Got to the boat early and already saw the boat was rocking even while anchored at the marina. Already took my meds and decided to take one more for 'insurance' and off we went. As I had very little rest prior to boarding, I decided to rest all the way in the bunk until we came to the first fishing spot. While in the bunk, I could feel the waves hitting the hull roughly, rocking back and forth but I still managed to catch up on some rest.
We reached the first spot after dinner and as I made my way out to the deck, the boat was really rocking hard! Had to hold on to the handrails to keep steady. Got to my fishing station and started fishing. As it was night and no horizon to look out to, I started feeling a bit queasy. Sat down and stuck my rod in the rod holder. After about 15mins, I couldn't take it anymore and 'merlion-ed' overboard. Oh man, that seasick feeling is just terrible! Felt a bit better and just sat with my head down. Next thing I know, people were shouting and the clicker on my reel went off! Fish ON! Quickly stood up and began cranking. This was a tough fish and it was making some short, deep runs. Changed to low speed crank and managed to bring the fish up. It turned out to be a decent sized Bulat (Big Eye Trevally). First time catching this fish but I was too seasick to try to take a picture of it. Re-baited and sent the bait down again. After about 30mins, the next round of 'berley-ing' came. Stood up and just let it all out! Oh the stomach was aching! Other anglers were still catching some fish, notably the John's Snappers. I was contemplating whether or not to continue fishing when my reel clicker went off again! Fish ON! Cranked and reeled and the fight was similar but heavier this time. As the fish approached the mid water level, the fight lessened and I continued to reel in. Up came a big Ang Chor (John's Snapper). Yay!! Boat captain came on deck and saw me suffering. He said the swells today was expected to be from 1.2m - 1.5m. Tomorrow would be better.With these 2 fish in the bag, I decided I couldn't handle it anymore and headed back in to my bunk. Somehow, lying down on the bunk made me feel less seasick.
Woke up around 5am, feeling a bit better and began fishing again. It was a slow morning and nothing notable was caught. After breakfast, we moved off to another spot to fish for baitfish and other schooling fish. By this time, the seas have 'calmed' down a bit and I began to feel a bit better. The sabikis came out and right on the money, we were pulling up lots of baitfish and Cencaru as well. As we were anchored near a FAD, some anglers were bringing up some unusual fishes. For the first time, I saw a juvenile Red Emperor, Leatherjackets and some other parrotfish. After topping up the bait wells, we moved off to the next spot. The boat captain said we'll go to a spot to catch Chermin (Diamond Trevally).
After lunch, we anchored up and I switched to my lighter setup of Eupro Salty Fighter rod with Shimano Talica 8II reel. Set up an Apollo rig with my Tainawa hook and live prawn as bait. I hooked the live prawn through the tail end and sent it down. Within minutes I felt a sharp tug and knowing I was using a circle hook, I did not strike. There was no further action so I reeled up to check the bait. True enough, only the prawn head was left on the hook. Re-baited but this time I put the hook through the head of the prawn and sent it down. As the anglers next to me had their lines tangled, I held my rod high for them to get it untangled. Suddenly there was a hard tug and somehow I just lifted my rod more and now the fish was ON! The rod was bent and line was peeling out! I then realized that my drag lever wasn't set at STRIKE so I quickly pushed it to the position. Luckily, it slowed the line peeling and I began an earnest fight with the fish. Every meter I gain, the fish takes out another 1.5m. I could feel the head nodding action and the fish was diving deep down. Switched to low gear and began cranking. Slowly I managed to gain back some line. Even when I reached the mid-water level, the fish was still fighting, telling me that it wasn't a bottom dweller, who by now would have a bloated swim bladder. Some anglers were already saying it was a Diamond Trevally and soon I got color. Wasn't the usual shimmering mirror sides of a Diamond Trevally but a rather dirty, blotchy, yellowish body. Big fella as well! The deckies netted the fella and high fives all around! I had a quick look and the Tainawa hook was pinned nicely at the corner of the mouth! Sweet!
I tied on my sabiki rig and began catching baitfish. At one point, I felt that there was a lot of baitfish on the sabiki and reeled up. Then the line went slack.... Reeled up to check and saw that the sabiki rig gave way at the top swivel. Hmmmm.... Tied another sabiki and tried again. Reeled up with fish and the rig went slack again. Checked... same thing, gave way at swivel. I reckoned that this batch of Seahawk brand sabiki rigs that I bought from a tackle shop in Penang must be inferior quality. As I didn't want to lose more weights, used another brand. Soon, we had filled a few buckets with Cencaru, Selar and Kembung fish, in addition of topping up the bait well with other smaller baitfish.
Night fishing session began and I switched to my Ranggong rig. Pinned a nice, live selar on my hook sent it down. A short while later, my reel clicker went off for 2secs and then nothing. Reeled back to check and saw my hook was missing! Leader near the hook end was sliced off. Hmmm.....Barracuda? Pinned another live fish and sent it down. This time I held my rod and waited. Then I felt my baitfish getting nervous, darting around. Felt a short tug and I quickly strike! But nothing...... waited a while but still nothing. Reeled back to check and could see some teeth marks on the baitfish. Alvin suggested I should release more line to entice the fish to take the whole bait. Sigh....missed opportunity. Shortly later, Alvin hooked up a nice Ang Chor. As it went quiet for a while, I decided to take a short nap in the bunk.
Woke up past midnight and started fishing again. But this time, the current was so strong that my size 20 sinker wasn't even enough for the rig to stay bottom. Had to release more line each time to try to maintain bottom. After about an hour of fishing without any hookup, I decided to call it a night.
The next thing I heard was Shawn waking me up telling me that the deckies were beginning to clean the fishes and we were heading back home. Was rather tired and didn't get the deckies to arrange the fishes properly to take a good photo. We decided to share our catches between the 4 of us and we went back with our ice boxes almost filled to the top.
It was a good fishing trip although the first night was a tough one for me. I'd probably need to work out on improving my hookup rate. I should not be missing the so many opportunities!
Gear used for Diamond Trevally:
Rod - Eupro Salty Fighter PE0.8-2.0
Reel - Shimano Talica 8II
Line - Fireline Tracer 40lb
Bait - Live prawn on Tainawa hook
Rig - Apollo style
Fish ID - Chermin aka Diamond Trevally (Alectics indicus)
- Ang Chor aka John's Snapper (Lutjanus johnii)
- Bulat aka Big Eye Trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus)
