PLACES
Wrestling Napoleons in Papua New Guinea By Hannes Vorster
W
E’VE all read articles about extreme fishing adventures and heard about catches of “monsters”, “beasts” or “giants” and wondered how true they are. Before I continue, let me say I have been fortunate to fish most of the remote and unfound territories across the globe in search of those real big dinosaurs, but NEVER have I seen, heard, or experienced anything like what I have in Papua New Guinea! It all started when Captain Michael de Min who runs a charter boat at Doini Island (one of the ±600 islands around Papua New Guinea) told me of an encounter with a “giant” Napoleon wrasse of over 80kg. I have had a few encounters with Napoleon wrasse at various destinations but have never been able to land one. It is like I have been cursed – every time I hook up to one, something seems to go wrong.
Since Papua New Guinea (PNG) is known as a location where they are found in abundance, it has been on my radar for a few years now. The Napoleon is one of the largest reef fish in the world and can grow up to two metres and weigh up to 180kg.Apart from a Napoleon’s remarkable ability to change its sex, they also have a few other very unique features.Their colours vary from dull blue-green to vibrant shades of electric green and sometimes even purplish-blue, and their very prominent hump on their foreheads apparently resembles the hat of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, hence their name. Like chameleons, they can also rotate their eyes and see in more than one direction without moving their head. Michael’s stories about PNG’s Napoleons were enough to convince me to go there and see if I could turn my luck.
Fro Cobus N ieuwoud m left to right: and Mich t, Hannes Vorste ael de M in at Do r, Manu Girard ini Islan d.