MISSING IN MALDIVES

It has a been long wait. The highly anticipated trip took a year to book and plan and 11 eager anglers were gunning to go. The Maldives has long been a favourite destination for anglers looking for some great sports fishing and GTs were the highlights. There were seasoned and newbie anglers on board looking to pop their popping cherry. (big pun there) Unfortunately, the week's weather was cruel almost till the end. But, alas, that is fishing. 

Rod tubes packed to the max and arrived early at the airport.

The flight doesn't arrive nearly fast enough. Shout and Geecrack Bakkan tackle bag useful for long haul trips.

The customary group picture before heading off from the ferry to our boat. 

Prep time bright and early the next day.

Main weapons of choice for raising the GTs were of mainly from the FCL Labo stable.

Pictured here are the CSP200 & 175, SPP Slim and the SPP Tuna. Not enough can be said about it's effectiveness and ease of use.

First blood. A midling size GT on the CSP175SP. 

Fishes were far and few in between. After a few changes in lures, this lucky red bass came on to the Hammerhead Shakure Jr. Red FCL Labo EXT81MH  rod made short work of it.

After hours of fruitless popping, including plenty of missed and shy hookups, we decided to try out the jigging condition. Angler not too happy to his start as this little trevally took on the Shout Shab Shab.

Not bad...The second drop resulted in a better bent on the rod.

Nice Long nose Emperor on the Shout Shab Shab.

Next up was this baby doggie on the Andaman.

Dinner on the Shout Shab Shab again.

Jigging the shallow reefs does not require that heavy a tackle. The light Giant Killing PE1-3 rod does a fantastic job of hauling up fishes.

Cute little Tomato Cod on the Ima Ro jig.

Another cod on the pink Andaman.

Evening cometh. As the sun was about to set on the day, shouts of "baitfish, baitfish!" resulted in anglers scambling for their popping set again. This lucky angler got his lucky shot at his first GT as he hooked up to nice fish. His Evergreen "No Limits" shirt says it all...

Nothing big, but angler happy with it. 

Night jigging with ultralight gears for some nasty cudas...

Unfortunate incident involving a squid resulting in a dirty face and even dirtier jokes.

Early morning workout with a Green Jobfish on Ima Gunpeki, which really tested the ultralight gears.

Fortunately the Megabass Orochi X4 spin rod is up to task.

The beautiful juvenile Yellowfin Grouper on Ima Gunpeki 12g is always a welcomed catch.

Start the day with a GT and you can't go wrong. Not big but fights well. Battle scarred CSP175 doing it again.

The first bluefin trevally on a lightly worked chugger.

CSP175 keeps scoring with teen GTs. FCL Labo EXT81M rod made light work of it.

Back to jigging and a nice size coral trout latched on to an Andaman.

Common in the Maldives is the black jack. On Shab Shab.

Good size jobbie on the Seven Seas Hooker jig.

A juvenile Bluefin Trevally on a pink Ima Ro jig, which put a good bend on the Golden Mean Earthshaker medium weight rod.

Back into the shallows for some light fun, and your're not in Maldives if you do not hookup a triggerfish like this one here on a Bassday Nin Cas.

Of course Ima Gunpekis are still the go to weapon for shallow water cods.

Another species of trigger. The shallows is plagued with them.

Of course there were other varieties like this baby red bass on a DUO Ebikko.

Another baby rockcod on the ever effective DUO Ikkako.

Soft plastics worker over the reefs can yield some nice results like this Red Throat Grouper on the Jackall Bros I-Shad Tail. Unfortunately it also meant a lot bust offs and snagged rigs.

The wind was blowing up a storm preventing us from fishing the outer atolls. So it was back into the inner reefs for night fun like this red bass on bait. 

All smiles the next morning and a hearty breakfast to kick start the day. Weather was still bad so we were confined into the reefs again. 

The highly prized Coronation Trout taken just as were about to move off. A pretty good size too which took a while to bring up on the lighter Majorcraft Crostage long cast rod. 

Lure of choice was the Jackson Pintail 35gm. Another first in its books. 

Casting stickbaits the whole day with little or no bites was tiring work but we soon hookup to a good size fish.

This Giant Barracuda which was estimated to be well over the 20s, gave quite a a bit of fight on heavy gear but it was soon brought up to the elation of the angler. New FCL TG190 slashbait hanging out of its mouth.

Well worth another look at this prize. 

More casting, and this good size trout came up on to the El Nadador stickbait. Another first for the angler.

The FCL TG190 proving its effectiveness with a  Red Bass.

Finally this GT showed up with a CSP in its mouth. Rigging with a treble in front and a single Decoy VS1 hook at the back, drastically minimized the chances of foul hooking this flat sided fish.

Popping was getting futile as the boat was being rocked to no ends by the buffeting wind so, again, back to the shallows for a break. Few jigs and a Green Jobfish was soon hooked on an Andaman. Evergreen Poseidon Spin Jerker made short of bringing it up.

Bluefin trev on the Shab Shab again.

Majorcraft Crostage Light Jig + Shab Shab = Bluefin Trevally

A baby Doggie on what else, the Shab Shab again.

Moving around, we managed to snagged some smaller GTs on the Jackson Pintail Tune.

Another good bend on the Giant Killing Jig rod...

And another GT on light jig...

Evergreen Caprice Kid was the jig.

More Pintailing fun as the Majorcraft Crostage long cast rod is put to use for the first time for this angler...

And what came up was worth it as this big Long Nose Emperor was dragged out of the shallows. Jackson Pintail Tune did it again with a prized catch.

Night time jigging brought up this GT which managed to dislodge a Shout Shab Shab on the way up. 

Early morning Pintailing for this little spotted trevally. 

Light fun with a red grouper on the Orochi and Ima Gunpeki 12g.

Coral trout on Shab Shab.

Getting tired of staying in a rocking boat, we decided to head down to a nearby island for some ultralight fun.  It was a moment we all enjoyed, casting in to gin clear waters, looking for signs of fishes hanging around the flats...

Trekking through the trail to get into the inner lagoons.

The flats here were famous for bonefish but unfortunately again, the wind made casting difficult and sight fishing was definitely out of the question. 

Hooked up to a big stingray which luckily was able to escape after being dragged to the sands. Not easy on only the 6lb Tufline. 

The cute little dartfish are plentiful in the outer edges of the flats.

So are little trevallies like this on an Ikkako. 

Some Spot Tail Emperors can't resist the Ikkakos being reeled back through the shallow corals.

Even this beautiful wrasse can't resist the fluttering action of the Ikkako. 

The Picasso Trigger. Always a joy to catch and look at. 

Rock Cod.

Megabass Orochi X4 spin rod. A joy to use for hard fighting fish.

DUO rules. 

More Spot Tails.

Baby Red Throat Grouper.

The Big Eye Jacks were so plentiful, which causes other fishes to not have a chance at the Ikkako.

Back out and soon it was more popping. Red Bass on the El Nadador sinking stickbait.

Green Jobfish on the El Nadador again. 

Fighting a fish from the top deck of a rocking boat is no fun.

But it was worth the trouble as this GT was hooked on the FCL Squid Pen.

The FCL TG190 rigged with two single Decoy hooks is a beauty to work, as it pretty much swims with little or no effort. 

TG190 scores again with a red bass. This is fast becoming a favourite and a must have in our popping arsenals.

Another must have is the FCL SPP Tuna.

Last day. We were finally greeted with good weather. Everything was perfect. Sun was out, wind was blowing at a good rate, and current was spot on. 

Everyone had a hookup at this stage. 

Double and even triple hookups were soon happening!

Nice GT on the FCL CSP175...

On a Carpenter Stickbait...

Another on the SPP Tuna...

And this one on a FCL CSP 200s.

Fishes are getting bigger and bigger by the hour with this one just under the 20s, CSP200 sticking out of its mouth. 

This GT over 20kg took a while to bring up and it's a victory of sorts for the angler who didn't catch a single GT for the whole trip until this very last day. Taken on a CSP200s. Big lures, big fish!

Casting out into the channel of the atoll resulted in this hookup which tested the FCL Labo EXT81M rod to its max. .

Took a while as the fish stayed deep and was trouble trying to get it to come up.

When the fish came up, we could see it was a good size and the CSP200s lure was swallowed deep.

A personal best GT of over 30kg was brought up onto the lap for that all important snap. What a way to cap off the trip...

As the sun sets over the Maldivian skies, we realise the bad weather and the frustratingly lack of good fishes would never stop us from coming back here again. Truly a magical place to be in. 

THE SOURCE OF TACKLE FEVER

What does one do when Tackle Source and Tackle Fever plagues you? You fish and you fish every day. As a lover of fishing tackle, this trips to our local river systems turns out to be truly an experience and quite the fun one too. Here is the story of how it will spread....

(blogpost from http://tacklesource.blogspot.com)

MUD GETS IN BETWEEN YOUR TOES

Just spent a few enjoyable days with good friends checking out some estuarine systems, from both boat and shore. There was to be a lot of floundering in sticky mud as we worked hard to find a few fish. With a vessel, though, it was to be more accessible but not necessarily more fun. Boys still like to get down and dirty!

The ever changing conditions presented individual challenges when tackling different areas, toss in the constant tidal changes and it was a tough code to crack. Anyhow, the prospecting did turn up some surprises to counter the disappointments. But that's fishing eh?

Hitting the water early like only an angler can. The smell of the water, the anticipation in the air, the tactics playing in the head all contribute to the buzz.

Fishermen can't seem to leave their tackle alone. Yummy aftermarket handles and knobs by Bassart and Office ZPI for the reels. Rods represented by the three big names from the Tackle Source stable - Megabass Destroyer Evoluzion, Evergreen Kaleido and Majorcraft Volkey in spin and baitcast guises.

After a dull stretch of river we got into business. A feisty little Mangrove Jack attacked this Zipbaits Khamsin with gusto.

With the receeding tide, it was key to sort out the ambush points where predators like this Mangrove Jack would station themselves for an easy feed. As the water level was still high, sinking or deep lures like this IMA Ligid 70 were neccessary to get down into their lairs.

Mangrove Jacks are the thugs of the estuarine system. They hit hard and fast and can bury you in a flash. The only way is to button down the drags and pray it is enough! They are an addictive fish to chase.

Typically, Jacks react readily to high speed lures but the twitched DUO Deep Feat seemed to work here.

Twitched lures were mainly targeted at the prized Barramundi. This one worked like clockwork as they turned on at a specific feeding time.

DUO Deep Feat was on a roll.

The fish at this particular snag were queueing for a meal, and it was literally a fish a cast. Here's another hungry Mangrove Jack.

When in feeding mode they certainly weren't shy. This baby Jack went for the DUO Deep Feat with alot of bravery.

Another juvenile Barramundi from the snag, this time on a crankbait - the Megabass Deep-X100 worked with a Megabass Orochi X-4 rod.

And on consecutive casts the Deep-X in bright Matt Tiger colour was nailed by another Jack. Tarpons are another species found in most estuarine systems. They like DUO Spearhead Ryukis! This nicely marked Archerfish was next in line for the small Ryuki 50. It was worked with a light Majorcraft Basspara spin rod. If you find a rockbar in the river, most times the Estuary Cods aren't far. This Evergreen Combat Crank did the trick. On light rods like this Majorcraft Volkey spin, even young Barras provide much fun. The DUO Spearhead Ryuki 70 is the perfect size for these fish. A very mature Archerfish on the Ryuki 70. Another mother of an Archer, this guy went for a big IMA PCE-100 twitched fast. Next cast on the PCE-100 and yet another big Archer. Just for the sake of adding to the variety this Fingermark Bream decided to attack the deep cranking OSP Blitz. When night falls the bigger boys come out to play, and so did we. A deep diving Evergreen Combat Crank lure worked along some snags found this big guy at home. With these fish you need pretty stout gear. The ol'faithful Evergreen Kaleido 'Spin Cobra Q7' was up to the task as always, even with big cranks like this Combat Crank. Another day and another Combat Crank victim. Barramundi are classic ambush artists and this deep crank laid next to some submerged rocks did the trick. Was no contest for the Megabass Orochi X-4 rod though. Evergreen Combat Crank in special Bone edition, not your average Barramundi lure but it sure does score. This little cod got a bit greedy with the Megabass Deep-X. And this little Estuary Cod sure wasn't shy about introducing the Imakatsu Crank to its gob. When you get Puffers it usually means its time to switch spots. This nice Estuary Cod fell for a Jackall Bros i-Shad Tail soft plastic dropped at its doorstep. The Estuary Cods were a common catch, although bigger ones were hard to come by. Nevertheless we were kept busy with the smaller ones like this one that fell for a Jackall Bros Squirrel lure. No day would be complete without a nice Jack. After frustratingly busting off three good fish in tight confines we were lucky to land this one off an oyster bar. The Majorcraft Volkey rod was pushed to its limits. After losing an OSP Blitz, a Zipbaits B-Switcher and a Jackall Bros Muscle to angry fish this Megabass Deep-X did well to secure a consolation, the Kahara Quick Lock Snap held up well too. Note the light colouration of this Mangrove Jack from salty surrounds, very different from the darker mangrove dwellers. At nightfall it was back to the hunt for the brooders. They weren't in huge numbers but a fish a night was decent pickings as the size really made up for it. This big guy had no qualms downing the very mullet-like shallow runner. At fourteen pounds or so this Barramundi was a welcome trophy. While the day produced variety and numbers the after-dark sessions were really special indeed. As always, out came the Kaleido 'Spin Cobra Q7' by Evergreen. The capture was indeed a close-call. Note the frayed leader as the fish took the lure whole in one gulp. Strong hooks are also essential but with fish like these they do get pretty out of shape too, also when targeting trophies the lure snaps are ditched for a stronger connection via a super strong Sasame swivel and IMA Split Ring direct to the tow ring. The shallow running Evergreen True Round 115F lure is a gem, with its tight swimming and rolling action, it did the trick with a fine fish. Estuarine fishing is very tide-dependant. This river would be empty at the bottom of a king-tide but with tidal flow comes the fish. Again finding snags were key to success and this Estuary Cod couldn't resist a DUO Deep Feat twitched in front of its honey hole. A fantastic lure whether twitched or rolled. The DUO Deep Feat secures a place in our boxes indefinitely. Another method of getting tight in on the snags is the use of soft plastic baits. This weedless rigged Jackall Bros Cover Craw picked up this nice juvenile Barramundi lazily waiting for a passing feed. Orochi X-4 rod by Megabass is a perfect tool made for heavy cover fishing. With more open terrain exposed hook points fair well. This Jackall Bros Knuckle lure sunk and hopped on the bed drew a strike from this curious little Mangrove Jack. Some days you get real lucky. As the tide swelled and the impending storm shifted in from the horizon the last few prospective casts were placed. It came tight on one and what was originally thought to be a Grouper turned out to be the surprise of the day. This massive Barramundi slugged it out like a bulldozer, big fish like this seldom leap acrobatically so it was carefully fought without the added risk of thrown hooks. After a patient couple of minutes it was beached with much jubilation. At twenty plus pounds it truly was a fish of jurassic proportions. It was a magnificent sight as the fish laid in the shallows after the obligatory photos, Evergreen Combat Crank set perfectly in the side of the jaw. We savoured its presence as it was gently and patiently revived until it was ready to swim off on its own. It did with a big healthy kick of the tail which drenched us thoroughly, a baptism of sorts. All Barramundi are born males and go through a sex change as they mature. As such, most if not all fish above 4-5kgs are females ready to spawn the next generation. We can't stress the importance of releasing these brooding ladies to ensure their next generation, like ours, will be given a chance of an encounter like we had on this special day. We learnt in a short time what a weapon the Evergreen Combat Crank is for saltwater work. In its various depth guises it had produced some pretty exciting results as shown. Not to mention its infamy as the go-to lure for freshwater impoundments. Alongside the great array of spectacular big-name rods we have the priviledge to use, this one punches way above its weight like most Majorcraft rods do. The Volkey range represents the mid tier in terms of pricing but for the money certainly gives you more. Its light physical weight is right up there with the most expensive rods, and it has an ultra sensitive high-carbon blank that is a joy to use. Not to mention being equiped with the latest Fuji reelseats and K-series guides, as this certainly is the way of the future and we can't help but get excited about it. Special mention also goes to the thin, soft and durable fluorocarbon leader by leading Japanese manufacturer Sunline - the FC-100 series lives up to its billing as the best, and so are the braided super-lines like the PE Jigger HG loaded up on this reel. It was great to get dirty, burnt and exhausted and have results to show for it. This is the fishing we love and nothing comes close for sheer satisfaction. Definitely can't wait for the next session! (http://tacklesource.blogspot.com)