Watch The Big Fish Travel Channel online: Episode 11 Giant Trevally in Aitutaki, Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are a South Pacific paradise and the most beautiful of the islands is Aitutaki. Marc is targeting the Giant Trevally that inhabits the coral reef that surrounds the island. It’s immediately obvious that the Aitutaki locals are a pretty laid back bunch and why not? They live in one of the most idyllic places on earth. Marc’s fishing guide is Mark Baxter. Apparently if you want to get anything done on Aitutaki you need to talk to the Baxter Brothers. Mark is a huge “bear” of a man who puffs away on his cigarettes and keeps the conversation to an absolute minimum. The two boys leave the dawn calm of the lagoon to troll along the outside of the surf, which breaks onto the edge of the coral reef. Marc soon finds out that casting into the surf on a rocking boat is not as easy as it looks and after several unsuccessful attempts all he manages to hook is our sound recordist in the head! With casting technique under control Marc finally gets a bite, but the fish busts him off on the coral. The rest of the day (and twilight) is spent without a bite. The next morning Mark Baxter decides that they might need some help so he brings along his younger brother, Clive. However, the result is the same and big Mark seems on the verge of giving up on the un-cooperative Giant Trevally. After a pep talk the boys decide to fish on the other side of the island where the water is rougher. The change in location pays immediate dividends and soon Marc has a Blue Fin Trevally in the boat. Clive bags another Blue Fin and lunch is suddenly a celebration that continues on into the night at the Aitutaki Game Fishing Club. The boys take a day off from fishing and Mark snorkels the magnificent lagoon and explores some deserted coral cays with two local girls Tao Maao and Jeneta Baxter. On the final day of fishing the weather is a bit wild, but Mark is determined to get the boat into the fishing zone as close to the surf break as possible. Marc soon has a bite and big Mark drags the fish away from the coral using the power of the boat. In no time at all they have landed a decent size Giant Trevally. Success! The boys return to harbour as conquering heroes and party the night away back at the Game Fishing Club. Mark Baxter, a man of few words, leaves Marc with this final thought, “Fishing is more important than money”.

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