Afternoon Delight

[Makaira]

Woke up Saturday morning, not totally enthused about the trip because boat owner has a new kaki who could only join us past 10am. He also wanted to try out a spot which none of us had been to before. Our regular playground firing so hot the past few weeks, I guess it was understandable why some of us were not exactly enthusiastic about exploring new grounds at the moment. Oh well ……. What to do? Boat owner’s prerogative …….. “beggars can’t be choosers” … as the saying goes.

After fiddling about the boat setting up the rigs, we finally set off, jigged some bait & arrived at the spot close to noon. Sounded the terrain and it looked pretty promising – nice coral formations off the steep drop. May not be that bad after all. Dropped the anchor and down went the baits with renewed enthusiasm. Ho-hum ….. yawnz …… 1pm … not a nibble. Snore ……… 2pm …. Not a nibble. Wound in my set to check the bait, typical signs of small chomps on what’s left of the bait that go undetectable, put on a fresh bait & down it went again. Talk turned to where else we can go before we end up with a duck’s egg for the day. From the corner of my eye, I saw my rod tip starting to dip. Reached out for the reel handle; a few quick cranks to set the circle & we were finally on to a good fish. After a few heart stopping dashes, the fish finally succumbed -- grouper of about 4kg or so.

All anglers by now had woken up from a bored daze in the afternoon heat. My buddy decided to check his bait too … crank …. crank …..crank …… SANGKUT!!!!! After a few hefty tugs, it came free …… crank ….. crank …… crank ….. eh ….. got a fish on the other end -- a kilo plus grouper. Hooray!!!!! Damn, we noticed that the current had slackened & the boat was totally out of position, captain said “Haul anchor & reposition for the tide change!” That took more than 20 minutes as the wind was taking precedence over the current at that point in time. The boat finally settled and the lines went out nicely with the current slowly gaining momentum. Ho-hum ….. not a nibble again for the next 45 minutes. Suddenly, my friend’s rod showed signs of life … HOOKUP!!!! A few quick cranks & crap …. The fish threw the hook. He re-baited cursing under his breath and back to the waiting game. Within the 15 minutes, his rod arched down with no warning and we are on!!! The Daiwa Saltist and Calstar combination showed its prowess and soon the fish was at colour … WAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Big fish!!!! Got hold of the leader, pulled it closer and the gaff sank in. Shouts of joy and high 5s all around. Weighed the fish with the 30lb Boga & it bottomed it to the hilt …. So 18kgs or so would be a good estimate.

Since my bait had no bizness thus far, I looked into the bait well & saw a nice selar . Cranked in my rig; re-baited, and down went the selar. Less than 10 minutes had passed and I saw the rod tip quivering showing signs of the livebait getting real agitated. 2 quick steps & I was ready to set the hook. As the rod tip started to arch down, again the same S.O.P, a few quick cranks & I was on. got cut off by the corals!!!!! Oh well, since we had only about 30 minutes of fishing time left, I decided not to re-rig & called it a day. Exactly 1 minute before 5pm, again without any warning, the other buddy’s rod arched down and we were on again. To make a long story short, up came another specimen that totally bottomed out the 30lb Boga.

What a day it turned out to be. The best in terms of size this year for us. So endeth another long winded Catch Report .

P.S. Got a new HP with decent video capabilities. If I can figure out how to edit it, I may post some short clips……… but please don’t hold your breath.

[Makaira]

Here's one more picture from an interesting angle

[fishguy360]

excellent catch! well done! waiting to see some clips in future.

[rascal]

Wah! That's great fishing Makaira, n your Catch Report is not one bit long winded. Looking forward to your video.

[MarkR]

Wow! Some of the best local fishing coming from Mak again and again...truly impressive , awesome stuff!

[Makaira]

Yo Mark …… don’t embarrass me leh . It’s a concerted effort from all involved; getting the right baits, watching the currents & tide timings, great boat handling when anchoring the boat, knowing where to anchor and when to re-anchor, co-operation amongst the anglers by using different size sinkers to space out the lines, clearing the lines when necessary to minimise chance of tangles when a fish comes to net /gaff, never thinking twice to snip a line (or two) to free a tangle should lines get crossed, etc. It is always a great to fish with mates who know what they are doing. That makes angling that much more enjoyable a hobby, regardless of the catch results.

[Sebby]

Incredible!!! Congrats.

[DaFrogman]

Mak,

Wooooohhhhooooooo!!!!!!! Looks like you have the season and Groupers by their nuptials now dude.... Keep it up man, some real nice grouper you got there.

Saimee.

[stickbom!]

Wah Liew!! No wonder my guys and I had such a bad trip today!! Tuesday my other friends whacked 22pc mix bag of ACK/Parrots and Makaira wiped out the remaining Grouper popuation! hahaha!!!

Wonderful stuff Makaira & Co... its encouaging to see local fishing getting so hot again.