After a week of diving at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, (more on that soon), we met up with our sister boat, Golden Glow, in Savusavu. A quick turn around and we were off to Paradise in Fiji on Taveuni Island again. This time, diving the Great White Wall at Rainbow Reef was on the agenda. The tides, currents, moon and weather were supposed to be aligned for the wall on May 24th.

We left Savusavu at 0600 and winds were only about 3 to 5 knots, on the nose, so we motored with one engine. For a nice change, the current was with us!

Monty put out four fishing lines, changing the lures a few times to see if we could get some action. We saw very few birds on the way, unlike the times we had been in the dive boats. Golden Glow who were few miles ahead said they saw a pod of whales so we kept an eye out.  We did see some dolphins. We crossed through some tide lines with lots of kelp on the surface, under which mahimahi sometime reside, but no bites! The wind had picked up to 10 knots and an uncomfortable chop had developed as the island got closer. When we were about three miles from Paradise Resort, we started the second engine to give us better maneuverability for picking up a mooring.

Giving up on the fishing, Monty reeled in the first line. Then, ZINNNNNNG! It created the usual panic (our guests know the scene) to slow the boat down and bring in the other lines. Monty began slowly reeling in the fish, but it wasn’t coming without a fight! We weren’t sure what it was at first as it had pulled out a lot of line and was a fair distance from the boat. I got snapping with the camera as it got closer.

It was a female mahimahi.

Some kelp was caught in the lure, but you can make out it was a bright green lure that won the fish’s attention!

She was not happy about coming close to the boat and made some spectacular maneuvers to try to free herself!

If you look closely, in the following shots, she regurgitates some squid in an attempt to spit out the hook!

Note the beige matter flying through the air!

More desperate leaps clear out of the water!

It was our day, not the mahimahi’s.

Monty got a workout lifting the fish to weigh her.

She was a bit long for cleaning on the back steps!

It is sad to take one of these beauties out of the ocean, but she will not be wasted, providing us with several tasty meals!

Lot 1

Lot 2, with some in our bellies and more in the fridge!

For lunch today, we enjoyed panko encrusted mahimahi and homemade chips! Might serve a tropical fruit salsa with the fish or whip up a Thai curry for our next Mahimahi dinner! What a nice present she was!

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