Zambales Holiday Fishing

I went kayak fishing during the Christmas holiday in Zambales. I was able to land 2 Mangrove Jacks and 1 Barracuda using my favorite lure, Heddon Zara Spook.

When the salties were not biting, I drove to my freshwater honey hole for some snakehead fishing. Total hookups, 10. 6 landed.

Can't wait for the New Year holiday. I might sneak some kayak fishing to my newly discovered estuarine river.

Lakeshore 12-27-09

I passed by Lakeshore on my way to Manila from Zambales this morning. I met up with fellow anglers Alan, Obet, Bien, Carlo at around 6:30am. It was a fun and relaxed fishing day. First to catch was Obet who caught a nice sized Toman at around 1.5kg. After that, Alan hooked up to a dalag. After half an hour, Carlo came back to our original spot near the fountain. He was working on the opposite side of the lake. He hooked a biggie but lost it when the leader snapped.

Anyway, we transferred to the other side to check if there were other hungry tomans there. I managed to hook and land one using my fave lure. It's a 3.35kg. Not the lola or lolo toman (above 6kg) I was hoping to catch but the fight was fun.

Lakeshore Quickie [12-20-09]

Originally, me and my cousin were supposed to go there but we called it off because we got drunk last night, or so I thought. I woke up 4am and I wasn't able to go back to sleep. I decided to push with the original plan. So I packed my stuff and a couple of baitcasters and went. Anyway, I deserved a fishing break after the long stressful week. I didn't call my cousin or other anglers who might be interested. It was too early and I will be there for only about a couple of hours.

The first catch is about 1 to 1.5kg.

The second one is very good sized Kuya Toman :D . 3.38kg. It was a fast swimmer and keeps peeling line from my Revo SX. I think it is a male because of the coloration --- bluish purple. When I was trying to remove the hook. The critter bit my thumb :D.

The third is a 1.6kg and was also a great fighter.

All in all, i had 6 hookups. 3 break-offs and 3 landed. There was a big one--- it could be bigger than a mama toman as it destroyed my lure. It literally shattered the tail hook. It now has a treble hook nose ring. It could be a lolo or lola toman.

It was a nice trip all in all. To top the catches, Lakeshore staff did not charge me. IT was their Openhouse today. Free fishing and I was even treated to barbeque and grilled hotdog. Nice!

Finally, A Mama Toman!

We heard that the tomans are getting active so we (Me, my cousin JB, Mikko and RC) decided to head off to Lakeshore early this morning. I wasn't able to sleep really. I kept imagining hooking up a mama toman for sooo long. I was able to catch a number of juvie tomans but I didn't seem to feel satisfied. I really wanted to hook, photograph, and release a mama toman.

Mikko, JB, and RC starting casting as soon as they got off the pickup. Me, I was left behind. I was struggling to rig my two Revo casting combo. On the first attempt, the line didn't pass through the reel's line guide. I had to redo both reels. I was soo annoyed. While my companions were busy casting and changing lures, I was still rigging.

But, luck is on my side. On my second cast --- seriously --- the second cast --- while I was still getting the feel of the reel and the lure, there was a huge explosive strike! On instinct, I set the hook. I knew it was big. When it peeled line from my Revo Inshore, I knew I hooked the mama toman! But oh men! we forgot the landing net. I had to wade into the water so I can reach the fish with my lip grip. I wasn't going to lose it. It was amazing. I made short strong runs and when you gain line and when the fish is almost within reach, it will give a quick burst of speed. Too bad, it was no match to my GoodCatchFishing combo (Fenwick HMG- Revo Inshore - Sufix Superior Leader - Sufix Matrix pro braid) combo. :D

It was a 5.7kg mama with muscle and it is still out there for other anglers to try and capture.

We took a few photos, quickly weighed, and then released it.

I went around the lake and fished some more. It was amazing. Luck was really on my side. I landed three more. A couple of 1kg+ and one that might hit 2kg.

When I thought the lucky streak was over, I went over to the dock near the Lakeshore office. I casted and casted around the dock. After half an hour of casting and retrieving, something struck from almost under the wooden piling. Another big mama. I knew it was big from the very first run it made. I fought it for around ten minutes. I wanted to get down the water so I can land it but I chickened out because the spot is near the dock, the water might be deeper. I didn't have a landing net. All I have is a short lip grip. The Lakeshore crew saw the commotion and one of them ran to the back of the office to get their landing net. Unfortunately, they cannot find their net.

Oh men! the fish was huge. It is not as fat as the first mama but it was longer. It can easily reach 5kg. With no other choice, i grabbed the leader hoping to lift the head near enough so i can grip the mouth. But dang! the lure came of when the fish made a quick roll! Anyway, at least I got to take a look at its size. :rofl:

Mikko also got a couple of nice sized Tomans using a Buzzbait.

JB got another but was not able to take a picture as his phone's battery got drained.

All in all it was an awesome trip. Short but sweet! :D