FISHING World has just returned from a week at Papatura Island Resort in the Solomon Islands for our first Solomons On The Sauce experience.
Nine guests joined On The Sauce host, Zac Panaretos, Chef Mark Labrooy, and myself for a week of outstanding fishing, food, and fun.
It was much more than a fishing trip! The idea was to offer a unique hands-on experience where Fishing World readers and On The Sauce listeners could catch fish and learn the skills to properly care for the catch. Our crew experienced new species, caught plenty of fish, and importantly, learned how to respect these fish with proper post-catch handling. We learned Iki Jime and Shinkei jime, bleeding and ice slurry techniques. Once back on land, workshops were held in breaking down the fish and how to cook them.
It was the full experience. Not only did we have a memorable time catching these fish, we also gained skills in the proper post-catch techniques to maximise taste and shelf life.
Mark Labrooy whipped up some seriously tasty meals from local ingredients. We experienced banana wrapped chili coral trout cooked over hot coral, butterflied harissa fish (trout and job fish), sashimi dogtooth, and more. It’s also worth mentioning, Papatura’s own chef, Michael, and his team in the kitchen, did an outstanding job feeding our crew. It’s incredible what they produce given the remote location.
The Solomon Islands were chosen as the destination for our first “experience” for a number of reasons. We chose a location with a variety of fish and species suitable for our workshops and cooking. We also wanted guests to experience some unique fish species not often found closer to home. There were spot tail bass in the rivers, jungle perch, and a lucky guest even caught a black bass! I also managed to catch a couple of juvenile black bass in a saltwater creek. Offshore and around the reefs were dogtooth tuna, GTs, sailfish, coral trout, mackerel, red bass and many more.
The Solomon Islands, while less than three hours from Australia, feels like the land time forgot… in a good way! The lack of major hotels and infrastructure makes every trip to the Solomons feel like an adventure. It’s a constant series of discoveries.
Papatura is fantastic, a true paradise. With comfortable bungalow style accommodation, fully equiped bar, outdoor seating, dive shop, paddle boards, surf boards and more, it’s a perfect place for fishos, divers, surfers and families looking to relax. Papatura also has a team of experienced guides, most of whom grew up in local villages with in-depth knowledge of each reef and river.
I would like to thank our guests – Mark, Neil, Tony, Geoff, Louie, David, John, Justin and Isaac – plus Zac and Mark, for making this a trip to remember!
Stay tuned to our social channels at @fishingworld and here at Fishing World online for more updates and video from our recent trip. We’ll also be publishing a full story in the next print edition of Fishing World.
We’ll be back! If you’re interesting in joining us for our next adventure, please register your interest at travel@fishingworld.com.au.
