Papua New Guinea October 2010 Report

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I've put up some pictures here:  http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Forum/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;cat=6;u=12

I'll do some words at some stage

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Dale and Pam,

  Pictures still say 1000 words, but look forward to more details in the comming days.

Craig

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Nice stuff mate. Would love to get up there someday.

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I fished Baia a few years back myself - the journey alone makes the trip 

Amazing country & fish - Scotto

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Day one saw us travel from Brisbane to Port Moresby, and then on a connecting flight to Hoskins on New Britain.  We were met at the airport by the Liamo Resort bus and squeezed all the rods and tackle aboard.  Dinner was at Liamo with Riccard from Baia Sportfishing and his lovely wife Nathalie.  We also met Steve Philp from Australian Angling in Cairns who was joining us for the first part of our trip.  Next morning we boarded the Break Free, Riccards’s 34’ Steber.  This was to be home for the next 3 days.  About 5 hours later we arrived at a little island a few miles off the coast to the west of Kimbe.  A suitable anchorage was found, and it was time to go fishing.  Local resident John was our boat driver, and our intention was to fish in the Via and Aria Rivers.  Unfortunately a lot of heavy rain before our arrival made these rivers too dirty and our options were reduced to the Moio River and one short arm of the Via.  It didn’t seem to matter, with plenty of Bass, Mangrove Jacks and Cod taken over the next 3 days.  The lure of choice here was a sinking Jackall Doozer in either Purple or Red.  The lure was cast as close as possible to the snags and allowed to sink to the bottom.  A sharp lift of the rod tip usually meant a strike.  We figured the rattle and close presentation worked because of the discoloured water.  Pam definitely outfished Steve and I here landing 6 Black Bass in one day, with 3 around the 8lb mark.
On the last day, we went by Long Boat to the Kulu River, hoping for clean water, sadly that wasn’t the case and again we were restricted to a short western arm of the river.  After lunch we went upstream in the Kulu and were met by two locals in a four wheel drive, who drove us back to Kimbe where we again met up with Riccard who’d brought the big boat home the long way.
Saturday was supposed to be a free day, but Riccard and Chris decided to take us to their local river, the Dagi.  Only 30 minutes from Liamo it is home to some huge Black Bass, one of which took a liking to Pam’s Skitter Pop.  Three consecutive casts saw this monster trying to inhale the popper with Boofs reminiscent of a metre Barra.  The fourth cast to the same spot saw a hook up that had Pam losing 50lb Braid at a great rate of knots.  That fish somehow bit through the 60lb Fluorocarbon leader and kept the Rapala as a souvenir.
Sunday was supposed to be a free day while we waited for two American anglers to join us.  Riccard told us that the 22’ Sportfishers were heading to Baia on the Sunday, and we’d follow on Monday in the Steber.  We decided Baia would be nicer than Kimbe so we convinced Chris to let us join him on the 100 mile trip to Baia in the Sportfisher. 
More to come…………

[Member]

Sounds like a good trip Dale, although the above average rainfall seems to be a common problem.
Looking foward to your next installment.

Cheers Andrew

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Absolutelybloodyfantastic .Yup ,gotta be the place to be. Oh and Pam seems to have it all sorted fellas.

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Sounds like a nice trip full of experiences Dale well done.

That's a nice Jack mate.

Bet you can't wait to get back there hey...

Cheers Lyndon

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Absolutelybloodyfantastic .Yup ,gotta be the place to be. Oh and Pam seems to have it all sorted fellas.

You got that right.  Pam definately got the quantity of fish on this trip.  An evening session of blue water trolling saw her hook up on a 25lb Spanish Mackeral that wasn't landed until almost dark.  A Mack that size, hooked on a baitcaster, and hooked in the bum, certainly had her working.

[Member]

Sounds like a nice trip full of experiences Dale well done.

That's a nice Jack mate.

Bet you can't wait to get back there hey...

Cheers Lyndon

I don't know when I'll catch another 11lb Mangrove Jack Lyndon, can't see me doing it in a river in Aus, that's for sure.  We'll be back to PNG next year.  Hopefully Ric will have the lodge built near the Via early next year.  I'd love to go back there and fish the rivers when they're clean.  There's so much exploring to do in that area, the locals fish the blue water for Mackeral to sell at the markets but ignore the rivers.  Ric's landed huge Bass, metre Queenies, the yellow spikey ones not the silvery jobs, and 20+lb Trevally in the Via.  I was also told of an 18lb Jack at the mouth of the river.

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More to come…………

Waiting

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Part II

The trip from Kimbe to Baia in the Sportfisher was fairly uneventful, a proposed side track into the Barama River was cancelled due to the very black storm clouds on the horizon.  We saw one school of Yellowfin busting up, but they disappeared as we got close enough to fish them.  I think they saw the fly rod, that happens a lot to me.  With rain squalls starting, Chris did his thing and parted the rain for us.  I kid you not, I saw Chris do this twice this trip, where he wills the rain to part and we pass through dry.  Don’t ask me how he does it, but it’s some pretty serious juju, and he has an 80% success rate.  A handy guy to have on a fishing trip!
We arrived at Baia after about 4 ½ hours, and the guys and girls at the lodge unloaded the supplies and our luggage and cooked us a quick lunch.  We weren’t expected that day, and the girls went into a bit of a panic preparing rooms etc.  With the boat empty, we had tome for a quick session before dark.  We headed off to the Sai, which is the closest river to the Lodge, and fortunately the cleanest.  After Pam’s big fish lost in the Dagi, today was my turn.  I put my favourite little lure on, a special FCL Labo that had scored well on Jacks, Trev’s and Cod in the Via.  Second cast into a good looking snag in the Sai and I was hit hard by a fish I got a glimpse of.  Right in a sunken tree, about 30lb of Black Bass swallowed the baby lure as he turned for home.  My 30lb Braid had no hope once it hit the timber and it was bye-bye to the little lure.  I spent the next 15 minutes stripping line off the Z2020H and replacing it with 50!  We landed some small Bass that afternoon and headed back just on dark to a very nice, if hurriedly prepared meal.
Up early on day two, with only two of us there, we had our pick of boats and drivers.  We headed back to the Sai for another shot and got a couple more Bass as well as some Jacks for the morning session.  Back to the lodge for lunch, and we met most of the rest of the group.  9 guys had flown in by charter plane, some from Lae and Madang and others from Cairns.  They do an annual trip to catch up, having all grown up in PNG.  They brought an impressive amount of liquid refreshments, which made my case of Diet Coke and Milo look weak.  (Milo in cans is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!  Made in Malaysia and not available here it is bloody awesome, and Pam read all the health stuff on the can and it is not too bad for you!)  There was no way these boys were going to suffer dehydration.  Quick introductions over lunch saw us ready to fish again, while they unpacked.  We headed straight for the iconic Pandi River for the afternoon, passing Rick and two American anglers in the Steber on the way.  A couple more Bass, a few Cod and some Jacks filled in the afternoon nicely and it was back to the Lodge for dinner, drinks, (Milo for me) and bed.
.................

[Member]

Good stuff Dale I hope to get over there one day,would love to cast some DK Dancers into the snags over there  on a fast sink line and see if the Black Bass would like them as much as the Barra do.

Paul

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Great story Dale   

I will have to organise a trip there myself, would love to feel one of those Black Bass on the end of my rod.

Cheers
Adrian

[Member]

With all the other anglers now in attendance we settled in with our driver Engelbert, also known at Steve, for a regular pattern of fishing.  The morning was spent casting the Pandi, with Black Bass, Mangrove Jack and Cod on the agenda.  The super clear water of the Pandi made fishing tough, but not impossible.  Just the scenery on the Pandi makes it a great day, and the fish caught are a real bonus.  After a welcome lunch Riccard suggested something a little different for the afternoon.  One of the guides had seen some nice Spot Tails in a clear stream at the top of the Langalanga while he was collecting Sago Palms, and we thought they’d make a nice change.  Steven/Engelbert, young Jacob, Pam, Riccard and I set off in the longboat to find the stream.  We took the boat as far as we could and then it was time to walk.  Fortunately, I’d brought a light threadline outfit and some medium size Skitterpops, which was perfect for casting from the bank.  The two guides went first, clearing a path with machetes while we followed.  At likely deeper water holes, they’d hack an access point through the vines so we could cast easily.  At the second hole, we could see a school of half a dozen Jungle Perch swimming against the opposite bank.  My second cast hit the spot and the school followed the lure halfway across the stream before one bit the bullet and bit my lure.  I was stoked to catch my first JP.  The next access point was harder to fish, but I found that by casting my lure into the middle of the stream and letting the lure float back with the current I could get to the hole I wanted to fish, although I couldn’t see it.  Second cast there, with the lure out of sight, I felt the hit and landed my second JP.  These are a great looking fish, and at around the 28 to 30 cm range, they put up a good performance, although both succeeded is drawing blood while I was unhooking them.  They have gill plates very similar to a Bass!  We couldn’t find the Spot Tails, so we trekked back to the boat and made our way back to the lodge.  We really enjoyed the walk through the jungle and saw some pretty amazing flora and fauna in there.  The smorgasboard dinner was greatly appreciated that night.