We started off early because Uncle Lim said the Sagai were biting only in the early morning. So our first spot was near some reefs. The other anglers were using sabiki while I tried my hand at micro jigging. The current was pretty strong at the spot but I tried using a 30g jig anyway. After a few jigs, I got a hit! I started to pump and reel back only for the fish to drop off. Damn! Dropped the jig again and jigged. Got another hit. Tried reeling back and dropped the fish again! What's happening here?? Uncle Lim advised me to slowly reel the fish back and let it take line. This is because of the strong current and the soft mouth of the Sagai. I also had only 1 hook on the jig so I changed to a dual hook. After changing the hooks, the current was too strong and we had to leave the Sagai. The other anglers managed to hook a few pieces but lost a few as well.
Our next spot was near a ship. I'm really impressed with Uncle Lim with his knowledge of water conditions as well as boat parking. If the boat is not properly parked at the spot, he'll bring up the anchor and re-park. And sure enough, we hit the correct spot. We changed our rigs to ranggong-style with live prawn. No more than 5mins, a Chermin was hooked up! Soon everyone got in on the action! Some Chermin were small, some were big. The big ones were really fun on light gear. I was using my Talica 8II in free spool when one of the big Chermins took the live prawn. I let it free spool for 2 secs before engaging the drag and strike. Fish ON! The fish was taking out some line and I just let it be because the mouth of the Chermin is also quite soft. Don't want the hook to be pulled out of the mouth. Short fight later, the fish was netted. Nice fella!
The hook was deep inside the mouth so there was no fear of hook-pulling actually.
In the midst of the Chermins, we also caught quite a few Chao Xi, (Sickle Fish). Some of these fellas were pretty big and gave a good fight. My next fish was also another big Chermin. I employed the same technique, let the fish take the bait a few seconds before engaging the drag and strike. Close to 90% of the Chermins caught had the hook deep inside the mouth, only 1-2 were hooked on the lips or outside mouth.
I "iki-jime" the fish that I caught and bled them. Let's see how they taste like. Didn't managed to get a wire to destroy the spinal cord though. Probably need more practice to find where/how to insert the wires.
In the midst of catching fish, we could hear the RSAF jets flying around the Southern Islands. Lo and behold, a group of jets came thundering past in formation. I recognized them as the RSAF Black Knights. It seems they were practising their NDP routine in the area. I managed to get some nice pictures of the routines while still catching fish!
Barrel roll manoeuvre
After the Chermin, came the Queenfish. We caught quite a few fish under 1kg and they were quite the acrobat, jumping out of the water. Seems you can tell when you've hooked a Queenfish vs a Chermin. A Queenie will head to the surface to perform acrobatics while the Chermin will stay down deep with repeated head shakes.
After the spot went quiet, we moved to another spot to target bottom fish. Hats off to Uncle Lim and Alvin as they can catch Tee Boon on handline when the rest of us couldn't even get one! I managed to catch a small Parrotfish at the last spot.
The winds were really picking up by 3pm and the boat was a-rocking! Called it a day at 4:15pm as the fish weren't biting as well. Headed back to shore with a good days' fishing!
Total catch
15 x Chao Xi
15 x Chermin
5 x Queenfish
4 x Sagai
Various bottom fish - Tee Boon, Leng Chiam, Eng Ko, Parrotfish
Gear used:
Rod - Shimano TCurve Revolution Overhead Travel PE2.2-3.3 (10-15kg)
Reel - Shimano Talica 8 II
Line - Fireline Tracer 40lb
Bait - Live prawn
Rig - Ranggong
- Tee Boon aka Spanish Flag (Lutjanus carponotatus)
- Queenfish (Scomberoides commerson)
- Sagai aka Bumpnose Trevally (Carangoides Hedlandensis)
