Time just pass midnight. Friend saw his handline which hang at the jetty railing drop down. It mean fish has taken his bait. Went over to check and pull out a fish at the bottom jetty pillar. He call out to me to get my scoop net to bring it up. It turn out to be a 2.2kg Mangrove Red Snapper. This fish is more reddish in colour and had very sharp teeth on it mouth. Different from a Mangrove Jack which is more brownish colour and smaller teeth. Below is a photo of a Mangrove Jack which i caught in year 2021. See the difference on both fishes.
Go for a morning trip today. Manage to jig enough live bait. Tide had just turn down and current flow start to pick up.
Around 11.30am, I saw my rod tip bend and the reel screech. I strike hard and a fish jump up on water surface. Queen fish had just take my slide down rig live bait. I slowly wind back and haul it up.
Two minute after i re cast out, the same rod tip bend again. I wind it back and a small cobia come up. It swallow the hook too deep that i can’t release it back. End up i fillet both meat.
Tide is about to full. I went to check my bait. Pump the rod and it was snag. I gave a hard one and its out. I wind back slowly and a eel surface up. Its a small conger eel. Released back.
When tide is full, one of my reel screech. I pump hard and a struggle at end of the line. When surface up, a big golden cat fish about 3kg appear. Just lift it up on the ground, my second reel screech. I grab the rod and strike then slowly wind in. Another smaller golden cat fish surface. Both strike within minutes. Bait used is fresh small kembong i scoop up below jetty light.
Pickup a left over bowl full of sea worm from the jetty on Friday night. I decide to do whiting fishing on the next two days. It is what i had done 58 yrs back when i was just 11 yrs old. Without proper tackle at that time, only a bamboo stick tie with a mono line, a small sinker and two hooks. Drag along a bamboo make fish keeping basket floating on the water which i tie a small rope to my body. Go to the unreclaim beach to just dig a hanful of sea worm as bait.
Tide up was just fully completed. I saw my rod tip rattle. Decide to check n change bait. When i strike the rod, i feel heavy at the bottom end. Slowly i wind back. A grouper surface up. Ya…finally land a sizeable fish after this north east wind started two week ago. This cold wind blowing endlessly had cause near shore fishes to go deeper water to get warmer. Early in the night caught three Murray eel as water are cold.
I had reach jetty and setup my tackle. Tide is on the way up. Leong come about 20 minutes later and just put down his backpack. Then he heard reel screaming sound. ” Leong tolong” he heard also. He look at the mid way of the jetty. Apis is fighting hard on his rod. The fish has took his bait and start to run toward deeper water. This mean Apis had to bring his rod and cross pass through 3 lamp post before can continue to fight the fish. Leong went to help him.
Now the fish is already at the end of jetty. After awhile of struggling there, due to the tide coming up, the fish goes along the current flow and come to the right end side of the jetty. By now both of them already tired out but the fish is still in mid water and refuse to surface up. “Alo” Leong call me. I went over, took over the rod. Slowly i pump the rod. I can feel the fish is also tired. After awhile it begin to surface up. “Wow” big. Brown stingray. I put more pressure on the rod and gave no chance for the fish to go down. As the rod is not strong enough to handle this weight, I take awhile to bring the fish to come closer. Leong gaff it once when it come close enough. Apis hook the second gaff in. Two of them try to pull it up but half way only. I had to put down the rod and get my gaff. Three gaff in, we pull it over the railing. Yes….landed. I weigh it and it hit the scale of 45.3kg but the long tail still on the floor. So it should be around 46kg if totally lifted up.
Tide is on the way down. I just manage to jig two fresh herring as bait before sunset. So i cast one out and just leave it there. Around 8pm plus as current is quite strong, i did saw my rod tip rattle abit. I didn’t bother as thought could be crab biting. Only around 9pm plus when the current slow down then i decide to change the second bait. When wind in line i found this flat head fish hookup and already dead.
Last evening went to the jetty. As recently hardly had any fresh bait fish around so i dig deep into my freezer and found three big arrow squid i caught about two years back as bait. (Suppose to be consume but had forgotten about it)
Tide is on the last part of down but water had come to still. After casting out, i went to jig for any life bait. After some hard work, luckily manage to caught three baby mackeral and a small selar.
When i went back to my rod wanted to change bait, i found my line got some slack. I pump hard and end of the line is heavy and feel some struggling. Slowly wind back the line and found this big puffer floating up. Too heavy too lift up by the rod so i put down my rod and get my glove. I grab hold of my leader and pull it up. Come with it is a small sucker fish that attach to the fish body. This puffer weigh 4.9kg on the scale. Both fishes was released back.
Friend can’t go along tonight so i went alone. Tide was on the way up. Water was still low when arrived. I waited until water is high enough before cast out. First to strike is a fingermark snapper. Follow by a stingray which cause my rod to bend n reel screech. Next is another fingermark snapper when tide is much higher. Last is a marine cat fish when tide is full. Stingray n cat fish released back.
Tide is on the way down. Current flow is smooth tonight. Bait is lasting at this moment. At 2100 hrs, my reel screech. My friend Wong strike first then pass the rod to me. I wind it back slowly. Its struggle along the way in. Can feel the hard jerk at the end of the line. When surface, a grouper appear. I ask friend to grab my squid net and scoop it up. It weigh 1.7kg on the scale. Bait used is fresh tamban jig before sunset.
Shoreangler 