden Island". The views were breathtaking!

Check out the video at the bottom of this post for a video of the pod of dolphins that played in the wake of our boat. Just don't mind how funny I sound.

We caught a few different types of fish. First was the baby "uncle Barry" aka Barracuda that I caught. Or should I say snagged. I have such skill that I don't catch fish I snag them. The Barracuda was snagged on it's side, and this Mackerel tuna was snagged on it's tail.

Cris was in the middle of reeling in a Wahoo, when it was ~~caught~~, eaten by a reef shark. So Cris ended up reeling in a 120lb reef shark. It was really cool, and before we even went out Cris said he'd hope he'd catch a shark. They wouldn't go near the sharks mouth to let him free and couldn't get the lure out, so they ended up ~~doing surgery~~, cutting the shark free. Poor little shark is missing a little bit of his bottom lip.

After the shark was let go Cris finally caught what we were waiting for. DINNER IS SERVED!!!

This Wahoo is probably around 60lbs. And according to our captain, this fish is very coveted and goes for $12-$15 a pound.

Funny story when Cris got the fish reeled in John got a club and started beating the crap out of the fish(although he chose a different word) I was startled and he said you have to beat them since they have sharp teeth, and you don't want 60lb of fish with sharp teeth flopping around on the boat. I have video of it on Cris' phone but can't figure out how to get it uploaded to the blog.

After Cris' catch Patrick one upped him with his Wahoo that was around 80lbs. This was the first time Patrick had ever caught a fish this big, and on a actual fishing rod. The locals always just use fishing line and their hands, and they fish on mostly the reef so they only catch smaller fish.

This is the lure that Cris caught the shark with. John was unhappy to catch a shark since they ruin the lures. He said that this particular lure cost him around $80.

This is just a little bit about Wahoo from Wikipedia:

Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh make it a prize game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. Many Hispanic areas of the Caribbean and Central America refer to this fish as peto.
The flesh of the wahoo is white to grey, delicate to dense, and highly regarded by many gourmets. The taste is similar to mackerel, though arguably less pronounced. This has created some demand for the wahoo as a premium-priced commercial food fish. In many areas of its range, such as Hawaii, Bermuda and many parts of the Caribbean, local demand for wahoo is met by artisanal commercial fishermen, who take them primarily by trolling, as well as by recreational sports fishermen who sell their catch.

Cris was pretty happy with his catch of the day. I was really hoping on of us would catch a Yellow Fin Tuna, I guess we'll have to try for that fish next time.

They gut the fish for us right on the boat. It was pretty gross. The locals don't waste anything, so Patrick took the heads and tail fins home to his sister and a friend.

Later that afternoon Patrick came over and cooked us up the Wahoo, Fiji style. He first made a fresh coconut cream sauce. He brought up two coconuts from the tree, and harvested the coconut out of it with a special grater. I tried it and it took me 10 times longer to do just one side of the coconut. He then added water to the coconut and let it set, then strained it to make coconut milk. Once I figure out how to get the videos from Cris' phone I have video of it.

I am not a fan of seafood at all. I was brave and tried the Wahoo, and oh my gosh was it good!!!! It was not fishy tasting and didn't even smell fishy. Cris was shocked when I asked for him to pass me the plate of fish because I wanted more. We had so much fish that we froze more that half of it and Patrick will go get it anytime he pleases when he checks on my parents home. He was pretty happy to have it!