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During my recent trip to Fiji, I had the opportunity to book a fishing trip with Awesome Adventures. This was a great opportunity to not only fish, but also go handline fishing!
Read on to learn how to go handline fishing in Fiji on a budget!
Table of Contents
Handline Fishing From Nadi
Fiji is made up of over 330 islands, which provide countless opportunities for fishing. If you are in Nadi, I recommend booking a fishing trip with Awesome Adventures.
To do this, you will have to go to the Port Denarau Marina.
How to Get to Port Denarau Marina
Port Denarau is the place to go for tours and water transportation. You will find numerous options for tours here, such as a tour to Tivua Island, scuba diving tours, and fishing tours.
To get to the Marina, you will have to take a taxi to Denarau Island. This is connected to the island of Viti Levu (where Nadi is) via bridge.
The taxi takes about 20 minutes from Nadi International Airport. It is shorter from the city of Nadi.
Make sure that the driver uses their meter.
At Port Denarau Marina
Once you arrive at the Marina, walk past the shops to the shore. You will see small office buildings each representing a different company. You will find multiple different companies offering fishing tours.
I chose Awesome Adventures because they offered the most reasonable price for a single person. I was able to get the boat to myself for 450 FJD (about $200 USD).
Most companies were not offering tours for less than 1000-2000 FJD.
You will have to pay Awesome Adventures in cash and in advance. Make sure to provide your phone number so they can coordinate transportation.
Starting the Fishing Trip
On the day of the fishing trip, Awesome Adventures will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the boat.
They will drop you off at Wailoaloa Beach, where the fisherman will be waiting with his boat.
Trolling Fishing
Once you depart on the boat, the fisherman will set up a few rods for trolling fishing. We had four lines out as the boat traveled around different islands. We passed several islands, including South Sea Island, Mala Mala Island, and even Castaway Island!
We were trolling for about an hour, but we didn’t catch anything. My guide said it was due to the tides changing, and that we would have better luck in the middle of a tide.
Handline Fishing
We stopped the boat and let down the anchor near Mala Mala Island. The fishermen passed me a spool of fishing line, and we both hooked half a fish to the line as bait.
The trick is to let the line all the way to the bottom of the seafloor, and then pull it up one or two feet.
It takes a while to get the feel for when a fish bites your bait with handline fishing. The guide and I almost went through all of our bait before we finally caught one! We ended up catching 4 sabutu.
I am not sure what the English translation of this fish is, so if you know, let me know in the comments below!
Where to Stay in Nadi
The price and availability of hotels can vary dramatically depending on the time of year. Therefore, it’s best to book your hotel in advance.
For budget travelers who want their own room, I recommend checking out the Ideal Bed and Breakfast near Wailoaloa Beach. This is very close to Port Denarau which makes it very convenient for going on a fishing trip.
I also suggest checking AirBnB because it is possible to find some inexpensive places to stay there.
Check out the map below to see available accommodations.
