We set out early on a full-day trip aboard Kadua, a 63-foot Hatteras—the grande dame sport-fishing yacht at Kokomo Private Island Fiji—with a seven-strong crew. I caught a 24-pound Spanish mackerel and a comparably sized coral trout—speckled neon-lavender head to tail—but the legendary billfish, legion in the South Pacific, had eluded us. We continued trolling, reveling in a diamond day so startlingly clear you could discern almost every tree on the viridian Kadavu Island, shimmering in the middle distance.
Sudden shouting shattered my reverie: Fish on! The crew quickly strapped me into the fighting chair, my bare feet braced on the footboard as I began cranking the handle. After 20 minutes–arms trembling and the line racing back out as the fish battled anew—I yelled to Stephen, the resort sommelier who’d come along as my fishing buddy, to take over. Fifteen minutes later, thanks to his star-reliever efforts, the fish glinted brightly as it neared the surface, and the cheers turned to knowing chants: “Dogg-Y! Dogg-Y!”
Ilitia, one of the expert crewmen, gaffed the catch by the gills and deftly hiked it aboard, where it crashed to the deck with a resounding thud: a 59-inch, 110-pound dogtooth tuna, named for its eerily canine-like mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth. Even serious fishermen regard “doggies”—tricky to find and even tougher to bring in—as one of the more formidable adversaries on rod and reel.
We cheered some more and high-fived each other with glee, as landing a prize fish is a lot like playing craps and rolling a seven on the first throw after betting the pass line: everybody wins. And in that shining, fleeting moment, as we marveled at the prehistoric-looking creature before us, its silver sides flashing iridescent in the afternoon light, all worldly worries fell away, vanishing on the ocean breeze.
As Scottish novelist John Buchan once wrote, “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”
And in these turbulent times, armies of anglers are searching for hopes in lakes, rivers, and streams. In 2023, 57.7 million people in the U.S.—19 percent of the population—went fishing, the highest participation rate in more than a decade, and a 3.2 million increase from 2022. The number of participants, the highest on record, topped the previous high in 2020.
The global fishing tourism sector, valued at $72.5 billion last year, is forecast to climb to $211 billion by 2033––a robust compound annual growth rate of 11.3 percent. That’s due in part to the spare-no-expense mentality of niche fishermen, who, like golfers, are eagerly being courted by luxury resorts.
“I’ve seen a 21 percent increase in demand for fishing experiences since 2022, which I expect will continue to rise in 2025,” says Janel Carnero, a New Mexico-based advisor at luxury travel advisory Embark Beyond, headquartered in New York. In other words, coolers of beer and cold sandwiches no longer cut it.
Crafting a ne plus ultra fishing expedition entails more than just booking an exquisite resort and arranging a boat and gear, she says. Identifying the best type of fishing trip for all involved, and ensuring the non-anglers have plenty of top-tier activities to choose from, is also key.
“We’re putting together high-level corporate retreats with fishing yacht charters equipped with not only the best equipment, but also the best amenities on board—private chefs and top guides and crew for the type of fish they’re looking to land,” says Carnero.
As leading resorts across the globe continue to raise their fishing game, here’s a snapshot of some of the preeminent places to cast a line.
Kokomo Private Island Fiji
Image Credit: Courtesy of Kokomo Private Island Fiji The passion project of the late visionary Australian property developer, Lang Walker, this dazzlingly far-flung resort—about an hour’s helicopter or seaplane ride from the resort’s private hangar at Nadi International Airport—presides over some of the most unspoiled, fish-rich waters in Fiji, teeming with a vast and varied array of the most exotic and sought-after marine species on Earth. It has five distinct fishing expeditions—game fishing, reef fishing, sportfishin, deep dropping, and spearfishing—and a top-tier, five-boat fleet. Chase blue and black marlin and sailfish aboard Kadua, which is the largest sportfishing boat of her kind in the 330-plus Fijian islands and equipped with an air-conditioned interior and three staterooms for overnight trips. Or hop on Katoa, a 51-foot Bertram flybridge, and use Shimano electric reels to drop hundreds of feet into the deepest depths for gold band and ruby snapper. Adrenaline addicts can sportfish for giant trevally and grouper by casting poppers and stick baits into the surf zone along reef breaks, while low-key anglers can give hand-line fishing a go at local coral reefs to snag seabream and cod the old-fashioned way.
To maintain fighting form on the high seas, opt for a chef to join your charter to whip up breakfasts of eggs cooked your way and photo-worthy fruit plates, followed by lunches of crisp salads brimming with ingredients sourced from Kokomo’s impressive organic garden (take the tour; it’s worth it) topped with the freshest local seafood. While all billfish are catch and release, you can bring your yellowfin tuna and Spanish mackerel (among others) back to relish with a first-growth Bordeaux from Kokomo’s 8,500-bottle wine cellar at the casually elegant Beach Shack.
Besides unsurpassed fishing, the resort provides access to more than 30 world-class diving and snorkeling sites, thanks to its primo location a stone’s throw from the 62-mile Great Astrolabe Reef, the fourth largest barrier reef in the world. The kids and teens clubs host a range of activities like treasure hunts, cooking classes, and snorkeling trips, while complimentary nanny service for kiddos age 3 and younger means grown-ups can steal away to surf, sail, hike a waterfall, or enjoy a private gourmet picnic on Namara, an uninhabited isle 10 minutes away. Accommodations range from 21 airy beachfront villas with private pools and tropical walled gardens,to five hilltop, three-to-five-bedroom grand residences featuring sprawling outdoor living spaces and spectacular views from sunrise to sunset, along with a personal golf buggy, butler, and nanny.
Hemingways Watamu
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hemingways Watamu Ernest Hemingway first traveled to the Kenyan coast to game-fish the Indian Ocean in 1934. To emulate him, head to the aptly named Hemingways Watamu, a 60-room beachfront oasis overlooking the pristine Watamu Marine National Park & Reserve, which pioneered tag-and-release billfishing on the East African coast. While it’s easy to while away the hours sipping dawas (vodka, honey, and lime) on the lustrous white sands of the quiet seaside hamlet two hours’ drive north of Mombasa, intrepid anglers should book a six- or 10-hour charter aboard one of the resort’s 31- to 56-foot, twin-engine fishing boats for a pulse-pounding maritime adventure. With underwater mountains easily reachable offshore—concentrating bait and predators, unlike the open sea—the sapphire waters surrounding Watamu offer abundant, wildly diverse fishing opportunities year-round for diehard sportfishermen and newbies alike (children are welcome) and remain one of the few places on Earth still home to three types of marlin, along with sailfish (one-day resort boat record: 23), broadbill swordfish, and short-bill spearfish. Wahoo and mahi-mahi (whose brilliant teal and yellow hues dazzle, then slowly dissipate on ice) rate high among the keepable catches, which the resort chef will prepare to your liking upon your triumphant return—perhaps sashimi’d for a starter, then deftly pan-fried for a main.
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge
Image Credit: Courtesy of Tordrillo Mountain Lodge If you’re angling to explore the remotest reaches of uncharted wilderness in search of catches worthy of a fish tale, it’s tough to top a heli-fishing escapade at this rustically resplendent lakefront lodge in the Alaskan backcountry, 60 miles northwest of Anchorage. Chopper from the resort through the pine-lined valleys of the Tordrillo Mountains, then alight on the shores of virtually untouched waterways, where scads of Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, Arctic char, and grayling await. For a truly singular summer sojourn, book the Kings & Corn package (available only in June), which kicks off with an exhilarating morning of heli skiing—slaloming through pebble-sized kernels of melting ice in shorts and 75-degree temperatures—followed by fly-fishing the Talachulitna River for Alaskan king salmon in the afternoon. If inclement weather derails a half-day on the slopes, you’ll pivot to a heli-rafting trip along the achingly scenic waterway known as the Tal, casting for kings and river trout as you splash through rapids en route. For the grand finale, beeline back to the lodge for cocktails and a gourmet spread laden with local specialties like Alaskan king crab and Kachemak Bay oysters and, if you’re still up for it, a pink-skied spate of kayaking on Judd Lake under the midnight sun.
Singita Pamushana
Image Credit: Courtesy of Singita Pamushana One of Africa’s only safari lodges with access to a private dam, Singita Pamushana Lodge—perched high in the sandstone hills of the 115,000-acre Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Zimbabwe’s remote southeast—boasts exceptional game fishing year-round. Hop on a pontoon boat and set off to hook tiger fish, bass, tilapia, and catfish with a rod and reel, while your top-notch guides explain how locals catch fish using native plants. For an especially memorable evening, sleep out on the boat while anchored to a tree, rocking gently on the surface with nothing but the starriest of inky African skies above and the hypnotic buzzing of the bush all around, as you wait for a rhino (the reserve’s population ranks among the highest on the continent), leopard, wild dog, or sable antelope—among a plethora of other wildlife—to saunter down for a drink at the water’s edge. Additional pursuits at the showstopping, eight-suite escape, artfully designed to reflect the region’s rich tribal history, with a series of staggered and interlinked outdoor common areas offering bird’s-eye vistas of the astounding surroundings–include guided safari walks, visits to Malilangwe’s centuries-old rock art sites (which number more than 100 and counting), and enchanting, lantern-lit bush dinners beneath colossal baobab trees.
Milaidhoo Maldives
Image Credit: Courtesy of Milaidhoo Maldives Ringed by its own vibrant coral reef, this tiny, 50-villa island resort sits in the heart of the Baa Atoll Unesco Biosphere Reserve. It prides itself on reinterpreting Maldivian traditions, including its fishing excursions, for a discerning modern audience. Head out on the impossibly cyan seas before dawn aboard Hanifaru or Dhirasa, Milaidhoo’s two 53-foot dhonis—the oldest known seafaring vessels in the nearly 1,200-island archipelago—to try hand line trolling for barracuda and grouper. Or take a stab at pole-and-line fishing, which has a history dating back thousands of years, on a local fishing boat beside Maldivian fishermen. For a higher-octane experience, venture further afield aboard one of the resort’s two twin-engine game fishing boats (measuring 55 and 35 feet) in search of marlin, sailfish, and swordfish to catch and release. From June to November, you can join three weekly trips to Hanifaru Bay (a 15-minute boat ride away) to snorkel with some of the world’s largest aggregations of manta rays; other activities include a romantic sleepout on a nearby sandbank, complete with a four-course dinner and a canopied, king-sized bed, and cooking classes at Milaidhoo’s boat-shaped fine-dining restaurant, Ba’theli (“cargo boat” in the local language), where you’ll learn to make Maldivian dishes like garudhiya, a traditional tuna broth.
Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve
Image Credit: Courtesy of Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve With 19 fishable lakes and more than 30 miles of crystalline streams strewn across some 550,000 idyllic acres in the Southern Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico, Vermejo—owned by media magnate and staunch conservationist Ted Turner (his motto: “save everything”)—is a freshwater fisherman’s Valhalla. It numbers among the only places where you can fish exclusively for Rio Grande cutthroat trout—one of North America’s oldest and rarest species, saved from near extinction by a restoration project commandeered in part by Vermejo’s marine biology team. Adept anglers can fly-fish for them across the varied terrain of the property’s creeks or patrol the marshy perimeters its six Class A lakes for the coveted catch, as well as fellow trout—namely rainbow, brown, and brook–that often exceed 20 inches. Book the Bernal Lake Cabin, a rustically luxe outpost with two primary suites unveiled in April 2024, or the eight-suite, solar-powered Costilla Fishing Lodge, presiding over the high country at 10,000 feet and built with Verdejo’s own timber and stone, for bright-and-early access to the fishing action. Away from the water, inspired outings like wildlife safaris to spot elk, bison, bobcat, coyote, and cougar, and geocaching by GPS through Vermejo’s deserted mines and hidden cemeteries will stoke your sense of adventure. (For a completely bespoke experience, check out The Vault by Robb Report’s offering here.)
