KO25: November 2009

Halco Sorcerer strikes a Mangrove Jack!

Thursday, 12 November 2009 Labels: Mangrove Jack 0 comments

Yesterday morning, I decided to go to Teraban "T-Junction" to test my luck in the area. The sea was calm, just a tiny wave hitting softly to the rocks. So, I decided to use a soft plastic lure hoping to catch something, but to my disappointment, there was NOTHING!! I could see hundreds of bait fish especially mullets, swimming closely to the rocks. There I knew, once there are hundreds of bait fish, it's difficult to catch some fish. Well maybe because they already had their breakfast with mullet on the menu. Sometimes when there are mullets, you could see queen fish having a feeding frenzy, with loud splashing sound. I had to go home 'cause I was desperate to use the toilet. (I blame the roti canai and teh tarik kau. haha!)

Feeling frustrated that morning, I decided to give it another go but this time at the 7th alley and the target fish was a tarpon. At first, I was using the same soft plastic lure I used that morning but it seems like the fish weren't interested so changed it to my favourite lure, the Halco Sorcerer. So I kept on casting at the brackish waters, moving from spot to spot and finally I hit a strike just near a fallen tree. From afar, I though it was a Barramundi but I guess, starring at the laptop all the time had cause some minor damage to my eyes. haha! As I gently guided it to land, surprisingly not that excited like I used to. Maybe the thought of not catching a Sebarau from our trip to Labi haunts me, making me say, "oh, okay, ... it's just a Jack ..." But syukur alhamdulillah, at least I caught something.

Me, Jack and Halco.

Hmmm, ... I think I should get a bigger Halco.

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Seberau. Hampala Macrolepidota.

Monday, 9 November 2009 Labels: Sebarau 0 comments

Yesterday my mates and I went hunting in the jungles of Labi, Kuala Belait searching for the fresh water species, known for its powerful and sudden strike, the Seberau or Hampala Macrolepidota. FKFH DuoFishing got the first strike but unfortunately the fish snagged it under a log resulting the swivel to snap in half. My guess was that fish was HUGE 'cause the fight it gave to FKFH was mind blowing. The tip of his rod bent as he tried to reel it to land but luck once again was not on his side. He was shaken up and surprisingly happily satisfied that his Yo-Zuri Hardcore got taken away by seberau. haha! Tyco Kembura DuoFishing known for his Sunday streak continues as he deservedly landed a seberau weighing at 800g. We were envious with joy when we saw the fish successfully in the hands of Tyco and let me tell you this, what a beautiful fish!! Only ONE seberau caught and we went home tired with a little bit of disappointment (especially me) and i really do feel for FKFH. (better luck next time) But at least we enjoyed the trip especially the Durian Monthong that our buddy Fami fed us. (looking forward to another Durian season. hehe!) Hopefully our next trip to Labi, we will catch more of this ever so popular seberau and come home with a pretty big smile, insya'allah ... (more pics at DuoFishing)

Our guide Cowboy Fami (left) Tyco with his Seberau and me.

Nice fishy

FKFH still feeling disappointed about the Seberau that ripped his swivel into half.

There should be a Seberau but we didn't get a single bite.

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Hardbody to Soft Plastic.

Friday, 6 November 2009 Labels: Lures 0 comments

Whenever you go to a fishing tackle store, there are many variety of lures to choose, from hard body to soft plastic. They come in different sizes and colors like silver, the famous Red Head, fire tiger, gold and the list just goes on and on. Not forgetting the brand names play a key role to attract anglers, such as Yo-Zuri, Rapala, Halco, Duel, Ecogear, SureCatch and plenty more...in which I’m not familiar with, let alone try one. Then came in the soft plastic, where top bass anglers swear by the effectiveness of these lures. The only plastic lures I recognize are Berkley Gulp and other Japanese brands in which the type ranges from worm or stick bait to small bait fish like mullet, lizard, and frogs. Brunei anglers love to use frogs such as Scumfrog and they also come in different colors and sizes. With these lures, you’ll be able to catch different species of fish like the popular Snakehead. But unfortunately, there aren’t many soft bait brands to choose from our local tackle stores in Brunei.

Lures I’m currently using are the hard body type like Yo-Zuri, Ecogear, Halco and the Gold Bomber (not sold in Brunei). Which kind of brand should I go for? I would truly recommend Yo-Zuri crystal minnows and Ecogear top water pencil (walk the dog). Halco brands are excellent if you dare to use it. Some of my mates won’t go near it simply because the thought of getting snagged would scare them away. Haha! Until recently I decided to go for soft plastic so I bought Berkley Powerbait Realistix. The result was encouraging, as small fish had a couple of nibbles whenever I cast. The technique to cast these soft plastic are similar to how I had described in my last post (Twitch, Jerk and Pause). If you’re using a jig head, make sure you let it sink to the bottom and once it landed, twitch it up 3-4 times and pause for at least 3-5 seconds. I caught one baby spotted grouper (catch and release) and one got away due to a vulnerable knot. (I’m still bemused how it happened) So choose your lure wisely as most of the lures are designed to catch fishermen, not fish. So go out there and treat yourself with a brand new lure. Happy fishing!