ULTRA LIGHT JIGGING

Time to hit the inshore waters for some micro jigging. Armed with ultra light jigs in the 7g-14g range (pictured here, Ima Gunpeki, Xesta Afterburner, Shout Dangan and Jackson Gallop) and finesse rods like the Evergreen Temujin Spider matched perfectly to 4lb -10lb braid, we were eager to go hunting for shallow water pelagics. 

As always, we would hit the waters early just before sunrise to catch that perfect feeding time.

Happy and eager faces. Shout Visors are quite the trend now against sunny sunshine.

Warm up fish. First drop resulted in this little emperor.

Rock Cod like this are a norm and they are not shy when it comes to snaffling down tiny jigs hopping around their holes.

What we came here for. A nice size Pennant Fish taken on a slowly jigged Ima Gunpeki 7g.

Double hookup meant a bit of chaos navigating the fight but eventually, this nice 5kg Pennant fish was also brought up, putting up great runs on ultra light outfit before being subdued.

More line pulling action as this jig was taken on the drop by a Diamond Trevally, a close cousin to the Pennant Fish. Few of these fishes were missed on the strikes or pulled the hooks as they have delicately thin mouth. Smooth light drags and relaxed fighting actions ensure prize fishes like this are not lost.

Hirames or Flounders like this are a nice surprise as they also take lightly worked jigs on the sandy bottom.

Nice Blue Spot Trout on Ima Gunpeki. 

Coral trout on the Jackall Bros I-Shad Tail soft plastic.

Different day same action. Juvenile Diamond Trevally.

Rod: Evergeen Temujin Spider

Reel: Shimano Stella 2000

Line: Tufline XP 6lb

Leader: Sunline Pocket FC 20lb

Jig: OA Bullet Jig

Coral Trouts are plenty around this waters.

Did I say plenty?

Scoring a Striped Perch on the Ima Gun.

A rare catch, the Spotted Mackerel are always hanging around to chase some helpless baitballs. Tiny jigs like the Ima Gunpeki worked fast with a Megabass Orochi Spin rod almost always guarantees you a hookup.

Another mack, the Narrow Barred Mackerel also on speed jigging. 

Showing here are a pair of Ima Gunpeki rigged with a single assist using Shout Jaco feather assist hooks. Small, split ring pincer is a useful tool for rigging the hooks and jigs onto to small size split rings and swivels like the Sasame sz 6

Enjoy this video of the double hookups plus some. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnJbBzP1vp0 

EASTCAPADE!

EASTCAPADE!

*An excerpt from Tackle Source when Tackle Fever brought them fishing at the local rivers and sample some offshore fishing albeit, a trip that was cut short...  

East Malaysia. A place which keeps beckoning. The relaxed ambience, the great food and some enthusiastic fisho friends combine to make trips like this an excellent getaway. The fishing though, isn't a given, and as always hard work and perseverence is needed, not to mention the help of the weather gods as we would discover...

 

 

Rods by Dobyns, Majorcraft & Megabass rigged for the day on the water...

Spanking new DUO Realis Crank all set for action. An angry Mangrove Jack would take one home as a souvenir shortly after...

The battle scars left on the new DUO Realis Jerkbait 100SP tell the tale of a Mangrove Jack that got away. Another 100SP would be lost completely as the Jack found home and busted off...

After bruised egos courtesy of the mighty Jacks we went after fish we could bully, like this Archerfish on the Realis Jerkbait...

Was to be a slow and frustrating day on the river until we found a snag with some residents. First in the boat was a hungry Jack which didn't think twice about hitting the DUO Deep Feat diver...

It was joined almost immediately by another mate on another DUO Deep Feat, to make it a great photo op...

Fish released and another cast in found another taker. The bigger ones were out to play and they loved the Deep Feat too, this one taking it deep...

The Jacks were lining up to get in the boat. Another DUO Deep Feat victim. This lure has produced the goods time and again in this river and is a must have for many...

Another tandem of hungry Mangrove Jacks, it was a visual feast as we witnessed them racing out of the snag to belt our lures. DUO Deep Feats at work again...

No complains as the procession continued with the Deep Feat working its magic. The fish were getting bigger too!

It was only after the faster Jacks had been cleared from the snag did slower fish like the Barra get a chance at the lures. This one liked the hot Evergreen Super Predator crank...

Meanwhile the Deep Feat keeps the Jacks thirsty for more...

Yet another, small but still plenty of fun on the DUO Deep Feat...

A switch to the deeper Zipbaits B-Switcher crank revealed more Barramundi holding deeper...

The slinky Jackall Squad Shad is a killer when twitched and worked when the fish were well and truly spooked by our onslaught...

Going deep with an IMA Melty Nymph rubber sunk down paid dividends with this Fingermark Bream...

One last Barra on the Jackall Squad Shad before the bite shut down and we called it a day. And quite a day it was...

Next day we boarded a boat that would take us offshore to some great fishing but it was not to be. All we had to show for a few hours jigging were some Spanish Mackeral like this one on the Evergreen Caprice jig. The wind had picked up almost as we arrived at the spot and wouldn't let up till day break. A call was then made to cut the trip short and trek back to shore, a decision supported by all onboard...



A pesky Remora on the Caprice jig. Pretty much summed up the sub-par trip...

SOUTH AMERICANS IN THAILAND!

SOUTH AMERICANS IN THAILAND!

We took a short trip to Bangkok, Thailand to sample some of their local fishing scene. Below is an excerpt from our sister blogger and distributor, Tackle Source, on the great fun we had.

No trip to Bangkok is complete without a visit to the well-stocked lakes along the fringes of the city. This time, with a group of keen fisho friends, it was back to a couple of locales which produced well in the past. It was a chance to tangle with a host of Amazonian species imported and kept in these lakes for anglers to pit their skills against.

 

We get right into it with a Majorcraft Days heavy baitcast rod loaded up against an angry catfish...

The Amazonian Redtail Catfish is most common here and they grow big!

There's no better chance to hook something when fishing in Bangkok than when you have one of these tied on - the Jackall Bros Giron swimbait is synonymous with this type of fishing...

 

Giron gets going as the session begins. The rather big lure means stout rods are best used. They don't get much stouter than the Evergreen Tactics 'Pitchin Frog'...

Nice Redtail on Giron worked with the heavy spin Majorcraft Giant Killing rod...

Followed shortly by another. These fish go hard and are ferocious lure-takers. Sticking with the Jackall Bros Giron ensures a steady stream of hook ups...

Another common capture is a Central American export, the Alligator Gar. With its nasty set of dentures, passing lures are rarely ignored. The Giron is a favourite for these fish too...

Another nice Gar on the Giron and Majorcraft Days combo...

There were some pretty decent fish thrown in as well. Redtails of these size take a while to subdue. Saltwater rods like the Majorcraft Giant Killing do put the fight in the favour of the angler but its still a task to get those Girons back safely...

 

Alligator Gars are atmospheric breathers and give away their locations when they surface for air. Anglers take advantage of this, and a well placed lure stands good stead...

A not so common catch on lure, this Silver Catfish must be hungry...

Its hard to get past the frisky Redtails, especially the smaller, more enthusiastic ones like this one. Short work for the strong Evergreen Tactics rod...

Moving away from the Jackall Bros Giron, not many other lures work consistently. But experimenting with the IMA Honey Trap did open some doors. This fat Amazon Redtail didn't hesitate...

In these lakes you do find the odd Giant Snakehead as well, and the like Jackall Bros Girons too!

 

Another Alligator Gar, this time on the IMA Honey Trap lipless swimmer...

This was very much the scene for the day, as turn by turn everyone hooked up...

Deep down there's a large Evergreen ES Flat swimbait...

The South American legend - the Arapaima, is stocked here as well. They feed by inhalation and so are usually deeply hooked. However, the staff on hand are well equiped to handle these big fish and ensure they are released in good shape...

The Evergreen combo of the ES Flat lure worked with the Temujin Amazon Flip rod worked a treat. Here another Redtail Cat falls victim...

Another Jackall lure worth noting, the Doozer lipless vibe does a great tilapia impersonation as well. This Redtail certainly thought so...

Another typical Gar which took a Giron...

 

The Gars were queueing up for a feed, and they loved Girons...

This Giron was almost lost, those teeth do claim lures...

 

Jackall Bros Doozer down deep...

The Redtail party was far from over as the Evergreen Tactics rod had to work overtime...

A larger than average Amazonian Redtail on the perfect tilapia imitation - the Jackall Giron...

A short exciting fight turned up an interesting customer. The Giant Snakeheads in this lake are known to be smart fish...

 

Speaks volumes about the effectiveness of the Jackall Bros Giron swimbait...

 

Here's a big Alligator Gar on the Giron. These fish can grow to really large sizes in the wild...

 

More Giron action with the not so common Asian Redtail Catfish...

 

Another day, and another Alligator Gar. This one liked the slow worked IMA Honey Trap lure...

Fat Amazonian Redtail on the ever-effective Giron...

When they want the lure, there is little hesitation. Girons get sucked right down...

 

Redtails do get in the way when one is trying to catch the other inhabitants...

Jackall Giron and its Arapaima capture...

Small but still thrilling to hook, Arapaimas are capable of short bursts accompanied by crazy acrobatics...

Another Giron taken deep by an Arapaima...

One never tires of catching these fish. They present a challenge to fool with their changing feeding patterns, and once hooked would showcase their explosiveness...

The get aggressive after dark too, especially on shallow running lures...

Here the Evergreen Royal Flash swimbait scores. The multi-jointed lure swims with a slinky s-shaped wake that proves irresistable, and the one fish landed from the countless misses does no justice to the lure's effectiveness...