Robson Golightly Green's PNG fishing adventure

PETER KRANZ

ROBSON Golightly Green (yep, that's his real name) is a Geordie actor, TV presenter and fishing addict.

Probably best known for his lead role in the crime drama Wire in the Blood, he's also made a name for himself in his TV series Extreme Fishing.

In Series 5, Episode 3, Robson goes to Papua New Guinea to catch fierce freshwater fighting fish, weird deep sea creatures and the giant goldfish.

This episode takes place in New Britian - mostly around Kimbe and Rabaul - and along the way Robson digs up some Megapode eggs from the Mt Tavurvur volcano, fishes with village fishermen in the PNG traditional way, fails to catch a big Papuan Bass, loses a couple of Marlin, but does catch some interesting sea creatures, including a giant goldfish weighing 40 pounds, and another fierce looking creature no-one can identify.

Big game fishing has been on the go in PNG for years, although not many westerners are aware that these are some of the most pristine and productive fishing grounds in the world.

RGG uses well known fishing tour operators at both Kimbe and Rabaul and it’s worth noting here that fishing tours and eco-tourism are the main growth-sectors in PNG tourism, and tourist numbers have been growing steadily over the last few years.

Robson Golightly Green's one fault is that he insists on calling PNG "the end of the earth", but I suppose that's the theme of his show - fishing in little-known and far-away places.

It's a pity Robson couldn't have travelled more widely in PNG and encountered the shark-callers of New Ireland, the pesky Pacu in the Sepik river systems, the fishing industry serving Port Moresby (like our Uncle Tony who used to regularly supply us with fresh Tilapia), and the superbly-coloured Torres Strait crayfish - wrongly called lobsters - which migrate across the Torres Strait every year from Northern Australia to the Papuan coast.

Then there are the remarkable street fish vendors who sell you amazing Barramundi for around K40. I persuaded our local bloke to invest in an Esky and put the fish on ice because the expats were more likely to buy them that way.

Robson is genuine and respectful of Papua New Guineans, praises PNG as a beautiful country and is a pleasantly humorous man.

When buying a locally made lure from a Kokopo tradestore, he decides to name it The Brando, as he's going to use it for Marlin fishing. Ah, well….

Oh, and he gets roped into judging a beauty contest - Miss Bill Fish of the year - at the Ralum Country Club. Doesn't quite match my own experience judging a gay night at the Shady Rest, but full marks to Robson for getting involved.

This program is interesting, amusing and worth watching if you're a sad fishing fantasist like me, even if he does appear to be a fully-paid up member of Over-Actors Anonymous.

The series is shown on Australian TV, but you can catch most episodes on Youtube, including his PNG adventure.

Comments

[Peter Kranz]

Nothing to do with PNG (except that it shows it's the grassroots that toil and suffer the world over), but Robson's new series on the history of northern industrial England has just started on SBS.

'How The North Was Built' is lovely and would be a great educational resource for history teaching. Robson is humble, gently amusing and historically detailed.

And I take back my comment about him over-acting. Maybe he just gets excited about fishing.

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/211537987931/Robson-Green-How-The-North-Was-Built

[Peter Kranz]

And yes, Robson could have gone fly-fishing for trout in the highlands.

http://content.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,2096813,00.html

[Phil Fitzpatrick]

I was sitting on the beach at the Coconut Bar on Los Negros in Manus the week before last with John Wilshere, the ex-Kumuls captain and Matt Brugh from the famous Goroka family having a quiet SP.

Nine year old Michelle and her little brother Will Smith and his dog Spotty had just brought us a new round when out of the calm water about 100 metres offshore a sailfish about a metre and a half long rose out of the water, winked at us, and then slid back into the sea.

Where else could that possibly happen?