after months of planning and preparation, the time have come for many Malaysian saltwater anglers dream trip - the trip to "Luconia Shoals". The attraction is so strong that even anglers from Singapore, China and Japan made their ways there. All the mega-sized dogtooth tuna, amberjack, ruby snapper are among the list of dream fishes that are available right here in our own backyard - Malaysia!
I got a new Miya Epoch CX-6 G series electric reel + Daiwa VIP Saltwater 40-100 lbs rod for this trip since we will be fishing in water where depth range from 80 to 300 m - those of you who have fished in these water depth before will understand the reason I decided to use an electric reel. Obviously I am not one of those macho sportfishing anglers :-) There was one angler even go to the extend of using Miya Epoch CX-9, overgeared maybe but coincidently he caught the biggest grouper (around 30 kg) with his brand new reel.
My other existing jigging set-up (the one that are more commonly known) include
1) Shimano Ocea Jigger 4000 P reel + Xzoga Taka-Ji 5518 PE-8 rod,
2) Daiwa Isidai Tournament reel + Shimano Jigwreck PE-6 rod,
3) Shimano Navi 8000 PG + Maguro King PE-4 rod.
I also have other brand of rods and reels that some may say "el-cheapo" brand. To me, any rod and reel that suit my fishing style and location is a suitable set-up.
We boarded the 90-footers vessel on the evening of 17 Sept for a 4 D 4 N trip, fully equipped for comfortable and safe fishing trip;
1) 14 bunkers for sleeping,
2) 2 toilets and showers,
3) karaoke room, kitchen,
4) long dining table and benches,
5) fishing rod holders for each anglers,
6) big cooler boxes for ice,
7) 6 crews on board (1 captain, 1 cook, 2 engine watchmen, 2 helpers - help you to gaff your fish and bring it up to the vessel or to undo your entangled line).
The journey was smooth and most anglers on the trip (15 of us) tried to catch some sleep as we departed from the wharf at around midnight. First destination was a 4 hours journey away where we intended to get some live bait fishes. Unfortunately, the sea was a bit rough by the time we reach there and we did not manage to get the live bait.
The captain decided to continue our journey to Luconia Shoals. The next morning around 9 am, we anchored and started fishing. The spirit was high, hoping to strike the amberjack by jigging. Results - no amberjack. However, the bottom fishes was bitting well and soon most of us managed to catch about 10-20 kg of black, red, yellow snapper weight about 1-3 kg each. Few hours later, our lines were attacked by very unexpected visitors - the puffer fish! One by one, the lines were cut-off and after no time, no one dare to drop their lines and adopted the "wait and see" approach.
That night at another location, the fishes was biting BIG time! Big ruby snapper, dogtooth tuna and grouper (4 , each weighed between 10-30 kg) were landed via bottom fishing. We were puzzled why the pelagic fishes not biting on our jigs. Many lines, hooks and sinkers - were gone due to lost battle (busted off during tug-of-war with the big fellas), cut-off by "barracouta" or simply snag to the bottom.
The weather throughout the trip except the last day was fine with calm sea. Enjoying our delicious dinner and BBQ on the last night (thanks to the excellent cook) with light breeze while watching beautiful sunset was indeed fantastic!
Overall, it was a successful and enjoyable trip. My strong strike on jig that got away will linger around in my memory for a long time to come.
Till next time Luconia Shoals, we will be back!
