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MR. MURPHY's Catch Report
This is a discussion on MR. MURPHY's Catch Report within the Brunei forums, part of the Asia category; Guys and Girls, I decided to write this Catch Report almost as a mini diary of the before during and after ...
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18-03-2006, 02:59 PM
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| Moderator  Join Date: May 2005 Location: Brunei
Posts: 746
My Mood:  Rep Power: 4   | MR. MURPHY's Catch Report Guys and Girls, I decided to write this Catch Report almost as a mini diary of the before during and after of one of our trips… There is probably a bunch of boring detail on prepping the boat for the trip and other stuff but it is a reasonably accurate representation of the effort we put in for a trip. The weather and sea conditions had basically locked out any thoughts of fishing for me over the last month and a bit….. That was until a week ago, when all almost overnight, the sea went to flat calm and light winds. Of course as Murphy’s Law would have it, last week also saw other family commitments preventing me from heading out to sea. So the crew and I planned to hit the sea this Thursday just passed and we started preparing accordingly. Over the last weekend, I completed some minor maintenance on the boat’s engines and everything looked set to go. But Mr Murphy would once again step in to throw a reasonably sized spanner into the works, as at the last minute, the usual tow vehicle for the boat broke down. After a bit of frantic phone calling, I managed to secure my Dad’s Nissan Patrol to tow the boat. Of course when I went to pick up Dad’s Patrol up on Wednesday night, Mr Murphy was sitting right down next to me when the “Water in Fuel” warning light came on in the Patrol, which meant that I spent the next half hour blowing the Patrol’s diesel fuel system and it was 9.30 pm by the time I finished that little chore. So with the smell of “Eau le Diesel” wafting from me, I picked up Ishak and we headed off to refuel the boat. We filled the 12 fuel containers in the Patrol (about 320 litres of regular) and transferred it into the boat’s main tank. I was a little tired by then but that means I got pretty unfit over the holidays (carrying that much fuel back and forth and loading it on the boat is great exercise). So, with fresh internal and external fuel filters and separators, I thought we had got passed Mr Murphy…..I was wrong. The next day, everything looked good except for one leeetlllllee problem….. Mr Murphy had played with the weather and sea conditions which had just literally overnight, decided to go from flat calm with light winds to become blustery winds and 4 foot swells. After consulting a bunch of weather sources including real time wave height indicators, I powwowed with the crew and we decided to head out anyway. So on Thursday afternoon, after work, we loaded the last of the gear, ice, fuel and bait and then launched with a crew of 4 at 5.30pm at low tide and had to push the boat out of the shallows before we could get her moving…whew…. Leaving the boat ramp area, we were greeted by fast 4 foot swells and medium chop. The wind was blowing but not as strongly as I feared it would. The ride was going to be pretty bouncy but we managed to run at a 47kmh average to a spot 30km offshore to pick up bait. The water seemed very cold and we managed to pick up a bunch of bait leaving about 30 live baits in the tank with the rest being put on ice for later. As we resumed our run to the main fishing area, both the wind and the swells ominously picked up a little more. 35km later and having had one or two of my vertebrae rearranged, we got to the first spot in the main area. The sounder picture looked ok, so we tied up and dropped down the first baits. I was using a Maxima Ultra Green 60lb leader and my favorite Gamakatsu twin hook rig. After not getting anything for a couple of minutes, both Ishak and I cranked up a bit to see if the fish were holding off bottom. The sounder picture did show marks some 40-50ft off the bottom. Ishak got hit first and shortly boated a nice fat 3kg ACK. A minute or so after that, I was rewarded with a solid thump on my rod and reeling in came solid with what felt like a decent fish… and it was another ACK around 4kgs. After that more fish were boated, mainly Sulit Merah or Japanese Reds, I got another 3 solid fish, and lost another one to something big with teeth…(the Taxman=either Barracuda or Shark). Zul in the front managed the only MJ for the night, since he was using the chum sinker and doing his own personal bottom chumming act. The sea conditions by this time had deteriorated considerably with the swell up to around 6 ft and the wind picking up even more. We decided to make a move for another spot before the conditions got really bad and shifted about 5 km off to a wreck. We were hoping for MJs, but I think the water must have been freezing down there, ‘cos the baits I reeled up were ice cold and that’s probably why the fish were feeding that far off the bottom. Unfortunately, the wreck was a big zero that night. Aside from pesky baby barracuda, nothing else. So for the first time in a long time, I took a serious nap whilst night fishing. I did wake up a few times that night, to check on the boat, ‘cos the sea conditions were just plain nasty….the swells were so big that at times I lost sight of an oil rig in the distance and the wind was whistlingly strong and COLD…..freezing in fact. At dawn, I woke up sharp at 6 a.m. and whilst the swells and wind had died down a little, the boat was still pitching and swaying like a belly dancer on acid. The main problem was that the wind, current and swells were all pretty much fighting each other, so the boat was moving in four different directions at anchor; a sure recipe for seasickness and indeed our most senior kaki was out for the count from the night before. But we never say die and with everyone else asleep, I changed my leader to my daytime rig with FC and sent down a bait. The surface current had picked up a lot and the bait drifted out further on the drop then I wanted, but bottom current was pretty minimal… a good sign for the fish. After bumping the rig along the bottom a little, I raised it about 15 feet from the bottom to avoid the wreck below and was almost immediately rewarded with a thump and lots of head shaking as I brought up the first decent Kerisi Bali for the day. Waking up the crew, we sent down more rigs, but it was pretty quiet after that…weird. So I shortened my leader a lot…. Down to around 8-9feet only and decided to risk fishing really close into the wreck…. And I was rewarded once again with a bump and thump that turned out to be a nice 2kg red spotted grouper-one of my favorite eating fish in the perfect table size. I kept up this process and in the space of about 20 minutes, boated 4 more red grouper and one red snapper all in the 2-3kg range. With conditions dying down to a more sane state, we decided to breakfast and then re rig for drift fishing a few nearby spots. Pulling anchor at about 8 am., we then drift fished 3 other spots, but the fish were a little smaller aside from a decent red snapper and a few Kerisi Bali. I did however get to add to my red grouper collection…. We continued to drift fish most of the morning before refueling from our fuel reserve and heading back to the ramp in time to catch the high tide. At the ramp we were greeted by the rest of the crew who had not gone with us and after getting the boat on the trailer we pulled her up to park under a shady spot and had an impromptu picnic on the boat. All in all a below average trip under normal conditions, but a reasonable catch given that most of the night wasn't fished. Sorry there aren’t that many pics, but after the picnic we had to haul ass some, 'cos there was a squall line with serious rain coming in. Regards, Saimee |
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18-03-2006, 07:58 PM
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| Super Moderator  Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood:  Rep Power: 7 | Nice one bro... you finally got to wet a line  |
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18-03-2006, 09:35 PM
| #3 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: May 2005 Location: singapore
Posts: 198
My Mood:  Rep Power: 4  | Red Hot Chili Paper Japanese Red,,,  Power Catch Guys,,,
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18-03-2006, 11:32 PM
| #4 |
| Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Singapore
Posts: 185
My Mood:  Rep Power: 4 | Saimee, You never missed out those red colored fishes on any trips eh. Nice catch for the opening season...congrats brada. ZUL ZIKO
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20-03-2006, 08:50 AM
| #5 |
| Moderator  Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pasir Ris
Posts: 712
Rep Power: 4 | Nice catch from your end dude....blame it on mama for giving me up for adoption. Now i stuck at this teeny weeny island infested with either duris or gelamas  |
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20-03-2006, 06:26 PM
| #6 |
| Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UpNorth Singapore
Posts: 82
Rep Power: 3 | Brada Saimee, Great Catch Report and nice collection of reds. I think you should compile all your CR and publish it....  Regards Zaini
__________________ EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED   |
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20-03-2006, 06:29 PM
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| Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: UpNorth Singapore
Posts: 82
Rep Power: 3 | Quote:
Edros, You forgot to mention the bluesgang... Regards Zaini
__________________ EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED | |
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20-03-2006, 10:12 PM
| #8 |
| Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Location: Brunei
Posts: 746
My Mood: Rep Power: 4 | Thanks for the kind words dudes... Just as an interesting observation, we got back from my trip on Friday and the crew re-launched on another trip on Saturday :P :P ...without me...  BUT... whilst the sea conditions were flat calm on Saturday and the current conditions seemed ideal, they found the water to still be very unusually cold and the catch was really, really bad. They covered over 250km on that trip, and tried every spot and every trick short of netting and yet they caught only around 1 commercial tray of pretty small fish.... oh and they accidently hooked up on a Turtle but that was a C&R and a good story too. Will probably head out this week again and bring a water heater element, a bunch of long cables, and a generator.... if the water is too cold I'll damn well warm it....hehehehe. Saimee P.S. I am kidding about the heater, Really, Well mostly kidding...  |
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21-03-2006, 01:04 PM
| #9 |
| Member  Join Date: May 2005 Location: Redhill, Singapore
Posts: 27
Rep Power: 0 | excellent catch report, saimee! picked up a few tricks from your Catch Report.  Terence |
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22-03-2006, 11:42 AM
| #10 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bedok
Posts: 195
Rep Power: 4 | who needs reading a book when we can read your exciting CRS'...once again..you never seem to dissapoint.Cheers and salams to your krazy geng crew.
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22-03-2006, 10:48 PM
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| Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood: Rep Power: 7 | Quote:
:P | |
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22-03-2006, 11:00 PM
| #12 | ||
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: bedok
Posts: 195
Rep Power: 4 | Quote:
Hee hee  I wish Stickbom...i wish.I'm worried cos his rods n reels are like some parts of a giant crane.....really big buggers
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22-03-2006, 11:43 PM
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| Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood: Rep Power: 7 | Small price to pay lar bro... dun think the amberjacks in Tanjung Pinang can pull line from your Kaikon :P Better ask DFM to show you some real good fishing holes  |
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23-03-2006, 12:06 AM
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| Moderator  Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Singapore
Posts: 718
My Mood:  Rep Power: 5 | Quote:
Mike Tanjung Pinang got Amberjack meh????LIke I muz go jig for them liao.....AJ AJ AJ !!!! Cheers Jason
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23-03-2006, 01:30 AM
| #15 |
| Administrator  Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore
Posts: 1,000,040
My Mood:  Rep Power: 10 | Great Catch Report Saimee!!!!  Jason, I do not think there is any Amberjack in TG Pinang. -e |
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23-03-2006, 07:14 PM
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| Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood: Rep Power: 7 | Quote:
... Team Sepak Headman Amberjack Hunter have been hunting for Amberjack in Tanjung Pinang for the longest time leh... how can you say dun have  | ||
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23-03-2006, 11:17 PM
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| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Choa Chu Kang,Spore
Posts: 454
Rep Power: 4 | Quote:
__________________ Une Passione,..Un But Commune | |||
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24-03-2006, 03:22 PM
| #18 |
| Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood: Rep Power: 7 | See see... no need go until Israel or Bali to get Amberjack |
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24-03-2006, 03:24 PM
| #19 |
| Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pasir Ris
Posts: 712
Rep Power: 4 | Eh....Edy's kow tun reminds me of Jason... . That's the nick Uncle gave him. |
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24-03-2006, 03:32 PM
| #20 |
| Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pasir Ris
Posts: 712
Rep Power: 4 | Wah liao Jason....we spent 1k plus to get the Amberjack whereas you can get them at Tanjung Pinang. Bro RK, Can you confirm again...is it a Amberjack? Or bulat with yellow stripes...or maybe a giant ikan kuning...hehehe just kidding lah. I'm getting all mixed up liao. Cheers! physlo |
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24-03-2006, 03:48 PM
| #21 | |
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Choa Chu Kang,Spore
Posts: 454
Rep Power: 4 | Quote:
In fact if lucky, around Aur waters / unjams can get too but mostly < 2kg so far.... I might be wrong here but havent heard of any catch bigger that that by kakis that I knew..  I've even caught a Rainbow Runner in Tanjung Pinang before ard 3 kg only....quite rare too in those waters... So gentlemen...I guess its a matter of adding up the number of zeroes to your $$$ then perhaps only can achieve your dream size Amberjacks proportionately relative to the amount you pay for the trip... :P Rgds
__________________ Une Passione,..Un But Commune | |
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24-03-2006, 04:33 PM
| #22 | |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore
Posts: 709
Rep Power: 5 | Quote:
Years ago, someone told me the Aji Aji we catch in Aur is actually Samson ..... not Amberjack's I could be wrong though.Best regards, Makaira | |
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24-03-2006, 06:26 PM
| #23 |
| Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Eastern Sider
Posts: 2,002
My Mood: Rep Power: 7 | WAH  this is getting better  Now we have SAMSONS in Malaysia  Hey Hon-su the Samson Slayer want to come try |
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25-03-2006, 08:41 AM
| #24 | ||
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Choa Chu Kang,Spore
Posts: 454
Rep Power: 4 | Quote:
 ..me include...can't verify that but I if I were to rely on my depleted memo....cant recall seeing any trademark of a typical Amberjack...perhaps still early days for that size .... again I may be wrong here...same issues on GTs, Sagais & Gerpoh...Rgds
__________________ Une Passione,..Un But Commune | ||
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