Miri GT Bashing

[mKim]

Had seen and heard the recent Miri oil rig jigging CRs from fellow fishos, was so tempted and keen to try my hands at the biggies over there myself.
So after some discussion and planning... we found ourselves on the way to Miri last weekend.
Was still very skeptical about the erratic weather as it was raining on & off almost the whole of the last 2 weeks, with the exception of a few days of fine weather late last week onwards. Luckily and thankfully, when we reached Miri on Sunday, the weather was scorching hot but the wind was too strong. So, we postoned fishing to Mon & Tue instead. Initially plan was to fish on sunday, take a rest on Mon, then fish on Tue and make our way back on Wed.
Our hearts nearly fell when we were informed of the cancellation of trip on Sunday due to strong winds.
We were taken to a "cafe" by the river for some drinks upon our arrival...true enough, the waves by the shore was strong and continous. For a moment, if not for the dirty water color, I thought I had landed somewhere in Aussieland for some surf boarding...Hahaa!
So, we can only pray hard and hope for the best of weather and sea state on Mon & Tue.
We were indeed rewarded with fine weather on our fishing days. The wind was moderate, sea was calm (at least to me, some on board fell motion sick for a while despite some "pill popping").
In fact, as I was writing this Catch Report now, it has started raining heavily over at my place and on Wed where we were supposed to leave Miri, the wind picked up again.

In summary, with all the fine luck in hoping for good weather and sea condition, plus great fishing companions, the rare opportunity of fishing next to an oil rig, the great hospitality we received from our Miri fishos... what more can we ask for in a trip?
Well...if there's anything else that can be granted... it's bigger and more fishes anytime, the next time we go for revenge!
Few GTs were landed but about 6-7 were lost due to line burst from the pillars of the oil rig. I understand we need to apply high drag for fishing there, but one of the Miri guys literally locked down on his drag for his fishing there. The sound of his 100lbs braid bursting was quite alarming, literally, by dawn.

Ok, here's some pics from our pre National Day Fishing Escapade...
(not sorted out though, sorry...)
By the way, thanks to Mark Richards & Ah Tiong for sharing with me the killer jigs used over there. Cheers!

Lastly, happy National Day to all!

Enjoy!

[MarkR]

Nice trip Mike!

Excellent variety of species on jig Some pretty good sized GTs too! Helang's getting pretty hot...hope stocks won't be wiped out soon...u guys managed to fish next to the giant "whirlpool"...current was flowing in the opposite direction on our trip so we could not tie to the jack adjacent to the "whirlpool".

That Amberjack looks like it got mauled on the way up!

I'll probably be doing more hit & run Bali and east Bali trips in the future...something is brewing Some guys landed an Amberjack close to 30kg recently in Bali.

tight lines

[mKim]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Nice trip Mike!

Excellent variety of species on jig Some pretty good sized GTs too! Helang's getting pretty hot...hope stocks won't be wiped out soon...u guys managed to fish next to the giant "whirlpool"...current was flowing in the opposite direction on our trip so we could not tie to the jack adjacent to the "whirlpool".

That Amberjack looks like it got mauled on the way up!

I'll probably be doing more hit & run Bali and east Bali trips in the future...something is brewing Some guys landed an Amberjack close to 30kg recently in Bali.

tight lines

Morning Mark...
Yep..I heard about your 'unfortunate' incident for not being able to fish at the whirpool due to wrong current direction, other than the wind and rain. But I heard you guys took shelter underneath the oil rig which is close to the whirlpool...nothing too? Miri is sooo hot during our 4 days there, but the clouds formed and the wind picked up on our last day...luckily so. Erratic weather is all we can say. But nevertheless, you guys also got a nice GT and you set the record for being the first to land an amberjack there! Thats cool...

I only fished at the whirlpool this time round, so I cannot comment and compare how's fishing like at the other 3 corners of the oil rig. But based solely on this trip's experience, the GTs only feed more actively during day break...the golden timing from first light till about 8am+. Somewhat similar to toman hunting...hehe. First day, I spent almost the entire night jigging away. Nothing at all, only 3 misses from suspected big eye jacks. Getting smarter, the second night, I decide to conserve energy for the daybreak finale and waste almost the whole midnight away, playing aorund with those fishes swimming underneath! Good fight on normal BC or spin tackle. You should try the next time if you're going again.

Oh yah... the amberjack.
Initially the fight (or shall I say not much at all) was so so. Then suddenly the rod bend like hell and line peeled like there's only 1kg drag on the reel, when the fish reaches about mid water level.
Until the amberjack surfaced, we saw 2 really HUGE mama GTs following up and circling round the poor Amberjack before they swim down.
That Amberjack didnt make it... It died shortly after photo taking.
The best we could do for it was... We sashimi the Amberjack!!
Never let fresh food go to waste.
Haha...

emm... Bali.
I thought you said you're giving that place a pass?
When are you planning a trip?
Put me on your list as well???
Hehehe...

Cheers!

[Sugizo]

i notice something.... the GTs only chase the fishes i caught.
zzzz.....

[MarkR]

Yo Mike,

Yeah, I think the bite at Helang is best at dawn but I also think the GTs move around the rig as a group so it pays to get up periodically at night for a couple of drops.

There's still good potential in Bali but the captains need to be more adventurous and explore new areas instead of hammering the same old spots around Penida. There's a whole variety of species in Bali eg. Amberjack, Dogtooth, Ruby, Grouper, Escolar and GT...I think it won't be long before some big specimens start resurfacing again

Also, the islands east of Bali hold a lot of potential...there may be an "operation" coming up that will break into these new areas...with some luck and connections it may be possible as well to explore the northern regions of Bali...Bali is an island paradise with excellent hotels and food and that's a major pull factor too...getting a little too old for Helang style trips- super tiring!

[stevenseow]

Very interesting fishing trip. Many biggies you guys caught.

[mKim]

Originally Posted by Sugizo

i notice something.... the GTs only chase the fishes i caught.
zzzz.....

Coz those PaPa & Mama GTs only like to eat big eye jacks & amberjacks?
Actually I think of another possibility too... tell you when we meet.
Hahahaa....

[mKim]

Educational Tour de Miri

[Sugizo]

wah ! went to miri again ???

[mKim]

No lah... where got?
This is what you missed out from your previous trip.
Hahahaa...

[Sugizo]

Originally Posted by mKim

No lah... where got?
This is what you missed out from your previous trip.
Hahahaa...

confirm got lah....arbo he sent u pic meh ?

[mKim]

not just pics.. still got video clips of our trip, fishing DVDs...
hehehe...

[Sugizo]

Originally Posted by mKim

not just pics.. still got video clips of our trip, fishing DVDs...
hehehe...

like this u nv send me....zzz..

[mKim]

Gts & Macs...burst burst burst....
whats left to share is dinner and baits ... hahaa...

But fishing with good long time friends like Zip & gang...dinner and an overnight drinking cum chitchatting session is simply heaven!

[mKim]

Originally Posted by Sugizo

like this u nv send me....zzz..

still got more this time round...
hehehee....