THE FINAL FINAL GRAND FINALE PT III

[DaFrogman]

Hehehehehe.... ok, seems like my Grand Finales are anything but, nonetheless considering that I am outstation on leave next week, this is definitely the last Catch Report from DFM for this year.

Once again the unusual weather conditions with lightish winds afforded my crew and I another shot at a Hit & Run offshore. As I checked and rechecked my weather satelite feeds, radar pics and forecasts it looked pretty much like the sea was quite fishable. The only thing that might have been a problem was a 4-6ft swell that was reasonably gentile.

So Ishak and I refueled the boat on Wednesday night whilst it was still at a friends workshop having undergone a number of structural reinforcements to its Stainless Steel Canopy Roof and some other small welding work.... we topped off the main tank with 200 litres of regular and loaded another 200 litres of reserve fuel in for a total range of around 300km.

The next day, was filled with last minute things that threatened to derail or delay the trip, but eventually we were good to go at 6pm after I completed wiring in the new spotlight at the launch ramp... Even then a few last minute adjustments saw us only heading out around 6.30pm with a record total of 9 guys on the boat.

Seas heading out were as forecasted with 5 foot widely spaced swells and wind conditions were also as predicted with 20kmh winds coming in from the North... The ride was a little hard but with the enhanced lighting we averaged around 42kmh heading out to a spot 72km offshore. We reached the spot around 8.15pm. This particular spot was an area we had been visiting only during daylight hours over the last 3 trips and it held some great sized Red Snapper and Kerisi Bali, but we were confident that come nightfall, we would also encounter MJs in the L & XL size.

Water depth was averaging at just over 300ft and we were parking over the edge of a "hole" in the seabed that was about 15ft deep. The sounder picture was promising, but we would only find out by fishing....

So everyone rigged up in a race to be the first to get a rig in the zone... We were using a mixture of ranggongs and XHD Apollo rigs, 4 guys in the prow of the boat were using the XHD ARs with very heavy sinkers (2 of them using handlines) and guys in the middle and stern were using ranggongs, middle guys (me and Ishak) using shorter leaders to avoid tangling the guys in the stern (3 guys, one sitting on the engines!!!) and everyone coordinated their sinker weights to minimise tangling... nonetheless we were expecting a few tangles....

Ishak was the first to get hit and in short order had boated a nice 3kg red snapper and I think that was followed by a nice kerisi bali and a grouper. Next up was one our handline boys in the front with another nice red snapper. Then it was my turn as I reacted to the classic violent MJ strike that shortly saw me hauling aboard a nice 4-5kg MJ. Just a few minutes later, Fendi who was handlining a XHDAR in front of me started hauling in and playing another good fish which turned out to be a decent 3-4kg MJ, then Kahar in the very front of the boat saw his 5 hook XHDAR score another great 4-5kg MJ on his no.3 hook.... The rear most guys were by then feeling the heat and as Ishak's rod bent over in its holder, he struck on the fish and graciously handed the outfit over to a new kaki of ours who had just started heading out with us recently. The new chap succeded in landing a very nice 5kg Snapper in short order... I think Kahar boated yet another MJ too after that.

Unfortunately after this, the wind picked up to about 30-40kmh and switched to a more westerly direction, thereby shifting the boat off the spot.... and the catch rate dropped drastically... . So in our usual "Hantam Saja" way, we cracked open the food coldbox and had our meal for the evening..... needless to say after that there were a couple of casualties with the usual serenade of "nose thunder".... some serious snoring. Except for some big marine catfish that turned up to exercise a couple of the boys (dang those things can pull hard), there were no other notable catches.

By around 1am the next morning, the remaining guys awake decided to reposition the boat since it seemed to have settled on a pretty constant bearing and after about 30 minutes of freeing a stuck anchor, Kahar reparked the boat a 120m upwind and upcurrent of the bearing and we settled in within 10m of the actual spot...... The results were good, with the crew boating snapper and kerisi bali, but I wanted another serious MJ, so I changed leader to the heavy duty Maxima Ultragreen 80lb, pulled out 2 fresh Gamakatsu 5/0s and then rigged that up to a whole big butterflied Rumahan, one hook thru the nose, the other pinning together the dorsal flaps of the bait.

I had a long wait, some 40 minutes during which everyone else pretty much crashed out but with my rod in the holder and the bait 3 cranks from the bottom, I "rested" with an eye on my rod tip and I think I may have dozed slightly to dream of pulling in an MJ....hehhehee... next thing I knew, I watched my GF755H go into a total horseshoe..... woah, mama, big mama.... Throwing finesse and technique to the wind, I scrambled to my rod and frantically cranked 3 times on the 665HXM to set the hook, whilst leaving the drag at strike. Whatever it was on the other end of the line went totally beserk and the rod bent so hard, I could not get it out of the holder (Mikey, its definitely slick butts from now on for my bottom cannons). With no other choice, I just left the rod in the holder and let the fish fight the rod and the swell that was lifting the boat, cranking whenever the line let up a little, I must have got 20 cranks on the fish before I managed to get the rod out and begin the fight properly, but the fish was still able to make 5 or 6 powerful runs straight down, headshaking, making the 755H work for its money and seeing the 655HXM unload over 20lbs of drag very smoothly. My main worry at the time was how securely the fish was hooked but with a twin hook rig, I reckoned it was reasonably safe to push that hard..... about 10 minutes later, I got the fish up but the current pushed it to the other side of the boat so I didn't get a proper look till Ishak reached down and dragged up this huge beautiful red and silver apparition with a set of fangs that would send the local Barracuda yelping off in fear.....wooooohhhooooooo..... definitely one of my PB MJs for the year and in fact the fish will be my last MJ for 2005... what a way to close the MJ account... Didn't weigh the fish, but it would have been a 10kg class animal.

Yawwwnnnn.... boy..... guys and gals I'm wrecked, I've been up continuously with only the briefest of naps for over 24 hours, its now 2230 hours and I need to catch up on some zzzzzzsss...... Will post pics now and maybe add more to yet another of my long winded CRs tomorrow.

Hope you like the pics;

Saimee

[Makaira]

Saimee ......... you are frigging ing!!!!! Now ... that's what i call a season FINALE!!!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!

[stickbom!]

Some guys just have all the luck

[mark]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Some guys just have all the luck

no you should say some place just have all the big MJ

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by DaFrogman

Whatever it was on the other end of the line went totally beserk and the rod bent so hard, I could not get it out of the holder (Mikey, its definitely slick butts from now on for my bottom cannons).

Yo Saimee,

You sure you want slick butts? I seriously looked at them when they first came out , but with the kind of fishing we do, often times with hands wet or coated with slimy bait "juice" & at times having to do some juggling act like passing the rod over / under anchor fishing lines, I felt it was a little risky to say the least. IMHO, lining the rod holder with some smooth material like a teflon sheet is an alternative. May not be as effective as a slick butt, but a safer option.

I am still pleasantly "ed" with your Finale III catch even after a good night's sleep!!!

Best regards,
Makaira

[DaFrogman]

Mak,

Dude, I am very happy that you have been most ed with my wee Catch Report.....

As for the slick butts, I actually have two Penn Rods with slick butts that I use regularly... one is the ubiquitous 40-80 Tuna Stick and the other is this nasty nasty 37kg rated Senator 9/0 which has proven to be a serious MJ neutraliser.... So far so good, these are also my standby "loaner" rods for the crew so they have seen a lot of action and fish and have survived a harsh existence so far.

Yeah, I know that the "slick butts" can get slippery especially if you have been "processing" bait, but I also found that mine get pretty damned scarred and that those scars actually make the grip quite secure... maybe I'll try doing a diamond check pattern on the butts...your suggestion on teflon in the holders is a damned good one dude, will see how I can effect it.... thanks for the idea dude ...

Oh btw, my regards to Master Ragman when you next see him...

Best Regards,

Saimee

[edylie]

This is a dream catch for me ... i ever landed deep bottom MJ ... those are really fierce and nice looking fish ... deep red and fearsome teeth

Good Catch!
-e

[tmlim]

Saimee,

Thanks for the interesting Catch Report's report. MJ is my family favorite eating fish ... 10kg MJ at 300ft is a respectable depth to haul up this fish. I once cooked fish porridge with a 6kg MJ during my daughter's birthday for 20+ people and it was a hit!

Cheers & more tightlines next year.

[DaFrogman]

TmLim,

Hey doc, how's it going, glad you liked the Catch Report..... When Shah came over we just used the head of a 7kg MJ and it was enough to hammer 9 guys... ok,ok there was also 2kg of Butter Prawns and that leeetle 2+kg Grouper... Hehehehehe...

Regards,

Saimee

[AmmarHaziq]

Salam Bro DFM,

A very long and wonderful Catch Report. What a catch you have there Bro. How good if I could have your kind of MJ collection on my trip

200 ltr + 200 ltr for spare wow what a drinker you have there.
Better safe than stranded in the open right bro. At the depth of 300ft
you have "BADANG" (among the crew) for the anchorman. Can't see any
winch on the bow.

Thanks for your Catch Report bro and awaits for your........
FINAL...FINAL... GRAND FINALE

It's not over till it's over.( 31th Dec 2005 )

Zaini

[DaFrogman]

Yo Brada Ammar,

Hehehehe..... dude, if you anchor in anything over 80ft of water and your anchors weigh 30kg like ours do, just use a buoy and retrieval clip, easy peesy to retrieve the anchor, even when its stuck..... we have anchored in as deep as 600ft of water using this system dude...thats why no winch. If no Buoy, you can jerry rig an empty fuel container as the buoy, just carry a big stainless XHD steel carabiner to clip to anchor line.

As for carrying 400ltrs of fuel, believe me, when you wanna run 200km+ in a trip and carry a decent safety margin for bad weather and to help out others that may be stranded without enough gas.... 30% margin is advisable dude, we have never run down to less than 100 litres reserve yet and since they are twin 2-stroke V6 175s on the back of this particular boat, its a whole different world in fuel consumption to say a single 115.

I don't think that there will be any more CRs dude, the monsoon has truly arrived, waves are in the 3-4m range and the wind has picked up to squall conditions. On Sunday afternoon, we lost one of the local crews at sea they were reportedly using a 23ft single engine craft.... its been 2 days now and the Navy found the half sunken vessel, but no sign of the two guys on it. We are praying that they can still be found safe, but given the sea conditions, hope is dwindling. This is a sobering reminder that one should never lose respect for the sea and that she can turn on you like the flip of a coin. Amateur seamen should be most cautious venturing out in uncertain conditions. Remember that on Thursday when we headed out, conditions were still good and that on Saturday some of my own crew launched on a local charter but came back early Sunday, reporting that the sea went nuts around midnight Sunday, with swell rising from 2m to at least 4m and wind speed that basically doubled. My crew said that the swell was breaking big time and that even with a following sea in a 28ft triple engined vessel captained by one of the most experienced guys around, it was still a very tough ride in.

Stay safe out there guys. Insya' Allah, mudah-mudahan the 2 men out there are still afloat and alive and that they will be recovered soon.

Regards,

Saimee

[fishguy360]

Hi DFM,
excellent catch! What a way to close your 2005 finale. Looking forward to more exciting CRs from you in 2006.

Have a Snappy holiday... er I mean Happy holiday!

Cheers
Terence

[AmmarHaziq]

Stay safe out there guys. Insya' Allah, mudah-mudahan the 2 men out there are still afloat and alive and that they will be recovered soon.

Brada Saimee,

Let us all pray for the safety of the 2 men. Insya'Allah dengan izin Nya
they will back with their family.

Btw, thanks for your buoy retriever system info. It's very useful for amateur kaki like me and still learning the trade.

Thanks Saimee

Regards,
Zaini

[AmbeRjacKHunter]

Zaini,
once you sort out the engine & bouy problem, we can use the cutie dinghy of yours to tresspass BSB waters wherein lies mama MJ's and a wicked frogman.....who never fails to make us drooooolll & itch whole body :P :P :P with his many many whopping toothies...

Kalau tak, go Karang Mas pun ok jugak....

Rgds
Bro RK

[AmmarHaziq]

Originally Posted by AmbeRjacKHunter

Zaini,
once you sort out the engine & bouy problem, we can use the cutie dinghy of yours to tresspass BSB waters wherein lies mama MJ's and a wicked frogman.....who never fails to make us drooooolll & itch whole body :P :P :P with his many many whopping toothies...

Kalau tak, go Karang Mas pun ok jugak....

Rgds
Bro RK

Bro RK,
I guess this is what FO for. Learn from the Sifu and expert it'll come handy
one day.

Karang Mas Don't mention that place.... there lies my
Gloomis and TLD.

Salam.
Zaini

[DaFrogman]

Zaini,

Karang Mas Don't mention that place.... there lies my
Gloomis and TLD.

Aduh..... yess sounds painful indeed.... Buy a couple of small SS carabiners, rig them up to some 5mm rope or even the Kevlar Jigging Braid then you have your outfit safety line.

Stay safe, fish hard.

Saimee

[AmbeRjacKHunter]

Don't mention that place.... there lies my
Gloomis and TLD.

Sweet jugak tu Zaini.....T.L.D.,....memang Tempat nya di Laut Dalam..... :P :P :P

mine pun terkubur in Pulau Tinggi.....

Rgds
Bro RK

[AmmarHaziq]

Bro RK dan Saimee,

Terima kasih atas simpati.. TETAPI kawan pinjam dan terkubor..
Bengkak juga hati bila di beritahu, apa nak buat bukan my rezki.

Salam buat semua Team Hantap. Stay safe.


Zaini

[tmlim]

Originally Posted by DaFrogman

TmLim,

Hey doc, how's it going, glad you liked the Catch Report..... When Shah came over we just used the head of a 7kg MJ and it was enough to hammer 9 guys... ok,ok there was also 2kg of Butter Prawns and that leeetle 2+kg Grouper... Hehehehehe...

Regards,

Saimee

Hi Saimee,

The going is not too good for fishing over here. Our very recent trip to Burma Banks was cancelled at the last minute due to bad weather (4m waves). Think will have to give up fishing for this year … luckily only have less than 4 days to go.

Thanks for the effort and enthusiasm in the CRs.

Regards
TM

[Blackmarlin]

Saimee, everytime I see your report and read it , it really make me drool and got to wear a baby bit so that my shirt are not wet. A real
Fishing Haven you got over there. Hope we will entrangle with the MJ when we come over to KK in June to tryout on Sotong's boat.

Cheers

[supersky]

Uncle Robert,

Can i tap alone to KK??

[Blackmarlin]

Originally Posted by supersky

Uncle Robert,

Can i tap alone to KK??

If I am not wrong, it full house. Unless you want to buy over my slot at double the price. hahahaha