5 kakis this time and we set off early, just as the sun had risen.
Was told to prepare heavy tackle for this trip as we are targeting whopper Orange-Spotted Groupers. Brought my Accurate and PE3-6 rod, 8/0 hooks and 80lb leader. I had set the drag on the reel to a point where with all my strength, I could only pull out a bit of the line.
Tried out my air cushion and it works like a charm! My butt is going to have a comfortable day today!
Reached our spot and hooked the live bait on with a ranggong rig. Dropped the rig over and waited. Was bumping the seabed occasionally when suddenly the line went tight. Damn, stuck onto the seabed. Pulled hard and my 60lb main line leader gave way. So lost the whole ranggong rig plus the bait. Haiz...
Rigged up another setup and sent the live bait over again. Shawn, who was beside me at the front said he was feeling the fish nibbling. He waited and then strike. But he didn't managed to get a hookup and lost the bait. Then one kaki at the back of the boat hooked up. It was a biggie as the rod had serious bend! When the fish surfaced and boated, boy was it big! Estimated around 9kg. That got everybody excited!
I continued bumping the bottom but somehow got snagged again. Darn it! Pulled and lost the whole rig again! As I was re-rigging, Shawn had another hit but failed to get a hookset again. He was cursing his luck.
Onto my 3rd rig and started fishing again. The guys at the back managed to hookup a few more Grouper around the 1-2kg range. I don't know what's wrong with me today but I got snagged yet again! @*#&*$*@#*!. Ran out of ranggong and my size 10 sinkers. Had to borrow one of Shawn's ranggong and resorted to using 2x size 6 sinkers. This is crazy! I don't know what I'm doing wrong! I let the sinker touch bottom and immediately do 3 cranks of the reel. That should be sufficient to let the bait swim just right off the bottom.
Wasted 3 precious live bait already. Dropped the 4th one over and this time, cranked 4 times. By this time, the 3 kakis at the back had already hooked up another 2-3 Groupers, including 1 Coral trout which somehow threw the hook right at the surface.
It was already 11:30am and I still hadn't got 1 bite. Shawn had already 5 bites but missed the hookset on all of it. Then as I was sitting down feeling dejected, my rod bent over almost ripping it out of my hand. Uncle shouted, "Strike! Strike!" which I promptly did and held on. This fish was taking out line still even after I had set the drag pretty tight. Tried reeling but the fish was just powering on. Then the worst thing happened. The fish found a hidey hole and I was snagged! Oh man!!
Uncle Lim saw what happened and asked me to release tension on the line and he began manoeuvring the boat to try to coax the fish out. Shawn took over on my rod and shortly after, he said the fish is out! He reeled a few times and passed the rod back to me. I switched to low gear and began cranking. I could feel this fella was heavy and when he surfaced, he was big! Uncle Lim netted and boated the fish. Woo hooo!!!!! That's a real FATTY!!
The fish weighed in at exactly 6kgs. Uncle Lim saw me panting and said, "This one small fish only, wait till you hook up a 10kg plus fish!". Well, for a 6kg fish, it definitely pulled like a freight train! I thought my drag setting was already too tight but the fish proved me otherwise. I'm stoked at catching my biggest Grouper to date!
The leader near the hook was frayed so I snipped the frayed part and re-tied the hook. As there were no more live bait, I hooked 2 live prawn on the hook and sent it down.
30mins later, I felt some taps on the line. I waited till the rod loaded up before striking. Striked twice and began cranking up. This one didn't feel as heavy and wasn't taking any line. Halfway through the fight, the fish was off! Aaarrggghhh!!! Reeled back to check and saw what happened. The hook tip was bent about 70 degrees! The last fish must've bent it and I hadn't realized it as I was only thinking of the frayed leader. That's why the hook couldn't penetrate. Haizz.......
+++TIPS+++
Always check your terminal rig after fighting a big fish. Make sure leader, knots, hooks are all still in good condition. If any part shows some wear, always re-rig with fresh terminal gear.
+++TIPS+++
After lunch, the fish stopped biting and we set off to another spot to catch some Chermin. I switched over to a running sinker rig and used live prawns. The current was rather strong but a kaki at the back of the boat managed to hook up a nice sized Chermin. I was hoping to catch one as well but my offering wasn't touched. The bites slowed right down and we didn't catch anything after that.
Decided to head back to the jetty and called it a day.
Pretty happy with my biggest Grouper to date and what a fight it was!
Gear used:
Rod - Expert Graphite JigForce PE3-6
Reel - Accurate DPX500N
Line - Sufix 832 50lb
Bait - live bait
Rig - Ranggong style
Fish ID - Orange-Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus coioides)
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