Papua New Guinea/ Rock Expeditions Jan 28 to Feb 6, 2020

Once again, I had to please my fishing addiction and return to Papua New Guinea.  Papua New

Guinea is one of the last frontiers remaining on earth.  It is a long ways from Chicago as I fly from O'Hare to Los Angeles then to Brisbane Australia where I overnight a few days to get some needed rest.  We pass the International Date line along the way so I really aged quickly!  Then, I fly to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and overnight at the Gateway Hotel where I meet up with Bruce Cross and Rock Expeditions outfitter, Luke Wyrsta.  The plans are to fly to Misima Island on PNG Airlines the next day then motor about 1.5 hours to our base camp on Bushie Island.  We will target Giant Trevally and Dogtooth Tuna and many others during out stay amoung the numerous reefs and islands in this remote area!  Hardly, if any lures have hit the water in these locations!    After unpacking Bruce and I are anxious to make a cast so Luke's guides motor us a few minutes to a near reef.  On my 6th cast using a giant Skipjack Popper the water explodes, drag is burning off of my Daiwa Dogfight.  After palming the spool to stop the brute I am rewarded with a true monster Giant Trevally.

  What a way to START the trip!  A few minutes later I get another explosion and after a long tiring battle the GT wins and cuts me off in the coral!  Numerous GT attacks on our lures are seen throughout the afternoon.  Baitfish are present every direction we look so Bruce and I are excite for the days ahead.  Back at camp, I am excited to see new one man tents Luke has provided and now a refrigerator/ freezer to store our beer, soda, and water.  The following days are great.  We see no other fisherman throughout the stay and the scenery is simply breathtaking.  Various hues of blue/ green are seen on the gin clear water which cannot be described with photos.  One can literally see about 70 ft in the waters and observe fish swimming on the bottom! 

Numerous Giant Trevally and landed during our stay along with Jobfish, Red Bass, Mackeral, Barracuda, Blacktip Shark, Coral Trout, and numerous others. These brutes put a hurting on one's body.  On my last trophy Giant Trevally of the trip, while palming the reel spool, my glove gets a burn hole and I feel my skin is on fire!  I have a burn mark on my palm to remember this brute!

Bruce catches the Holy Grail of Species while jigging one afternoon, a beautiful Napoleon Wrasse!  I hated to come home after this stay as it was my favorite saltwater trip to date. What a way to get out of the cold weather of Chicago and to fish in a location where practically nobody has been!
Rock Expeditions off remote trips in extreme isolated locations. The number 1 priority is Safey and Catching Fish!! The Expeditions are conducted as a "wild reef camp" format to preserve the natural beauty of the area and to minimize human footprint.  This is the main reason why I chose to fish with Rock Expeditions as if I needed luxury, I would just stay at the Chicago Hilton and fish extremely crowded local waters while looking at Steel Mills and maybe looking down a few inches in the polluted water!  Cannot wait till next season for a  return trip to this great Land!