Trip Report for Bugatti Reef 20-26 July 2009.

As Duncan has already mentioned we had a pretty chaotic week at Bugatti recently. At some points the weather was a little bit ugly but this had a negligible impact on the fishing as it was never bad enough that we couldn't pop and hardly a time that we weren't catching GT's. Other times the sun was shining and the water like a millpond. I'd say the fishing really fired for us and I was lucky enough to see numerous double hookups and a couple of triple hookups throughout the week. There were several fish caught throughout the week that were around the 36-38kg mark but unfortunately none over the 40kg mark. What we lacked in size though we certainly made up for in numbers.

Day 1
On the fly in day we eagerly ate our lunch and rigged up for the afternoons fishing. I was fishing with Duncan and Dave on tight stick with guide Glanville. I decided to start off with a bright orange bigfoot 140... the fishing started off a little slow until the tide picked up and then I came up trumps with the first couple of GTs the first being around 28-30kg and the second just a 'petite' GT around 16kg and also missing a strike from a 30kg+ spaniard. Dave hit back shortly after with a nice 36kg model. Towards the end of the day Glanville found a nice spot in a sheltered area where the GTs were going ballistic on the fusiliers. Duncan and I had a double hookup on GTs but managed to drop both fish, next cast we had a mack tuna/spanish mackerel double and then the cast after that another GT double this time landing both fish, a pidgeon pair around 25kg each. It was late, so it was time to head back to the mothership with our total at 6 GTs for the afternoon.

Day 2
This was to be our slowest day for the trip. I fished with Brock and Mat on the dory with guide Rod. Brock landed a nice fish around 22kg early on in the day and then Mat nailed one about 20kg later on just before lunch. I had a 35kg+ fish come and inhale my blue bigfoot in a bommie infested bluehole that proceded to bust me off without taking an inch of drag. After lunch things got even quieter and our total for the day remained at only 2 GTs by the time we made it back to Odyssey. I think the most any other boat got that day was 4 GTs.

Day 3
On the third day we headed south to our second anchorage for the trip. I fished with Duncan and Brock on the Contender with guide Tim. We fished some blue holes on the way but it was pretty quiet with only a couple of half hearted strikes. I managed the first fish of the day around 20kg when Duncan pointed out a small school of fusiliers. We left the blue holes and caught up with Rod, Aaron and Ross who had been getting some good fish off a nice ledge. The afternoon was pretty hectic with us getting a number of fish off this ledge, myself 2 fish to 35kg, Brock 2 fish to 30kg while meanwhile Duncan was having a prick of a day not being able to stay connected to any GTs before nailing his only fish of 25kg or thereabouts towards the end of the day. One highlight was when I hooked up to a 20kg GT and dropped the fish and then proceeded to upgrade to a 35kg model only seconds later ;D
While we fished our way to the mothership at our new anchorage we stopped off at one of the resident trout boats to see who was in town. As we approached we saw around 8 GTs to 50kg+ swimming below the boat. First popper in the water had some interest but it was just a curious strike and they weren't actually feeding. It was such an awesome sight! As it got late the tide slowed and so did the fishing so we headed back to the mothership. We ended up with 6 GTs for the day and Rod's dory managed 17 GTs with only 2 guests, Ross at 63 years young with 9 GTs under his belt for the days fishing. He then proceeded to catch GTs off the back of the mothership when we got back, what a champion! Guide Rod also hooked a 40kg doggie which proceeded to pop the belly swivel on the dogtooth 80 stickbait.

Day 4
On Day 4 we woke to clear skies and flat water. I fished with Brock and Dave on tight stick with Glanville. The morning started slow as we fished some prime looking ledges loaded with bait but the GTs just weren't feeding. I switched from a stickbait to a popper and nailed the first fish of the day around 10-15kg. I then proceeded to have an absolute prick of a morning dropping about 8 GTs til lunch time. Just before lunch we fished a spot the guides call the Stables and first pass Brock and I had a double hookup, on the same cast Dave also had a 50kg+ fish hit his dogtooth stickbait on the 50lb gear! Thank god it wasn't a triple. Brock landed his fish and I dropped yet another GT. Good thing Brock and Dave kept the scoreboard ticking and I think the total was about 7 GTs at lunchtime.
After lunch we moved out to some different ground and the fishing picked up considerably, I maintained the hoodoo while Glanville teased me landing a GT in a mere two casts. Eventually I broke the morning hoodoo nailing a nice fish around 28-30kg... finally I got the ball rolling. We moved out to some shoals away from the main reef structure that rise from about 50-60m to about 10m. When we approched I asked Glanville where he wanted me to cast while he laughed and said, "Where the fish are!". First cast and fusiliers showered everywhere, I flipped the bail over and before I even managed one turn of the handle my popper dissapeared in a white foamy explosion. What proceeded was the most hectic session I've ever encountered on GTs with nearly every single cast managing a least a strike. Dave snapped his 50lb Catalina rod and then proceeded to still land the fish. We had several double hookups and finished the afternoon with a triple hookup and all 3 GTs being landed. Total for the day was 24 GTs from no less than atleast 40 hookups, myself with 12, Brock 8, Dave 3 and Glanville with 1. Rod and the other boys on his dory also fared well with 14 GTs for the day.

Day 5
Day 5 started as good as the last day ended. I fished with Brock on the dory with Rod. It was glassy calm and the fishing was hot. I nailed a nice fish early and then proceeded to drop the next couple of fish while Brock also landed a nice GT. Shortly after I had an extremely aggressive strike from a GT that was clearly of the black variety, fortunately I stayed connected and landed the fish, around 25-28kg. We moved onto the ledge where we did well on the third day and it wasn't long before Brock got his second. Shortly after I got my third and proceeded to snap my Komodo Dragon. An awesome effort from guide Rod and Brock ensured this fish didn't get away. Afterwards I encouraged Rod to fish as there was only two guests on board and he proceeded to nail a nice GT in short time. After lunch the weather started to turn sour and with 6 GTs in the boat before lunch we decided to head back to the mothership and was back there by 2.30pm.

Day 6
The sixth day was overcast and quite rough. I fished with Duncan and Mat on the dory with Rod again. The weather made fishing a little difficult but we managed OK. Duncan and I persisted with the weather while Mat drank beer all day :D. Duncan got the first run on the board with a beauty around 36kg and then I backed it up shortly after with another fish around the same size. Tyler on Eds dory fishing close by also got a nice fish around 36-38kg. 3 GTs over 35kg from 3 bites.
We moved into the blue holes and I dropped an average GT while the boys on Eds dory had a GT/Chinaman double. Duncan got a nice GT and then missed horse of a fish that climbed all over his popper. Would have been interesting to see the outcome, we put it for 40kg+. Late in the day I plucked a nice GT from a fishy looking ledge right under Eds nose :D It was getting late so we headed back to the mothership. As this was our last evening on the Odyssey we drank til the wee hours of the morning to celebrate the trip.

Day 7
Bleary eyed and hung over neither of us could be bothered to fish for a couple of hours before we flew out so we spent a lazy morning packing up our gear before the floatplane arrived to take us back to Hamilton.

Lures
One interesting observation Duncan and myself discussed was that on the cloudy days when the water was a bit choppy anything that swam sub-surface ruled supreme. Orion bigfoots in the smaller sizes and the new XTX swimbait from Patriot Designs worked particularly well. On the clearer days with flat water just about anything worked but I had my success with small-medium bloopers. Poppers like the Patriot Design Master Bomb 155 and Craftbait GT2 worked exceptionally well and can be cast all day with little effort.