Crusoe Fishing Adventures and Sheer Delight are offering extended Mothership-Fishing Charters from 2009

For the first time we are offering a unique opportunity to explore the unspoilt outer islands of Vanuatu. Experience the culture by traveling to many islands that are rarely visited. Meet the locals in their villages and fish these rarely fished waters for Marlin, Sailfish, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, Yellowfin Tuna and Dogtooth Tuna.

After an action packed day on your choice of our game boats, what better than to return to the 5 star luxury vessel Sheer Delight. A 75ft catamaran that is fitted out for sheer indulgence and boasts a crew that will cater to every whim.

While you recall the highlights of the days fishing, watch the sun go down in air conditioned comfort, in our spacious saloon or relax with a cold drink on the rear deck while our chef prepares mouth watering menus that highlight the delicacies of the islands. Be tempted by locally traded fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, crab and lobster and do not miss out on Vanuatu’s locally produced pork and beef.

Sheer Delight can host 4 to 6 guests in 4 spearate air conditioned cabins. Whether it be for one week or four, do not miss out on this unique opportunity to enjoy the little luxuries in life that we have come to expect.

Packages start from $6,500AUD per day and is all inclusive of game fishing vessel, accommodation on Sheer Delight, all meals and alcohol. For further information, please send us an email.

Horizon ventured out today with a group from Melbourne and Sydney and it was their second day fishing on board Horizon. At approximately 11am a nice Blue Marlin appeared in the pattern and teased everyone coming back 5 times before it finally took a lure. Gavin was ready for the strike and once the fish was firmly attached he encounted the next 3 hours on 80pd tackle with the rod bent and the drag on sunset for the last hour. Once the leader was in range Captain Fred told James to grab the leader and once he had the lure to cut the hooks. The fish was still green after 3 hours and Fred estimated the fish in the 700 -800pd range as it could not clear the water in its initially jumps which lasted more than 10 minutes. James restled with the fish and after cutting the line lost the lure. To everyone’s amazement, James dived over the side to recover the lure!

Gavin was relived to have tagged this magnicficant fish and the orders from James was no drinking Tusker until the tag was in!

Congratulations guys and to Fred and James a well earned cold Tusker once back on dry land!

 The Port Vila Game Fishing Club held its annual 3 Species tournament on the 20th of July. Only a few vessels entered this tournament but we had a great day out on the water. Reel Capture ventured up to Monument Rock and Mataso after a 4am start! Fishing was aimed at targeting three species with line classes from 1kg—24Kg. This may sound easy but try catching one that qualifies! We managed to hook quite allot of fish on light line either to be broken off or they just fell off! After the end of the day, nobody won the tournament as no fish qualified at the way in but a great time was had by all.  

 This June saw Horizon head back up to the Northern Islands for six days with the Caelli family from Melbourne on board. Charlie and James took them to their home islands of Paama and Ambrym and the family experienced the   hospitality of the islands with cultural dancing and some local food. Congratulations to Paul for his first Blue Marlin which was donated to the local villages. There was plenty of fun on board as the family enjoyed fishing for  Wahoo, Dog Tooth Tuna, Mahi Mahi and after snorkeling they bottom fished whilst dinner was being prepared. We offer Live aboard trips from April—December each year. Horizon is back to the islands in September so keep posted for more reports. 

 Mark and Carol Goodger are no strangers to fishing Vanuatu. On their trip here in July, Carol was keen to catch her first Sailfish. With seas that were not too kind, Richard ventured to Hat Island and after a couple of hours, Carol was on her first Sailfish. The previous record for Women 24Kg was 30.4Kg which was back in 2005, Carol’s Sailfish tipped the scales at 38.4Kg and she won her  battle with this fish after a 15 minute fight. Congratulations Carol on your first Sailfish and we were very proud to be able to deliver!  

The Vanuatu Marlin Classic was held from the 8th - 14th June 2008 and Crusoe Fishing Adventures had five teams entered fishing from all three of our vessels. There was a total of seventeen teams entered this year and the weather was a little ordinary. Nevagivup Team B, skippered by Charles Wheeler, managed to hook four marlin for the three days fishing with Chris on a nice Blue around the 350lb mark on 30pd for 21/2 hours only to have the hooks pull at the back of the boat.

Reel Capture Team A who consisted of Tim, Leanne and Travis and skippered by Fred Temminck, managed to tag and release a small Blue Marlin on 50lb line to take out third place. The fish was caught by Travis Auton and this was his first marlin. There was only one fish caught for 1st and 2nd place but they were on 30lb line. Plenty of fish were lost and seen and once again it was a fantastic tournament.

If you would like to fish the tournament next year, you better get in quick as we have bookings already!

 This April saw Nevagivup, Shogun and V-Factor head up to Epi with groups from the New Zealand Fishing News Magazine. Initially a 5 day trip, the trip was delayed by one day due to poor weather conditions. With crews staying at Taso’s Bungalows at Epi, the guys were keen to get into the fish. With a mini comp in progress; Nevagivup blitzed the field with nineteen different species which ranged from Marlin, Dog Tooth Tuna to Coral Trout and GT’s! A great time was had by all and the week ended with a Presentation dinner on the Friday night. The next trip is September which is fully booked.  

 As it was the 1st day of April being April Fools day the weather was perfect and we had friends over from Australia, why not give this fly fishing a go for Marlin. Fred and Charles had been talking about it for the last few months and the plan was to head out and find some fish! This we did indeed! I was a little skeptical trolling lures around with no hooks but after seeing what I saw on this day, this has now changed. The call came from the boys “on the right, on the left” and after Richard had teased a nice 120pd Blue Marlin to the back of the boat, Fred cast his fly and the Marlin took it. When Fred went to set the hook, the Marlin was smart enough to flick his head and freedom was his once again. After the initial excitement, we all said that was awesome, let’s go find another one. A few hours passed by and by mid afternoon we had another fish up in the pattern. After Charles nearly fell off the flybridge with excitement he was yelling, “it’s a big fish ” it was decided not to tease him up but he wouldn’t let go of the lure! This fish was estimated at around 700lb! Not easy to catch when you are only using 10Kg tippet! I’m now hooked but it sure isn’t the easiest way to catch a Marlin! If you are up to the challenge this style of game fishing will certainly test you out! 

 May saw our team head off to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to fish the Rolex IGFA World Championships. This year 63 teams were entered. Our team was Grant, Chris, Michelle, Fred and John. We were all excited as Fred and I had fished this tournament before and with all of our tackle well prepared, we only needed the fish to co-operate. Fishing the four days in this tournament is a great experience as we saw 50-60 Striped Marlin a day and they proved hard to catch. With plenty of baits pitched to tailor’s, they just weren’t interested, which makes for very frustrating fishing. We managed to release 3 Striped Marlin for points and lost a couple at the back of the boat. Chris and John ended up with their first Striped Marlin release which was a great effort. With the Vanuatu Marlin Classic just around the corner, all of our teams are fighting for the title once again to head over to Cabo San Lucas next year! 

Don’t think its too late to fish the VMC as we still have one team still open on Horizon. There is also one spot left on Team A on Horizon. So want to fish for some great prizes, meet some great people who like to have fun, then don’t hesitate to send us an email to secure your team or spot.