Papua New Guinea: BAT BAT Territories

Papua New Guinea:

BAT BAT Territories

Most people know very little about Papua New Guinea. The first image that probably comes to mind is the stereotypical image of a shirtless indigenous person with face paint and a bone through his nose. Beyond that, the image is rather blank. I must admit, I was one of those people. However, that all changed in late 2022 when we decided to plan our first exploratory trip to this place at the end of the world.

By FELIX HANSVENCL

Our mission in travelling to Papua New Guinea was to catch giant trevally and as great a variety of the endless species swimming in the country’s waters as humanly possible - primarily with a fly rod. But before we get into how it all went down, let me summarize a few things for you from the typical “Wikipedia and co research” that you do before flying to a place you haven’t been to before.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a place of superlatives. Everything is just “more,” “bigger,” and “wilder” over there:

• Papua New Guinea (PNG) is situated north of Australia. It represents the eastern half of “New Guinea” - one of the world’s largest islands. The western part of the island belongs to Indonesia and is called Western New Guinea or just West Papua. Papua New Guinea achieved independence in 1975 and is part of the Commonwealth.

• It is the country with the most dialects in the world (over 800 spoken languages). English is the official language from the government side but Tok Pisin (English based creole, referred to as Pidgin) is probably the most commonly spoken language throughout Papua New Guinea.

• Papua New Guinea is home to some of the most amazing creatures in the world such as the world’s biggest butterfly “Queen Alexandra’s birdwing” (Ornithoptera alexandrae) which was discovered in 1906 in these pristine rainforests. To go even further, scientists say that Papua New Guinea is one of the most biodiverse places on our planet and most of them believe that there are still several undocumented species roaming these islands.

• The biodiversity includes the ocean and its coral reefs, being part of the Coral Triangle, with massive amounts of species below the water surface. Its archipelago of islands is almost endless. In addition, the jungle holds rivers with some of the best black bass fishing in the world.

How’s the weather?

It all started in June last year when we embarked on our first scouting expedition to Papua New Guinea. We had assembled an amazing group of people, all excited to be part of the early days of fly fishing in this far-flung part of the world. We knew that planning a trip in June was a bit risky in terms of weather, but unless we wanted to wait another five months, it was our only option. Our local contacts informed us that June had been amazing the previous year, with warm weather and almost no wind, so we decided to give it a go.

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side this time around. We encountered rain, strong winds, and overcast skies for most of the trip. We still caught fish, but it felt like something was off. Apart from the rain and wind, the water was cold, and we couldn’t visit some of the places we had planned to fish due to rough weather. This is something people quickly forget when it comes to scouting new places; it is fraught with uncertainty and factors far out of your control.

Research vs reality

There is so much planning and research involved; you study maps, tide charts, etc., but in the end, “boots on the ground” is the only real way to find out.

For example, what does that atoll you have in mind actually look like when you see it? Is it really a good flat for fly fishing? How deep is it during each tide (ankle-deep, waistdeep, or deep enough for diving)? Is it sand or just a field of corals that is impossible to wade on? These and a hundred other questions can only be answered by actually going there.

Having said all this, scouting expeditions are probably the most exciting and memorable adventures you will ever experience. They are the types of trips you will brag about around the dinner table, along riverbanks, and in fishing lodges for years.

The feeling of being one of-, if not THE first, to ever make a cast on a flat or in a lagoon is priceless, and if it all comes together, it is probably the best feeling in the world.

We had to come back; we just had to. We all knew it as soon as we set sail towards our final anchorage in the harbor of Alotau. There was unfinished business that had to be taken care of, and next time we were going to get it right. Less than six months later, we were back during prime time at the end of the year, and conditions were in our favor. It was truly exhilarating to finally be able to reach the grounds that we had pointed out a year before. The first atoll we anchored at was heaven on earth, a steep cliff rising out of the ocean, surrounded by crystal-clear blue water painting a perfect picture. The waters were boiling with fish, and our crew quickly caught a Dogtooth Tuna to prepare sashimi and filets for lunch.

I remember waking up quite early in the morning, everyone having coffee and watching the sunrise, me brushing my teeth outside on the railing when suddenly a sailfish came clean out of the water several times just in front of the boat. You could feel that the ocean was alive and we were in the right spot.

We quickly rigged our 12 and 9 wt rods, giving us maximum flexibility as we still didn’t know exactly what we would find. We had reports from locals who had seen fish, and we obviously knew what you could catch on the open ocean, but in the end, we didn’t know for sure what we would bump into on the flats, which were our main target.

The action begins

We used our first afternoon session to get an overview of the area and plan how we would fish depending on the tides over the next few days. We finished that first day with a couple of sunset drinks and a beautiful, freshly caught dinner before hitting the sack.

The following morning couldn’t come soon enough, and the boys were ready as the sun started to rise. Our local guide, Rapha, started the motor and said, “Today we will catch Bat Bat, VERY BIG!” We were pumped, all fist-bumping and letting out weird, very manly noises as we set our sights on the flats. For those interested, “Bat Bat” means giant trevally in the local Pidgin language.

We decided to focus on a beautiful flats section we had seen the day before. At that time, the water was too deep for wading, so we drifted the boat, with one person in the front casting and three guys filming, taking photos, flying drones, and whatnot. Casts were aimed towards various coral bommies and structures where bigger fish like to lurk, attacking unfortunate prey swimming too close or being pushed off the flat by the tide.

What followed was what we had been dreaming about for a year. We fished a popper fly when suddenly, out of nowhere, we all saw a big fish coming up from behind a coral head, slurping in that popper like it was nothing. I set the hook with everything I had, but the fish initially just stood there sideways, shaking its massive head.

In that moment, we got a real glimpse of its size, and suddenly the mood changed! The fish finally realized it was hooked, took off like a freight train, backing was flying out, and we did our best to follow it.

I think the fishing gods decided that we deserved this fish after all we had gone through to get here, because this time we had all the luck. When the backing got tangled around coral, it turned out to be the softest coral we had ever seen, with zero sharp edges, allowing us to get the backing up and over without breaking.

“After all the efforts and planning, it was true euphoria to land this fish”

With more than 100 meters of backing out, the fish decided to circle another coral and another, but still the line didn’t break—a not-so-small miracle. Thanks to the help of an amazing crew, including freediving god Colin, we cleared the line two more times before we finally got the fish close enough to get a real look.

The fish ended up measuring 118 cm, and it is probably no surprise that we were all pretty much freaking out when we finally managed to land it. After all the efforts and planning, it was true euphoria to land this fish, and every setback along the way was instantly worth it.

Lagoons and sand flats teeming with fish

On that first day, our group landed another couple of GTs in the lagoons and sand flats and lost 5-6 more fish. Two of those lost fish were well over a meter long, but there was no way to stop them in time before they found some coral to break the fly line or leader.

“We covered an area as big as a small country in Europe”

Obviously, everyone was on fire that evening, discussing what else might be swimming around there over the next few days and how to fish this atoll in the best way possible. It was a perfect start to our trip, and for the rest of the week, we covered an area as big as a small country in Europe, with one good-looking place after another. We landed several GTs on the fly while wading sand flats and drifting with the boat over coral and reef structures. Sometimes massive bait balls were pressed against shore; we landed a big barracuda cruising along the beach, saw huge dogtooth tuna swimming along the deep dropoffs on the atolls, landed a sailfish, hooked a black marlin while commuting with the mothership between spots (we hooked a Spanish mackerel when suddenly an angry marlin, shining neon green, came flying from the left and attacked the mackerel), saw permit swimming in deeper water, as well as bumphead parrotfish and napoleon wrasses on the flats.

We caught all these amazing species in between, like bluefin trevally, bohar snappers, black trevally, etc. Time was limited, which made it impossible to go after everything we saw, but there are certainly many things on our list for future trips.

What will the future bring?

A trip to Papua New Guinea is for anyone who is up for an adventure and eager to explore waters unknown to most people. From autumn 2024 onwards, we will return regularly, aiming to learn about these places while also exploring new spots along the way.

Our main focus will be on finding giant trevally, with additional areas searched for permit and triggerfish. We have seen schools of milkfish on the flats, and we already have groups joining us in 2024 who are keen to catch one of these big dogtooth tuna on the fly. If you want to catch a sailfish or marlin, there are great current lines with baitfish around. Who knows what else we will find? The possibilities are endless, and these atolls are full of surprises and opportunities.

A few facts about a week: The trip starts in Alotau, where you will board our newly acquired yacht, “Tiata,” offering all the comforts you will need, including A/C, nice rooms and bathrooms, good food and drinks, as well as a knowledgeable local crew that knows these waters well. This is definitely a different level of accommodation for an exploratory trip, but we went for it and are glad to offer a first-class home away from home.

We only take six anglers per week, even though the boat could accommodate more. Once everyone is onboard, we set sail overnight to our first spot. From the following day, it’s seven full days of fishing where we will cover different spots we have already visited and, depending on how the fishing goes, we will also explore new areas. We have made arrangements with the local tribes for those areas, and you will likely meet some of these friendly people along the way when we trade food and other supplies with them.

“The possibilities are endless, and these atolls are full of surprises and opportunities”

Usually, you will have a morning session and an afternoon fishing session. In between, we will return to the mothership for a big lunch, and after fishing it’s time to relax on one of the sundecks, have a drink, or go for a quick swim. It is worth snorkeling one day; you will be amazed by what you see.

Last time, we encountered manta rays, big schools of bottlenose dolphins, turtles, all kinds of reef fish, and much more. For group bookings, we can accommodate and tailor the trip exactly as you want it.

Tackle Recommendations

The tackle you should bring doesn’t differ from other GT destinations. A 12-weight rod is necessary for everything big, and a lighter rod for going after permit, triggerfish, milkfish, etc. This could be a 9-weight (which we usually prefer), but you can easily go one line class up or down depending on your preferences and what you want to target.

As always on a saltwater trip, bring backup rods and lines! Things break on these trips, especially when the fishing is good. In terms of flies, we didn’t see any particular patterns needed as these fish will be seeing a fly for the first time. We were very successful with popper patterns for targeting GT and other predators, as well as brush flies in tan, red, and black. There is much more to learn and figure out in terms of what works and what doesn’t; maybe you could be the one cracking the code for catching a permit or other species?

Traveling to Papua New Guinea

There are many options to get to Papua New Guinea. For our Australian friends, it’s basically just “around the corner,” and from the US, it is a fairly straightforward trip via Singapore or Manila. You can also travel via Australia, which is a good reason to stay a few days before or after the trip in Sydney or Brisbane with the Gold Coast nearby.

From Europe and the UK, it is usually best to fly to Hong Kong or Singapore and then take the connection to Port Moresby. It is recommended to stay one night in Port Moresby to be on the safe side with flights. The city offers great hotels (e.g., Hilton) that always arrange a private transfer service from/to the airport, making it easy and safe. From Port Moresby, it is a very short 50-minute flight to Alotau.

To know more about the trip and book your spot: felix@solidadventures.com www.solidadventures.com