Signed up for my first trip to Kuching after missing out last Sept.
Around this time is supposed to be the opening season for fishing in Kuching. Target fish were big Ang Kuey and Tenggiri.
Surprised to see that the jetty below is where we are going to board the boat Ocean Shadow. River was swollen due to heavy rains the last few days.
Cloudy skies as we set off on our trip.
Reached fishing spot after 6hrs and it was night already. Boat anchored up and we began fishing for Tenggiri using wire traces with a ranggong rig. Bait was frozen sardines. Decided to try out my 3-ganged hooks without wire trace. Wind and waves were very strong and made the boat rocky. Cannot tahan..... went below deck to sleep.
Awoken by commotion of fish caught. A kaki managed to hook this big Ang Chor.
Was a pretty quiet night with only a few fish caught, a lot of Ah Sengs though!
Morning came and we set off to our bottom fishing grounds. Daytime is targeting Ang Kuey so change to my heavy setup and using Apollo rigs. Tried out my 6/0 circle hooks on the rigs. Bait was frozen squids. We did catch some live squid at night and used some cut fresh squid too.
The boat will circle the spot to find the mark and then do a drift over the mark. Each drift would only last 1 drop. If you're hooked up, then great. If not, then wait till the next drift.
First up was table-sized Ang Kuey. Some kakis were lucky to get double hookups!
Groupers were also feeling hungry. Can see here how the circle hook is nicely pinned at the corner of the fish's mouth.
Orange-Spotted Groupers here have a slightly different markings from the Groupers back in Sg. Same species but different habitat? Or different species altogether?
Travelling to different spots throughout the day. Most of the fish caught were Ang Kuey, Groupers and a few XL Kaci.
2nd night anchored up again to target Tenggiri. Was told that the water wasn't conducive for Tenggiris as it was too 'dirty' due to the rains recently.
But still we tried. Throughout the night, we only managed to catch 3 smallish Tenggiris. My baits went unmolested yet again.......
Called it a night after midnight.
Around 5am, was awaken by shouts that fish were biting. A kaki had hooked and boated a nice Stingray and a few other fish. Then just before sunrise, everyone began hooking up! This fish was giving us a tough fight. The first fish was gaffed and it turned out to be a Bludger Trevally.
Soon my rod began to buckle over. Quickly grabbed it and strike. The fish was on and I began reeling in. It was taking some line out when suddenly it came off! Damn it! Reeled back to check my hook and everything seem to be ok.
Re-baited with squid this time and waited. Tap-tap-tap... I free-spooled for 5secs before engaging the drag and strike. Fish ON! Started reeling in and just to make sure, I did 2 more strikes. Reeling halfway through, the fish was off again! Can't believe it, 3 ganged hooks and still can't get a solid hookup.
Tried again.... this time, the fish took the bait and ran. Engaged drag but line was still going out. Slowed down a bit then suddenly a big jerk and the line snapped! £*$&!"%! What the hell??!
++ +TIPS+++
Always check the terminal gear even after you have lost the fish. It might tell you why you lost the fish. It might also be weakened after the bust-off. Make sure leader, knots and hooks are all still in good condition.
+++TIPS+++
Checked the rig, line snapped at leader. Quickly tied a new ranggong rig but now using 2-hook setup. Baited up and waited. Tap-tap-tap-tap.....STRIKE! Fish ON! Gave it one more strike for insurance. Fought the fish and finally brought it up on board the boat. Nice fish!
Action lasted for almost 1hr and we caught 11 fish in total. We lost quite a few fish too due to their hard-fighting nature and also bad luck.
After breakfast, off we went drifting again. Hit a good spot that had us bringing up quite a number of Ang Kuey and Groupers. I had switched to regular 6/0 hooks now.
After lunch, dark clouds were forming and the wind began to pick up. Shortly thereafter, it began to rain. And it just got heavier! The heavy rain lasted for almost 30mins and continued to drizzle for the next 2hrs.
Nice set of chompers!
Woke up from afternoon nap and the sun was shining again. Continued fishing and some solid fish were hooked up.
As the sun was setting, we headed off to our final anchoring spot for the night.
Tenggiri setups came out again but we were catching only Ah Sengs! Big ones at that! No other fish were biting. Then around 1am, the boat captain informed us that we will be heading back to the jetty.
Took 6hrs to get back to the jetty and that's the end of our trip.
Fish was brought to the freezing facility for sorting and dividing.
Clearer picture of the Bludger Trevally
Stingray
Big Squid or small Tenggiri?
Total haul from 11 anglers
This trip is definitely an eye-opener for me. Although we didn't catch the Tenggiri that we wanted but it was still a good fishing trip. Looking forward to the next one in May!
Gear used:
Rod - Expert Graphite JigForce PE3-6//Blackmarket Slow Jig PE3-5
Reel - Accurate DPX500N//Shimano Talica 8 II
Line - Sufix 832 50lb
Bait - Fresh & frozen squid, frozen sardines
Rig - Apollo style (day), Ranggong style (night)
Fish ID - Orange-Spotted Grouper (Epinephelus coioides)
- Ang Kuey aka Crimson Snapper (Lutjanus erythropterus)
- Jemuduk aka Bludger Trevally (Carangoides gymnostethus)
- Areolate Grouper (Epinephelus areolatus)
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