RETURN TO THE SOLOMONS

Back in October of 1996 I visited the Solomon Islands on a fishing magazine assignment. We call them “Famils” which is short for familiarisation trips. That was one of my first trips overseas and was a very memorable experience. I fished with Bruce Libbis from Merimbula and we became lifetime friends and fishing buddies after that trip. We fished Gizo for several days and caught a heap of fish then went to Lola Island near Munda for a few more days. We trolled, cast lures and flies and jigged. The number and variety of species we caught was a real eye opener for someone who’d never fished outside of NSW. The culture and people were mind blowing, and I returned home after 10 days with my head absolutely spinning.

Twenty three years later and I received a message from editor Scott asking if I was interested in doing a quick trip to the Solomons. Only two days prior I’d been seconded to do