Batu Pahat Tony Trip #2 - Big Ang Chor!

Joining another trip to Batu Pahat. This time with different anglers. 

Learning from the last trip, now I've brought my proper jigging setup, Storm Kodachi PE4 paired with Shimano Biomaster 4000 reel. 

We reached the jetty a bit late after the drive from S'pore. But we still managed to get out to the fishing spot pretty quickly.

First Kurau spot, I used a 40g Kurau jig Rainbow and began jigging. There wasn't much current so a light jig was sufficient. Twitched the jig up/down, making it work within 1m from the seabed. Then a small fish took. Up came a small Gelama or Croaker. Unhooked and released to grow bigger.

Soon, Capt Tony was hooked up. He managed to land a nice sized Kurau. Another angler also hooked up a Kurau. From the picture, the top one is a Black Kurau, bottom is a White Kurau.

I tried the whole morning but nothing was taking my jig. Think its going to be one of those days.....

Lunch time, we moved to the lighthouse and began jigging for Tenggiri. I switched to a 60g Kurau jig as the current was picking up.

One angler had a bottom rig set up with a dead prawn. Suddenly, his rod bent over and the fish was taking line. Fish was unstoppable and finally snapped the rig. What a waste!

Another angler was using a sabiki rig when his rig was smashed by a large fish. After some scurrying around the boat, he managed to land a decent Queenfish.

I was still not getting hits on the jig. Unfortunately, I had lost quite a few jigs due to snags.

Come late afternoon, we headed back closer to shore, I decided to change my jig to a blade jig. This blade has an enticing wiggle when reeled back. While working the blade just off the seabed, I had a grab and up came a small Ang Chor aka John's Snapper. Fish was duly released.

That was the last action of the day. 

Next day, the plan was to head out a bit further to try to get some action. But Capt Tony wanted to try a closer spot first. 

Tied on a 30g Kurau BlackTop jig and started. Not 5 twitches when a fish slammed the jig! Fish ON!

Played the fish to the surface when another angler was hooked up as well. Just as the fish was close to being netted, it shot out again! Finally managed to "swim" the fish close and into the net. YES!!

Finally caught my target fish. Other anglers managed to hook 2 more smaller fishes before it went quiet.

So we moved to the spot further away. Place had nice soundings on the fish finder but nothing was biting.

Moved to another spot and I was running low on assist hooks and jigs. I had to watch the fish finder very closely whenever we drifted over the snags, so as to lift the jigs higher to avoid being tangled.

As the spot had a lighter current, I switched my jig to a Shimano Coltsniper 35g jig. I was rewarded with a small Kurau which was hooked unexpectedly on the nose!

Subsequently lost the jig due to snags..... sigh!

Things went quiet again and we moved spot.

This next spot had a large, rocky area which could deplete my jigs if I'm not careful!

Capt Tony did 4 drifts over this spot and each drift, anglers were getting hits but failed to hookup. I had tied on a 30g Kurau SilverTop jig and it was on the drop when a fish slammed on the jig!

Fish ON!

Fish was close to the snags so I had to high stick a bit to get the fish away from the bottom. Finally, got it clear and then it was a clean fight. Fish was giving a good account for itself and when it finally surfaced, I was elated! It was a large Ang Chor! Fish topped 2kg!

The weather warmed up quite a bit in the afternoon and we headed to the lighthouse, hoping for some Tenggiri action.

We jigged, baited, used pintails and everything but the kitchen sink and we didn't hook any Tenggiri. Seems the Tenggiri weren't around or not interested.

I did get a hookup on a small Queenfish though. Something to break the poor fishing in the afternoon.

The last few hours only yielded a few small Croakers again and we called it a day.

Fishing in Batu Pahat is definitely different from the East Coast. Here you'll get your much sought-after Kurau and Ang Chor but if the conditions aren't right, there's no other fish to "play" with, unlike the East Coast where bait fish like Selar, Kembung, Cencaru are still available.

Batu Pahat Tony Trip #1 - Hello Mr Kurau!

First time joining a 2D1N trip to Batu Pahat, courtesy of organizer David Ho on boat Kurau Haven. Boat captain is Capt Tony.

Target fish is Kurau aka .. It's a fish that I've not caught before.

Set off early via MPV pickup with 5 other anglers and we were at the jetty around 8am. Was told the fishing grounds were only 15-20mins away. So got my jigging setup done with a Kurau 40g jig.

Capt Tony was instructing us the method to jig for the Kurau. Let the jig hit the seabed and then do 2 short lifts and free-spool down again. When the jig hits the seabed, it should create a "puff" of sand and that should attract the Kurau to come investigate. Surely enough, during his demo, a fish took the jig! He slowly worked the fish up to the boat but when the fish saw the net, it bolted like mad! So his advise was to be ready for that final run and keep pressure until the fish is in the net.

Soon other anglers were hooking up. Most of the fish were under 1kg but still decent. I didn't get a hit all morning..... soon the bite stopped and we moved to a lighthouse in the Straits of Malacca.

Here we were going to be jigging for Spanish Mackerel. The technique here is different.

++++++++++++++ TIPS +++++++++++++++

According to Capt Tony, the Tenggiri at Batu Pahat tend to feed nearer the bottom of the water column. We were told to add a treble to the end of the Kurau jig and let it drop to the bottom. Once at the seabed, we are supposed to rip it fast all the way to mid-water and free-spool back to the bottom. Repeat.

++++++++++++++ TIPS +++++++++++++++

As the current wasn't really strong, the 40g Kurau jig I was using was good enough. Once the jig was on the seabed, I lifted the rod once and felt like I was snagged. Gave it a pull and it came free but felt heavy. I thought I had snagged a piece of coral and slowly reeled back. Then I felt some light head shakes and thought maybe its a small fish snagged on a plastic bag. Continued to reel in and as it reached the boat, I saw that it was actually a Spanish Mackerel! The fish reached the side of the boat and bolted to the horizon! The next thing I felt was limp line......... Damn! Reeled back and the fish had spat out the jig. I didn't do a proper hook-set as I thought it was a piece of rubbish!

Went back to jigging and this time I got a solid hookup! Decent fish gave a good fight. How I missed the sound of a screaming drag!! Slowly played the fish close enough to gaff.

The other anglers were also hooking up, with a few scoring the rarer Tenggiri papan aka    .

Among 5 of us, we managed to catch a few more Tenggiri before ending the day. It was a slow day for me but made up with the fun from the Tenggiri.

The 1st day catch

Next morning, we headed out again with Kurau 1st on the list. I need to catch one!!

Reached the fishing spot and began jigging with the Kurau jig. After about 20mins, I had a take. Didn't feel heavy but when it came close to the boat, it bolted as expected! Slowly worked it back to the boat and netted!. Finally, my first Kurau! Less than 1kg specimen but I'm still happy!

Dropped my jig over again and within 5mins, I was onto another fish! Same fight and up came another Kurau. This time take a wefie with the fish!

Capt Tony managed to hookup a much bigger Kurau, in the 2kg range. Boy the fish can run!

In amongst the Kurau, we here also hooking up small Croakers like this one. This fish aren't shy in hitting a jig too big for its mouth!

Just before lunch, the bite quieten down so we moved to the Tenggiri spot. Tied on a 40g Kurau jig Chrome and began jigging. Managed to score another Tenggiri on the Kurau jig.

As I had lost a few Kurau jigs by this time due to snags, I switched to a White Rabbit MJ-3000 jig and started jigging. After about 10mins of casting around the structure, I hooked up on something. It started to speed off in the horizon! Fish ON! I thought it was another Tenggiri but this time it fought differently. After some careful reeling, the fish came near the boat and I saw I had foul-hooked it at the rear. Still managed to gaff it up!

Continued jigging but things had quieten down.

Later in the afternoon, we moved back to the Kurau spot and tried to catch them. But they weren't around so we called it a day.

This was a pretty good introductory trip to Batu Pahat. The fishing here requires a different technique and as always, its best to listen to what information the boat captain has to offer in order for you to catch fish.

But always listen with a large dose of salt!!

Gear used:
Rod - Shimano TCurve Tropical PE1-2
Reel - Shimano Stradic Ci4 3000
Line - Sunlin Siglon 30lb
Lure - Kurau jig
       
Fish ID - Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson)
             - Kurau aka Blue Threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum)

Sport Fishing Explorer Trip #15 - Jewfish!

Back on board with my usual set of fishing kakis. Set off early with nice weather but the weather forecast weren't that great for the next few days. Due to delays at Bintan immigration, we could only set off to fishing grounds after lunch.

Had just bought a new fishing set; Storm Gomoku Kodachi PE4 spinning rod & Shimano Biomaster 4000.

Reached our 1st spot and I started jigging with my Kurau 40g jig. After about 5mins of jigging, I got a ferocious hit on the jig! Fish ON! Fish was peeling out line from my new setup nicely. Slowly played with the fish until it was close to the net. It was a large Golden Trevally! What a great way to pop the cherry on my new fishing rod and reel!

Now got the incentive to jig! Tried for another hour or so but no more hits. Other anglers were doing some bottom fishing but very poor bite rate.

Woke up early next morning to jig again. Deckie advised to use lumo jigs during darkness so I tied on my trusty lumo jig and started jigging. Within 2mins, I was hooked up. Good fight on the fish and it was a nice .... Gold-Spotted Trevally.

Was told the deckies were working hard catching squids for us last night. And here they are!

Later in the afternoon, the captain anchored at a spot the was firing! Almost everybody got into the action. The fish being brought up was the seldom seen Unicorn Leatherjacket. These fish have very small mouths but very sharp teeth. Initially, I was getting hookups but halfway through the fight, the fish would drop off! It happened 3 times! So my friend suggested using a long shank hook with small gape. True enough, I managed to land 2 of the fish subsequently. They were good fight on light tackle.

We scored quite a lot of these fish, all about the 2kg mark.

Later at night, I went back to jigging using my lumo jig and hooked up with this Pennantfish. Probably still a juvenile but still was great fun on my light jigging setup.

Next afternoon, we stopped by a place to gather some bait fish in case we run out of squids at night. Out came the sabiki rigs and my trusty telescopic rod!

A full house on the hooks!

As this was the last night of fishing, I was going to stay up all night till it was time to up anchor and go home.

An angler caught this pretty flounder. Very unique skull markings!

Baited my modified ranggong rig with a squid and waited. Fish took a nibble and was hooked up. Didn't give much of a fight. Brought the fish up and it looks like a small dogfish. Unhooked and released back into the water.

Re-baited and down went a live squid. Sat waiting for the bites when I noticed my rod tip twitching. Very gently, I took the rod out from the rod holder and free-spooled. Slowly the fish was taking out line and still I waited. Thinking that the fish had truly taken the squid, I engaged the drag and strike! FISH ON! Quickly reeled it up but the fish was giving a bit of a fight. When it approached the surface, it looked like a Barramundi. Unusual to catch a Barramundi out in open waters. Just about when it was netted, I realized that it was a large Jewfish! OMG! I've never caught this fish before and finally its on deck!

After the Jewfish, the fishing went quiet. Then only left 5 rods as the others had packed up. We were due to leave back to port at 6am.

4:00am: My rod bent over and I quickly grabbed it and started reeling. Fish was taking a bit of line but no match for my Talica 8 overhead reel. Up came a nice 2kg Kaci aka Painted Sweetlip.

Re-baited with a 20cm live squid. Waited....

4:30am : Light tapping on the rod. Held my rod in hand, free-spooled and waited. Fish running! Engage drag! Fish ON! Whoa... this fish is giving a good fight, taking out some line. Managed to subdue it and up it came. My first Ang Chor aka   , for this trip. Nice 2.5kg fish!

5:30am : My rod bent over again! Quickly reeled and this time it felt lighter. Fish was coming up quickly and it turned out to be a small shark. Unhooked and released back into the water.

That was the last action of the trip.

Overall, the catch rate was pretty decent. Not many Ang Chor but made up with lots of Trevally and the Leatherjackets.

Gear used:
Rod - Blackmarket Slow Jig PE3-5// Storm Kodachi PE4
Reel - Shimano Talica 8 II // Shimano Biomaster 4000
Line - Sufix 832 50lb //  J-Braid X8 35lb
Bait - live squid 

Fish ID  - Orange-Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus coioides)
               - Ang Chor aka John's Snapper (Lutjanus johnii)
              - Pennantfish (Alectis ciliaris)
              - Gold-spotted Trevally (Carangoides fulvoguttatus)
              - Unicorn Leatherjacket, (Aluterus monoceros)

FishStalker Charters Trip #1 - New charter

Found a local Southern waters fishing charter who offers individual bookings. 10pax max to the boat.

This suits me as I can just hop on a day charter whenever my schedule permits.

Boarded the boat at Marina South Pier. The boat seems comfortable with adequate rod holders on all sides. Live prawns were provided. The boat operates by drifting along the channels near the anchorage. They drift about 1km then motor back to the same area.

Morning started pretty good, some anglers started catching Groupers.

I used my 200g Shimano Lucanus orange jig, baited with a prawn. As we were drifting, I felt a tug. Lowered the rod a bit and the fish jumped on. Fish ON! I slowly reeled the fish up, without the pumping motion. Soon, the fish came up and it was a nice sized Grouper. 1.5kg!

+++++++++++++++TIPS++++++++++++++++

I was told that when you use madai style fishing, you should just reel without pumping. This is because when the rod is at the top of the 'lift' and you bring the rod down, the 'head' of the madai will drop faster than the hooks. This may cause the hook to dislodge from the fish if the hookset is weak.

If you just keep reeling, there's constant pressure on the hookset with less chance of the hook dislodging.

+++++++++++++++TIPS++++++++++++++++

After lunch, I switched to a sliding sinker rig. Baited up and dropped down. As soon as it touched bottom, I felt a tug. I thought I was snagged but then the fish started running. Quickly set the hook and Fish ON! Reeled back and it was another Grouper.

After 3pm, the bites reduced drastically. Only 2 more fish were brought up. Whatever fish that was caught, was given a colored zip tie and tied on the fish. The boat captain and deckie was helpful in fishing as well. They caught about 5 fish and distributed some of it to those that didn't catch a lot of fish. That was pretty admirable in my book!

Our total catch for the day.

I'm pretty satisfied fishing for the first time on FishStalker charters. Although their fishing spots may be limited, it makes up for it by catching fish in decent numbers, ease of joining the charters and the service provided on board. Thumbs up!

Sport Fishing Explorer Trip #14 - Chinaman!

Joined my regular kakis on Sport Fishing Explorer trip. This trip we were going a bit further East than normal. Apparently some "new" fishing grounds to explore.

Weather wasn't very good on the way out. Light rain until we reached the first spot at night. Then the heavens opened! Rained so hard that didn't feel like fishing. Fish weren't biting as well.

Woke up next morning to fish. Tied my trusty Shimano Lucanus jig in orange and dropped it over. After a while, felt something tugging the jig. I slowly lowered the jig a bit more and the fish grabbed it! Fish ON! 

Used constant reeling to bring the fish up and it was a beautiful Any Kuey aka Crimson Snapper. This fella weighed in at 2kg. So happy!

A few hours later, I was fishing with bait and we happened to come across a school of this unusual fish. It's a Starry Triggerfish or locally known as Ayam. These fish have small but powerful mouths and very thick skin.

As the fish were biting, I decided to start jigging again. Used my Shimano Butterfly jig in Phantom Squid coloration. This jig flutters down like slow fall jigs and I managed to hook up a Kerisi or Gold-band Snapper. This was the fish we were looking for, travelling further east.

Even the Starry Triggerfish got in on the action with the jig!

After this hot bite session, things slowed down pretty much. We moved from spot to spot without any bites. Spent a lot of time traveling between spots.

At night, we anchored up and I started jigging with my lumo jig. Scored this feisty Trevally.

As we moved from spot to spot, we hooked up a variety of fish. But not a lot.

Then on the last night, while I was sleeping, we heard a loud commotion on the deck. Woke up to see that another angler had caught a huge fish! This is the Chinaman fish! First time I'm seeing it and it was a big fella! Very pretty markings too!

According to Australian sources, this fish tends to have high concentrations of ciguatera toxins. We still kept the fish as it was beyond release.

Overall, we felt that this trip wasn't a good one because we traveled too far and moved spots too much to be actually fishing. The quality of fish caught was also below expectations. But it all made up with good company, drinks and food.

Caught too many of these Catfish!

Gear used:
Rod - Blackmarket Slow Jig PE3-5
Reel - Shimano Talica 8 II
Line - Sufix 832 50lb
Bait - live prawn / live squid /
Rig - Apollo style (day), Ranggong style (night)

Fish ID - Ayam aka Starry Triggerfish (Abalistes stellaris)
            - Ang Kuey aka Crimson Snapper (Lutjanus erythropterus)
            - Orange-Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus coioides)
            - Gold Band Snapper aka Angkoli (Pristipomoides multidens)
         

Miri Marine Harvest #3 - Busted by Barracoutas

Annual trip to Miri on Marine Harvest.

This trip we are heading to Royal Charlotte Reef again. 12 hours of travel time to get to the reef.

Once we reached the spot, we started jigging. I was the 2nd to hookup and it was a small Dogtooth Tuna. Gave a pretty decent fight on light tackle.

We were doing a mix of jigging and bottom fishing. I set up my bottom rig with circle hooks with frozen sardines as bait. Up came a small Flame Snapper. Haven't caught this fish before. Nice coloring and tail.

Re-loaded with bait and dropped down again. At this time, the boat had moved to a deeper spot, around 150m. With the current going, I'm guessing my line went out around 200m! Adding a 500g sinker, the crank back up is going to be a bitch!

Since its so deep, I disregarded all the small nibbles of fish and held on to the rod in free spool. Then suddenly, a fish took the bait and ran! I let the fish take line for about 5secs and then closed the drag lever. Rod loaded up and FISH ON! Fish gave a good fight from deep and I had to switch to low gear drag on my Talica 12II and slowly reeled it up. Fish showed red coloring and was a nice Ruby Snapper! These fish are always so beautiful!

Re-baited and dropped the rig over. As the rig was going down, I suddenly felt a snap and the line became slack...... Darn it! Reeled it back and my main line was cut!

Then another angler hooked up on a big fish. Managed to reeled it up and it was a monster Barracouta!

Then I knew that my line was probably cut by these pesky fish.

After dinner, we moved spot again and began jigging. I managed to hook up a Big-Eye Trevally on lumo jig. These fish are feisty buggers! Wished it was bigger though!

After a while, the razor gang moved in. Other anglers were getting their line cut mid-water by the nuisance Barracoutas. They were not only losing jigs left, right and center but fish too!

At this point, I didn't feel like losing more jigs to the fish and as I was still feeling a bit queasy from the 12hr journey, slept through till the next afternoon.

Afternoon bottom bashing yielded quite a variety of fishes. I managed to hook up this fatty Rusty Jobfish.

Nice sunset on the reef!

Night-time jigging scored this Rainbow Runner!

Next day, moved around the reef to within casting distance.

Caught all sorts of reef fish.

Last day on the reef. Woke up at 5am, hoping to score some fish at sunrise. Tossed out my Halco Twisty 40g on my spinning gear, 2 rips and was hooked up! Fish ON! A quick fight later, the fish was on board. A metre-long Barracuda. What a nice wake-up call!!

Soon everyone was awake and fishing. One angler caught a horse of a Barracuda, putting my fish to shame!

As we were still plagued by the Barracoutas, we moved closer to the reef to fish. I managed to hook up quite a few colorful fish from the reefs.

kk

A variety of fish caught on the whole trip.

khh

Overall, we were quite disappointed with the trip as the Barracouta were wreaking havoc to our fishing. Lost countless jigs, main braided lines and sinkers. The fish that we caught were not as many as we had last year.

Well, that's fishing! There's always next year!