Bay jigging Zambales and my epic struggle to find a good fishfinder battery

In the past couple of years or so, jigging has caught on locally and it is now a very popular method of fishing. With the help of social media, more and more people are posting spectacular catches through jigging and with each picture, more and more anglers are getting inspired to also take on this style of fishing.

Fairly recently, Zambales province in the north of  Philippines has gained popularity as a prime jigging spot. And it wasn't a surprise. In the past few months alone, a lot of anglers are catching different kinds on fish from jigging. From the huge Giant Trevallies (GT), Wahoos, Yellowfin Tuna, to the tasty Coral trouts. And what's amazing is that almost all of them were caught using light jigging tackle -- PE1.5-3.0 using 100-150g jigs. Aside from the variety and number of catches, more and more anglers are flocking to the province because it is also very accessible. From Manila, you can get to the spot in around 3 hours.

Sometime during the middle of last year, I also got into this trend and was able to test my Ryoga Bay Jigging C2020PE HL with Daiko Spear Jigging rod that had been collecting dust in my rod rack. Relatively speaking, I did fairly well on the first attempt. I got a decent sized Trevally and a Rainbow Runner using an Ima Ganpeki jig. I could have caught more if not for my fishfinder battery (Sealed Lead Acid 7AH) that died after just a few hours of fishing.

After that, no more jigging trips. The next jigging trip was when I joined Naks, our Japanese jigging master, for a night jigging session last December. Because of  strong wind and big waves plus another fail on the fishfinder battery (3AH Motorcycle battery ), we had to cut the trip short. Nonetheless, we still managed to catch a lot of Barracudas using luminous 100g jigs. Naks was able to land a cuda that was more than four feet long. I think it was around 6-8kg. The fish wouldn't fit in the cooler and nobody want's it inside the boat because of its big set of teeth that can easily chop off a couple our toes.

Anyway, a couple of weeks after that trip, I managed to try jigging again in Zambales as a detour during a visit to my in-laws, Unfortunately I forgot to get a better battery. As expected, the fishfinder battery was dead after less that 3 hours of fishing. My boatman didn't bring an anchor and was unable to locate the hole due to the strong current. Still, I am convinced that the method is very effective (especially when on the right fishing spot with a really nice structure). During the first 2 hours of jigging (with the aid of a fishfinder), I managed to catch 6 table-sized fish using 80-120g jigs. I also lost around three big ones that pulled drag and straightened my hooks like they were nothing.

From my limited experiences during these trips, I am convinced that the use of a good quality fish finder (and a good quality battery) is really important especially if your boatman is clueless when it comes to finding the right fishing spot. In Zambales such as the town of Pundaquit, a seasoned boatman is very hard to come by. They are almost always booked by other anglers. Most of the remaining boatmen are mostly into island hopping tours and have no experience in fishing. 

Having a good sounder is a good alternative and it will save you a lot of effort, time, and money finding underwater structures that hold fish. Jigging is tiring and exerting energy on a barren area is a waste of time. 

So what's a decent fishfinder? For me, a dual beam ff that can reach at least 200m in Saltwater is a good choice. I am using a Garmin Echo 500C that has 200 and 77mhz beam. It is cheap (if you know where to look) and it is very easy to use. A lot of fishfinders being sold online do not divulge the real depth that it can see in saltwater. Most of them will only go as deep as 50m. So, you have to really check how powerful it can go. The low freq beam of the Echo 500c can penetrate deep into saltwater and can deliver great bottom detail up to 250m deep when I tested it. The high freq beam can show a wide detail around the boat up to 50m in saltwater. The resolution also is very nich even in really bright sunlight. The problem is, it draws around 1amp of current every hour which explains why my batteries get drained easily. Next time I use it, I will get a 24mah deep cycle battery. Based on my calculations, it should last at least 12 hours of fishing. I hope this will address this problem once and for all.

Downsizing the bait

Recently, fishing time was limited to half a day at most. With that, the most logical fishing destinations are nearby spots that are easy to get to and are sure to deliver that scratch. Among the usual spots are ANP, Kap Larry's, and Horseshoe. But nothing beats SOF when it comes to the fishing 'ambience' and the fishes that you might catch if you can find that very specific lure that they want.

If you are pressed for time and the fishes are finicky, getting something to bite quickly with the least amount of effort is very important. During my visits to SOF, that's what I discovered. You have to really downsize the bait to get the fishes' attention.

Every time I arrive in the area, the fish were almost always not in the mood. Maybe because the water was muddy or maybe they are so familiar with our baits that they have learned to avoid them. I tried all the hard baits that I had but, except for an occasional dim-witted Janitor fish, no takers.

I also tried my tried and tested soft plastics in different shapes and sizes but still no takers. I even tried my brightly colored plastics with glow in the dark jig heads but I still wasn't able to get any attention.

That's when I discovered to try to and really downsize my baits.  I tied on a 2-inch Berkley Power Minnow and a 2-inch Java stick on an Owner 2x 4-gram jig head. As soon as I dropped these baits, they got hit by Pacus and Barras instantly. It felt that the water lit up with excitement every time I use these baits. When fishing for these fishes, I use a PE 1.5 main line and a 15lb flouro leader. With a slightly heavier line and leader, landing them was not a problem. Just make sure that you are using quality jigheads because cheap ones will only get mangled.

When Pacus take the bait, the plastic is almost always torn apart. I had to replace it after each and every fish. The barras were not that huge but they are acrobatic fighters and they can't seem to get enough of the bait. After a couple of hours or so, the action would stop and just like that, no more bites as if the fishes are telling me to go home because your visa had expired. Not a problem because 2 hours of non stop action was more than enough for me.

If you will try this method, make sure your main line is at least PE 1.5 and your leader is a fluoro carbon leader with a minimum breaking strength of 15lbs. This will allow you to land the fish quickly without tiring the fish. Always make sure you have a landing net, a long nosed plier or better yet a surgical forcep (you can get one really cheap from popular drug stores). This will allow you to remove the hooks without damaging the fish.

Irving did a great job in imposing Catch and Release for Barramundis and Pacus. Catching and releasing ensures that anglers will expect a fish and bigger fish when they come back. Barras and Pacus take years to grow to adult size. By releasing them rather than killing them will ensure their continued growth for years to come.

If you plan to go to SOF, check your gear and make sure that you have the correct baits and appropriate line, leader, jigheads. Making sure you are using the correct tackle will help Irving's very wothy cause.

Jigheads, and jaguars

I was bored and had nothing to do so I decided to visit the nearest and most relaxing fishing hole that I know -- Aling Nene's pond in Coloong. My goal is to catch a few buwan-buwan or the local tarpon. My lure is a soft plastic on a small 4-gram jighead.

When I got there, the wind was awful and casting light lures was difficult. At around noon, the wind started to die down and I was able to fish properly. Unfortunately, the tarpons were not cooperating, I got a lot of bumps and nibbles but they refuse to swallow the bait. 

Instead of casting far out, I switched to bouncing jig head near the banks. On the first cast, I immediately got a bite. It was a jaguar cichlid. I think it was not a native specie but an introduced pet that managed to propagate uncontrolled in the ponds. 

I didn't even have to cast far out. I just flicked the lure a few feet parallel to the bank, let it sink, and then bounced the lure at the bottom. Every time I cast,  jaguar takes the lure.

I lost count of how many I landed. They are not hard fighting fish but on an ultralight gear, they are fun to catch.

Finesse or ultralight fishing 101

It was around 5 years ago when I started trying lure fishing --- also called by our Asian neighbors as luring. Luring, for the most part, is an enjoyable and fulfilling fishing style because of its effectiveness and the range of catches that can be had. And the best part is, you don't have to look for and bring stinky baits every time you go out.

But lately, catching fish from luring has gotten harder and harder. Probably because more and more bait fishers have adopted this new style and the competition to catch something from a very limited number of fishing holes has gotten fiercer. It could also be because our regular target species have gotten familiar with the lures that we are using and has learned to avoid them altogether. As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I caught something exciting using my regular plugs, jerkbaits, poppers using my trusted baitcasters.  Even our favorite hole in Pantabangan for bass has shown significant decline (in catches). Perhaps the growing number of take-home anglers has depleted majority of the accessible holes. Probably there are not enough fish to go around.

With this, trying new fishing styles is now a necessity. One style that is growing in popularity is finesse or ultralight fishing. This style can be done in saltwater and freshwater holes. It's main feature is the use of very light line, tiny and shallow-spooled reels, and very light and thin rods- spinning and sometimes bait-finesse casting rods.

From what I understand, this style was made popular in Japan by Aji (horse mackerel) and Mebaru (rock fish) anglers. In the past couple of years or so, more and more anglers from all over the world have started using this style and for good reason. The barely visible line, the tiny lures, and extremely light rod are able to fool even the most wary of fishes -- small or big. The usual tough or pressured spots are able to produce catches that we can only dream of using traditional baitcasters and plugs. The setup is so versatile that you can use it for big queen fish, trevallies, squid, small rockfish, and my favorite Horse mackerel or Aji -- aka matambaka. And because the outfit is so light, fishing the entire day will not wear you out.

Line

The line that I use is 200 meters of  PE 0.6. Some even go lower to PE 0.3, In terms of pounds, the general rule is PE 0.6 is equivalent to 6lbs while PE 0.3 is 3 pounds. But recently, that is not the case. Newer Japanese lines are now stronger than before. My PE 0.6 has a breaking strength of 12lbs. Japanese PE lines are recommended due to their smoothness, roundness, and strength. There are markings on the line spool x4 or x8 which means 4-weave and 8-weave PE. The 8-weave lines are considered rounder and smoother thereby giving improved casting distance and additional strength. In addition to the main line, I use 2-3 feet of 6-10lb flourocarbon leader. This leader is very crucial to entice wary predators to bite. Flourocarbon leaders are less visible when in water compared to mono.

Reel

The very fine PE line is usually spooled on a 2506, 2004, or 2508 spool (Daiwa) or 2000S, 2500S (Shimano) reels. These spools are considered shallow spools. For Daiwa reels, the xx06 means 100m of #6 Japanese mono, xx04 is 100m of #4 Japanese mono, and xx03 means 100m of #3 Japanese mono, and so on. Shallow spools are recommended to hold at least 150m of very fine PE line. Being shallow means the spool can provide extra casting distance for light lures as well as protection from wind knots. Another characteristic of shallow spools is the finesse drag usually just around 3lbs. If you open the drag stack inside a shallow spool, it normally contains one felt or carbon washer and another metal washer. This makes the drag ultra smooth and consistent. In UL or finesse fishing, this drag system is the key to ensure that the light line won't break when a big fish strikes.

Rod

The rods are around 7 to 8ft in length and are extremely light but surprisingly tough. It can throw lures weighing just a mere 2 grams and up to around 7 grams max.  My personal choice of rods are the Aji or Mebaru rods. There are two types of Aji/Mebaru rods. The tubular and the solid tip. Rods with tubular tips are designed for plugs and lures while rods with solid tips are recommended for jigheads and bottom contact due to rod's extra sensitivity. Example of affordable rods are from Majorcraft. Daiwa has Gekkabijin rods and Shimano also have their own versions.

You can see the kind of rod based on the anotation on the model. In the example below, Majorcraft's KG Lights AJING series rod, the models with S are solid tips while the ones with T are tubular tips,

Lures

You can use either a floating or sinking pencil, diving UL plugs, tiny casting jigs, and even 1-inch plastic worms attached to a jighead. The lures range from 2 grams to 7 grams. The usual length is anywhere from 35mm to 55mm. Their size is their biggest advantage against the usual plugs and lures. When you cast these lures, they barely make a splash or noise when they hit the water. Less disturbance means lesser chance of spooking the fish. I was once with a fishing party in Subic. Most of the angers were casting 2-3 ounce-skip bunnies. They are what we call bombs because the amount of racket they make when they hit the water. At that time, there were around 5 local anglers casting the that rig. Every time their bunnies hit the water,  they would naturally spook everything in the water. It's like throwing rocks to a school of fish and expecting them to bite. So there we were, watching the bombers doing their thing, waiting for our turn to fish After around an hour of casting without any bites, they stopped and packed their gears. Just before leaving one of them said "Nope, no fish here! It's a waste of time". After they left, we started fishing using our UL pencils. After a few minutes, we were landing big queenies one after the other.

My first exposure to this style was from Naks, Joseph, and Richie - members of the San Fernando anglers fishing group. Through the mentoring of our Japanese friend Naks, they have transitioned from traditional spinning and baitcasting outfit to the new finesse fishing (or sometimes called Ultralight UL fishing.). Intrigued by their success rate in saltwater or freshwater, I decided to join them in one of their outings. I was amazed by the sizes and variety of their catches considering they are using tiny rod and reel combos and throwing barely visible lures. They kept landing fish left and right. Right there and then, I decided that I have to get my own UL setup.

Summer Jigging, Stick-baiting, and Casting

During the long holyweek break, I had the chance to try out a couple of not-so-new gears that I recently acquired. One is a used Ryoga Bay Jigging 2020HL matched with a Daiko Spear light jigging rod. The Ryoga was sent by a friend and colleague from Japan. We were able to get it at a bargain price. The only addition that I made was a used RCS knob from Hookpro tackle. The line was an old PE 3 line from an old reel.

The other is a battle-scarred Saltiga Z4500H matched with my old Majorcraft Giant Killing 76M. The reel is a beat up reel that has practically seized up because of rust and salt. I think it was dunked in saltwater for a long time and was never opened or cleaned afterwards. The externals are pretty bad but surprisingly except for 4 destroyed bearings, a seized up knob, and a chewed up oscillation gear, the remaining critical internals are still in good condition. Talk about quality gear. It took me a couple of days and some parts to get it back into running condition. (I will write another post regarding this reel.)

Maundy Thursday, I took the kayak and the Saltiga for some test stickbaiting. I tied on a 60-gram Tailwalk Gunz and casted near the pilings next to the pier. It was either the lure was extremely effective or I was extremely lucky that I managed to get a 2kg pargo in just half an hour of casting. The rod and reel was a beast and plucked the fish like it was not even there.

Friday, no fishing according to oldies. Then on Saturday, I chartered my old boat man and went out for first time jigging. We left the shore at around 4am and cruised to the spot for about an hour. I got my fish finder and mounted it into the boat. Unfortunately, I charged the battery the night before using a motorbike charger that I got really cheap. Instead charging the battery, it actually discharged the battery further. After just 15 minutes of operation, the battery died and we were left without a fishfinder. Luckily, we managed to find a decent structure on the first stop. I tied on a 60-gram Ima Ganpeki and jigged really slow. The lure did not disappoint and a nice trev pulled drag from the Ryoga within minutes.  The Daiko was phenomenal and worth every cent. I had no idea that jigging would be so much fun with the right gear. We lost the spot during the fight and had no takers after that.

We scoured the area but did not find any fish. I decided to blind cast while drifting hoping to attract some trevs. Instead of a trevally, a Blue Runner bit the bait. The fight was decent but the fish was no match for the rod and reel.

I decided to go home at around 9am because it was getting too hot and jigging blind was no longer fun.

Easter Sunday schedule was fully packed. We were supposed to leave after lunch after all the processions, beach and other errands. By 10, I sneaked out with my kayak and went to my favorite estuary. Casted my lucky popper while the tide was rising.  I chanced upon a school of red snappers near the mouth of the estuary and caught 4 table-sized beauties. By 1pm, I was back home washing the kayak, rod, reels, and lures. At around 4pm, I was driving back to Manila.

I'll be back with a better battery for my fishfinder. I know there are other big monsters out there that are eager to take a nice jig. Maybe this May. We'll see.

Grande and Chiquita Island Shore Fishing

I've heard of Grande Island as a great fishing destination for god knows how long. The funny thing is, Grande is very near my wife's house in Olongapo but for almost 15 years of going back and forth from Manila to Olongapo, I never really visited the place. I wanted to, but I always seem to miss the chance to go there.

Last week, I got an invite from Naks Nakamura. Our Japanese fishing mentor and JDM tackle supplier. He organized a fishing trip because the resort recently offered a great deal. Instead of the usual 10:30am-4pm day trip, it will be a 7am-5pm pm fishing outing. I immediately grabbed the chance and went. I always imagined the big trevs and queenies from the shore using very light tackle. And as a bonus, I might even get to tussle with the famed GTs (Giant Trevallies) in Chiquita -- a small uninhabited islet next to Grande.

Photo by Joseph Gueco

We arrived at the Grande ferry station at around 6am yesterday. Me and Richmond did not waste any time and rigged our UL gears while waiting for the boat that will ferry us across. After around 5 minutes of casting, a big trev grabbed my sinking pencil and took it for a dive under the dock. It was a long drag-screaming run and when it was about to reach the rocky pillar, I was forced to tighten the drag to stop it. The fish was too much for my #16 treble and straightened all of the barbs. It was a great sign that fishing was going to be exciting. Minutes past and the rest of the group arrived and we immediately boarded the boat to the island.

At a round 7:30, we got to the island and started rigging. A few minutes and we were off casting our UL gears in the beach. Fishing Grande means you really have to get wet. At times, up to chest deep while casting. I got a few takers from rock fishes including a feisty Parrot fish. After the warm up we went straight to Chiquita island for some serious GT fishing. While we were crossing the channel that separates Grande from Chiquita (about waist deep), we saw a big shadow lazily swimming the shallows. It was a black tip shark. Our guess was about 20-30kg. We had to create some sort of commotion to scare it away. Bebong, our guide and GT fishing expert guided us to cast to a lagoon at the northern tip of the islet. It wasn't long when something tried to snatch my cheap 40-gram popper. I frantically set the hook on reflex --- which I learned later was a wrong move. The rod bent but the hooks did not connect as the popper came flying back, narrowly missing my face. I learned later that I have set the hook too early. Naks advised that I had to wait for about a second before setting the hook --- just enough time until the fish gets to turn around giving the hook the right angle to connect. I tried casting again for a good half hour but no takers so Joseph and I moved to another spot further north leaving Bebong behind. Ironically. a few minutes later, Bebong was able to land a 6kg on that very spot using a 120gm popper. Pure skill and luck.

I tried following Rich to where he caught his 15kg GT but I chickened out when I learned that I had to literally swim to the casting position. I cannot imagine how he was able to get there pass through the sharks with bleeding foot and all. I tried with all my strength and waded after him but had to turn back fearing I might drown, dunk my gears, and get eaten by sharks.

Anyway, the Chiquita GTs were not cooperating so we changed our game plan and went back to Grande for UL fishing. UL from shore in the north of Grande was tough. Lots of wading and swimming over barnacle-crusted rocks. We ended up with lots of cuts and bruises instead of fishes. Fortunately for us, Bluefin trevallies were plenty in  the beach near the pier and most of them are very eager to take sinking pencils and ultra light jigs. I hooked and lost a few but managed to land my first Bluefin Trevally. The fight was absolutely fantastic. I didn't think the hooks would hold. Luckily I ended up with one, saving me from getting heckled by my wife when I got home.

At around 5pm, we left Grande. It was a wonderful experience highlighted with great fishing action. I also realized that the fishing style there was great exercise with all the walking, wading, jumping from rocks to rocks, and swimming. I honestly think that I lost a few pounds from that day trip.

I will definitely go back and perhaps stay the night to maximize the fishing time.

Team Daiwa Advantage and Light Jigging from a Pier

The Team Daiwa Advantage (TDA) reel is not very popular among anglers here in Asia. But not known to many, it is one of the better quality Real Four reels released by Daiwa in the US. This is especially true for the Size 3500A and 4500A. What's so special about these two reels? If you are familiar with the very popular Caldia KIX JDM reels, you will immediately see the resemblance. That's because they are almost exactly the same reels. Almost, because the TDA has one more bearing compared to the Caldia KIX. The TDA has a ball bearing on the roller instead of a bushing (in Caldia KIX). The first batches of TDA are all made in Japan, similar to Caldia KIX 3500 and 4000.

When I was looking around eBay, I found a Made in Japan TDA. It's almost new but with a small nick in the paint job. Understandable for a display reel. The good thing is that it is Japan made, very smooth, and never been used. Plus, it's 1/3 of the cost of a Caldia KIX.

As soon as I received the reel, I upgraded the spool bushing into a Shimano SARB ball bearing. Giving the reel additional smoothness in its drag. I plan to use it for light popping and jigging, I already rebuilt a popping rod from an 8ft Okuma Sentara Surf Casting blank and it looks ok with the reel. I sure hope it will also perform well. All I need to do is finish the wraps with flex coat. Hopefully, it would be ready by this coming weekend.

Going back to the reel, I tested it for light jigging on a pier in Puerto Azul one weekend. A few weeks back I got myself an Expert Graphite 8ft rod from Kenny's Tackle Shop from the South. It's a bit light for the reel but it did ok for testing that weekend. We were supposed to leave 3am but the rain was terrible, we ended up leaving 4am. Our estimate was that the trip which was just 56 kilometers from Manila, will only last 45minutes to 1 hour. But because of traffic, it took us almost 3 hours.

When we got to the spot, it was raining heavily and the water was stained from river runoffs. It was practically raining every half an hour. I tried topwaters and spoons but no takers. I guess the water is too dirty for the fishes to see the lures. I then switched to a skip bunny and got a small Bagaong (Terapon). Then the rain intensified and no more bites on the bunny.

I tried a few japanese jigs and no luck on most of them. Then I tried a 60gm blue jig and not long afterwards, I got a huge bite. It was an awesome strike. The fish pulled line like it was a bruiser. I really enjoyed the smoothness of the TDA's drag and how it's clicker sounded when the fish pulled line. The only problem was the net. Nobody remembered to bring a landing net. I was positioned way up in the abandoned pier and there was no way I can use my lip grip without going down the rocks near the breakers. After I was able to tire the fish after about 5 minutes, I went down near the water to reach it. I was able to see the fish after it surfaced. It was a Mangrove Jack and I estimated it to be above 2kg based on its length and girth. As I was reaching for the fish using my lip grip, the fish surged downwards and managed to pull the hook. It was absolutely disappointing. To make things worst, we heard a series of loud thud from the horizon and saw a few small bancas congregating from where the sound came. No doubt, they were dynamite fishers who were taking advantage of the cover of the rain. As soon as the dynamite fishers started with their massacre, the fishes all over the surrounding seemed to have disappeared. No bites and not a single sign of feeding fish.

At around lunch time, we noticed that the rain clouds were approaching from the horizon and we hurriedly put on our rain gear. We were barely able to put on our rain gear when it rained like hell. Our rain coats were barely preventing us from getting wet because the rain was falling on a 45 degree angle. We really thought that the rain would never stop. We almost gave up and were preparing to pack up and go home. After almost an eternity, the rain stopped. And, to our surprise, no more dynamite fishermen. At the back of my mind, I really hoped that the storm got them and sank their boats.

I went back to the same spot where I had a hookup and tried the same jig and slowly bounced it near the breakwater. At first, I thought I got snagged but then there was a strong pull. I knew immediately that it was a sizable fish but not as big as the first one. After a few runs, I managed to land it but not after getting wet while lipping the fish. It was not a Mangrove Jack. It looks like a red snapper but it was short and thick. 1.5kg.

After that, my cousin JB managed to catch a half-kilo grouper on jerk bait and I got another small Terapon on jig. After that, no more fish.

At exactly 4pm, we left Puerto Azul and drove back to Manila. The traffic had gone worst. Our 56km drive lasted for almost 4.5 hours. That's similar to driving Manila to Subic back and forth. We should have gone to  Subic instead. We don't think we will go back to Puerto Azul for a while. The traffic is not worth the trip. And there appears to be a really high pressure from illegal fishers on the area. Maybe sometime in the future, things will improve -- I hope.

I really like the TDA 4000. I will replace its bushing near the pinion with Ball bearing to make it a double-bearing supported pinion. This will improve the already smooth cranking power. After that, I will replace the cheesy knob with an aluminum power knob to make it more suitable for light jigging and popping. I will post all the upgrades on a separate thread.

Super Quick Fishing

Went to Subic yesterday to celebrate my wife's birthday and our wedding anniversary. In laws and their family were there and drank since the afternoon until late at night. This morning, I had this uncontrollable itch to wet my line. So, 4am, I drove from Camayan resort to Malawaan Fishing Area. I wish I could fish Camayan but it's really not allowed.

After rigging, I started casting around 4:30am. After half an hour, I got a hookup on a WTD lure but the fish jumped and threw my hook. Must be bidbid (Lady Fish) but I can't confirm because it was still dark. Around 5:30, I got another hookup on the same lure. I set the hook twice to make sure the hook will penetrate the jaw. It jumped four times before it tired.


Here is my Tarpon that I caught this morning. Almost 2kg. By 7am, I drove back to the resort for breakfast. Fishing trip is over.

Indo-pacific tarpon

The (Lady) Fish Got Even

I wasn't able to shake off the memory of a Lady Fish's blistering run a couple of weeks back so I went for another shot at it this weekend. I was hoping to get one to bite on topwater ... hopefully something bigger.

I woke up early hoping I could get to the spot really early. Had coffee and then turned on the computer to check my mails. It was a really bad move. Instead of just checking my emails, I strayed to Filang's forum, checked what's hot in Tacklewarehouse, checked some stuff in eBay. Before I knew it, it was already past seven. Took a quick shower and left. I just grabbed the first rod that I saw from my rack. I then drove TO McDonalds and grabbed something to eat. Had my breakfast while on my way to the spot.

It was already past 8 when I started fishing. Tried my Rapala Countdown for a while but no takers. I switched to my Lucky Japeks Craft Sammy and casted as far as can. I twitched the lure thrice and then BAM! The strike was massive followed by a lightning run. It was Huge! Without blinking, I set the hook. CRACK!!! WTF, the rod broke on the 3rd guide from the top. The fish felt the hook and dashed away from me. It was really fast! Before it gets near the snags, I used my thumb on the spool to slow the fish. It got really mad and jumped really high. It was huge! bigger than my last catch. When the fish hit the water, CRACK!!!. The rod broke again from the middle part. DANG!

I was shocked and completely held on the spool. The fish jumped once more and because there is no more rod to break its tension, the hook pulled out. I was shaking. The fish owned me! DANG! Lesson learned, don't bring a knife to a gunfight! It was home made rod. I got the blank really cheap from one of the tackle shops near my place. It was no match to that fish.

I saw Millard from the other side. We both laughed at what happened. I said to myself. No way, it's still early. I need a rematch. So drove back to my house to get another rod. By 9:30, I got back and re-rigged my reel and the St. Croix rod. First cast, big strike! Unfortunately, the fish didn't hit the lure. After that, no more strikes. It was as if they disappeared all of a sudden. I stayed until 5pm. Since the last strike, we didn't get a single bite.

I just have to accept it, the fish got even.

=============================

Update: 9/11/2010

I went to the place once more hoping to get the Lady fish to bite. But instead of a Lady Fish, I caught a Haruan on WTD lure. This explains the short strikes. They were haruans, not Lady Fishes. I will go back one of these days and see if the resident Ladies would bite.

An Unusual Catch

It was one of those days when I really wanted to go fishing. But on the last minute, I was having second thoughts. Upon waking up, I was not really excited. I was supposed to leave early but ended up leaving almost 9am and the sun was really up. So much for the early bird. The chances of getting a bite was not really high at that time of day.

Anyway, I still left and drove to the fishing spot. To make matters worse, it started to rain. Oh well, I said to myself, this trip might end early. But then, just as quickly as it started, the rain stopped and the fishes started biting. Not just ordinary fishes ... judging from the splashes, they are really big ones. A fellow angler lost one while trying to land it. Lady Fish! Big ones! Since then, everything got really interesting.

Unfortunately, the bites were short. Just a few minutes and they stopped all of a sudden. You can see some of their fins breaking the surface. I decided to wait for one to swim within casting distance. After a while, one broke surface around 30 yards from me,  I made a cast about a yard ahead of it and then cranked my Shad Rap. Hook up! The fish went berserk! It sprinted like there's not tomorrow. My reel had a hard time stopping it as it dashed straight to the piles of bamboos. When almost 60 yards of line was taken, I tightened the drag to prevent it from spooling me. Because of the tightened drag, the fish took to the air. Unfortunately, the line got caught on a floating bamboo and the fish was able to break free. It's a good thing I didn't lose the lure. Oh man!  the run was so exciting. It was like a milk fish on steroids!

After lunch, one of the guys who was with us caught one. His line wrapped around the fish's head. After a long time trying to land it, the fish was netted. A 2.5kg. Awesome!

I waited once more for something to break surface. Then I saw one surfaced on the other side. I hurriedly ran to that direction and readied my Shad Rap. When I got to the spot, it was gone. I just stood there and waited. Then just around 10 yards from me, it again broke surface. I hurriedly casted just a few feet from its head. Pow! Fish on! It was the most exciting run that I have ever endured. An 8kg Barra is no match to this freight train. Good thing I set my drag a little higher. The fish jumped a couple of times and then it lost steam. Thank god for Carbontex!

I called for one of the guys for a net. But just before the net arrived, I got so worried that I will lose the fish because I saw that my Shad Rap wasn't hooked to the fish at all! My lure snagged the double-lined heavy mono which was hooked into the fish! It was incredible! The hook held even when the fish jumped twice and sprinted for around 50 yards.

I grabbed my leader and heaved the fish into land. But before it touched land, the hook came off. I was lucky the fish was so tired. I grabbed its gills and heaved it into the bank.

A 3.8kg Lady Fish caught on lure even when it wasn't biting.

Aling Nene's Pond [3-13-2010]

Forumers from FilipinoAnglers.org had a get-together at Aling Nene's pond last Saturday. WE called it a "Field EB". We were not expecting that many people will arrive like the previous meet-ups that we had. Surprisingly, sixteen (16) attended. I guess, meet ups without too much planning really works.

Noel, Irvine, Carlo, RC, Miko, and Obet during lunch. Our lunch was our catch in the morning --- 2.7kg of Tilapia and Bangus. Grilled and served with Pinakurat on Banana Leaves. Excellent field lunch.

Irvine, Erwin, Cary, Carlo, Jun, Bien, Obet, me, and Noel. Not in the picture is Joseph, Jojo, Dowie, and Rechelle.

Special thanks to Aling Nene's hospitality. Obet, your breakfast was excellent!

The Catch? Bangus and tilapia. Total of 2.7 kg (by lunch time). That was our lunch --- Grilled and served with Pinakurat. At around 5pm, we hauled almost 10kg of fish if my estimate is correct.

Oh yeah, I caught my first Jaguar Cichlid using the same swimbait that I used to catch the dalag last weekend. I released it after a few photos.

We tried our luck on the famed Barras of Aling Nene's pond but we got none. I guess that most of them escaped into the rivers and the rest died during the Ondoy flood. The polluted waters from Manila made its way into the Coloong ponds during the height of the floods.


We will need to wait for the 3,000 fingerlings to grow before we can target them again. Maybe next year.

Malawaan, Subic 9-13-09

We were originally planning to go back to Lakeshore to target the Tomans. But because of the weather --- nothing but rains, floods, and wind due to the storm --- we had to cancel. This morning, I had to hastily go to Subic to pick up a recently acquired fishing toy. So I told Bong that I was going but it was virtually impossible to fish because of the storm. Bong decided to tag along to help me load this new toy.

Because we are fanatic boy scouts and anglers, we brought along light tackle for both fresh and salt, just in case. It's also a good time to test my Fenwick HMG from FB :D

We arrived at Subic past 10am. Since it was still early, we decided to try Malawaan, despite the fact it was really pouring, the waves are impossible, and the water was muddy. So we casted, and casted, and then bam! An unexpected strike from a very tasty fish!

2.2 kg. I cannot wipe the grin off my face. :D

I tried again and I got another strike but it was too much for my lure.

I think it was the same fish who broke my leader a couple of weeks back. I just said to myself, I am getting even :devil: