Pulau Jarak & Pulau Sembilan - 8th & 9th Nov 2007

2 months ago, a trip to Tukun Perak was planned for 8th, 9th & 10th of November, taking advantage of the Deepavali holiday. Unfortunately we had to cancel the trip 1 week before as several confirmed participants couldn't make it and we were having problem looking for more. Just when I thought my holiday will be spent in town, 1 of the kaki called and said that his friends still wanna fish and even if it was 4 person, they would still wanna go Tukun Perak and they don't mind paying the extra. Just so happen, right after my phone call with him, Chung (boatman from Sitiawan) called and told me he just landed a 14.5kg grouper with the PE1-2 Sabel Dance I got for him. And the spot is a mini drop off somewhere between Jarak and P9 which has long been forgotten after much 'used & abused'. At another spot, he also bumped into a school of Black Tips. And after several phone calls with my friends, I confirmed with Chung to fish Jarak on 8th and P9 on 9th. Funniest thing was, in the end we had more than enough people for the initial Tukun Perak trip. But since I already cancelled off with the Tukun Perak's boatman, we just stayed focus with Jarak.

To make matter even more shaky, Chung called the evening we were suppose to leave town and said 'Bad news...very strong wind now. If it rains heavily tonight, we are safe tomorrow. If not, very dangerous.' After much discussion with the kakis, we decided not to call off the trip and take our chances. And so it did...

Day 1 - Pulau Jarak

At 4am in the morning in Leisure Bay Cafe when everyone were still sleeping, I was awaken by a loud and heavy thunderstorm. And I remembered what Chung said the night before, and I fell back to my slumber with a thin smile on my face...hehehe...

When we woke up the next morning, the sky was all clear and wind was cool. Good weather. There was a slight drizzle in the morning but other than that, it was good weather throughout. :-D

For day one, we proceeded straight to the Black Tip spot which was 15 minutes further out from Pulau Jarak. Unfortunately, we only landed 1. We lost countless jigs to them. The annoying part is they tend to strike when the jig is dropping. So very often when you are dropping your jig, they accelerate suddenly or just stop dropping half way. And to add to the annoyance, they were also spotted on the surface many times but was never near the boat. Kaibutsu was paired with Saltiga-Z 4500 IZE and ready for action but not getting any... :-(

First Ang Choh of the day, by 小雄.

Skip Jack Tuna on Ever Green Javeline 140g by me :-)

Trevally on IMA RO 100g by me :-)) Another trevally.

On the way back from the 'Black Tip' spot, Chung stopped by Jarak and pointed to a spot for me to cast. On the 3rd cast, this baby GT was landed. YEAH!! Kaibutsu LP officially blessed!!! With my self designed Halco Roosta Popper. :-p

NG with his Tenggiri Papan.Another Tenggiri Papan.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to leave Jarak and head to the Mini Dropoff. The reason we called it 'mini' is because if you look at the fish finder, you will not think that there's anything interesting down there. The drop off is a mere 10 metres and you don't see anything else. As it was already quite late when we reached there, we only drifted the spot 3 times.

My reward on the first drift. Ang Choh on 100g IMA RO.

On the 2nd drift, I had an unstoppable train which busted me off. And on the 3rd drift, was rewarded with a 13lb Barracuda on 100g IMA RO. Everyone thought that this Barracuda was a big huge Grouper. The runs were short, powerful and quick. And lifting it was a total nightmare as it was hooked on the tummy. And seeing the bend on my JigZam, everyone got very excited. I was myself a bit disappointed when I saw it was a Barracuda. :-p But can't complain!! It was a good way to end the day.

Day 2 - Pulau Sembilan

We arrived at P9 around 9:30 and we left around 1pm. I had 1 hookup in the first 5 minutes of jigging and I lost it half way. And it was quiet all the way until noon. So we decided to head out to the Mini Dropoff again. GOOD DECISION!! On the 1st drift at the mini dropoff, we had a triple hookup. On the 2nd drift, double hookup. After that, the hookups were more far apart.

NG with his catch at Pulau Sembilan before we leave for the mini dropoff.Jackpot Ang Choh of the day from the mini dropoff.

Me and my share of action. I was tying my leader when there was a double hookup. And seeing the frenzy, I quickly dropped my jig and it was whacked the moment it touched the bottom, Triple Hookup!! :-D Setup was Shimano Stella 3000C and Ever Green Poseidon Spin Jerker Light with IMA RO 60g.

Another big Barracuda.Ang Choh on pink Ofmer jig.

A case of confused identity. Later in the day, saw a pile of rubbish drifting in a distance. Took out my Shimano Basstera with Caldia Kix 4000 and started popping pass the side. 2nd cast, I was rewarded with this Tripletail who thinks he's a GT. Yeah!! Basstera BLESSED!!! After landing it, another kaki started popping but instead of popping the side, he was popping throught the center. Within minutes, he dragged the whole pile of rubbish to the side of the boat. Hehehehe... We could see Dorados and Tripletails still underneath the rubbish, but they must have been spooked...

More Ang Choh...

Baby Cobia on IMA RO 100g.

Overall the 2 days were very good. It has been quite a while since I had a trip with so much action and took so much pictures on boat. Weather for both days were excellent, one of the best compared to the past few trips with Chung. Both my Kaibutsu and Basstera finally saw some action, although nothing big. I did have a very close call with the Basstera when popping around P9, easily 10kg. When my popper was nearing the boat, Chung shouted to me as something just whacked and missed my popper. I didn't notice as I was looking out at the horizon to look for the next potential spot. But sinceI was standing at the front end of the boat, I was quite high up. When I looked down, I could see this dark shadow right underneath my popper and it made a sharp u-turn and sped off. Well, you win some you loose some. Can't complain. :-)

Past 3 trips with Chung -

http://kyfk.blogspot.com/2007/10/sunvista-wreck-pulau-sembilan.html

http://kyfk.blogspot.com/2007/08/wreck-revisited-p9.html

http://kyfk.blogspot.com/2007/07/sitiawan-wreck-9th-july-2007.html

Jackson Pin Tail

Jackson Pin Tail - 9cm - 35g.

Have only used this a few times when I was Pulau Sembilan 2 weeks back. Didn't yield any results. Need to work on the proper presentation. The fact that it's 35g, it's very easy to be cast. But since it's quite small, only 9cm, if whack by a tenggiri, chances of loosing the lure is quite high I guess...

Very interesting interior.

Pin Tail

Here's the official website.

Shimano Tcurve Game Series

Bought this rod more than a year ago. I think it was one of those impulse buy... :-s Have only used it once in Maldives for like an hour, pairing it with Duel. Wanted to buy an Avet Pro 30 long long time ago. But the ever emerging new models just kept on screwing my fickle fickle mind. And also bottom fishing is not really my main interest. But if I am to complete this bottom setup, I will most likely get an electric reel, Command X4. Hehehehe...

Aftco Guides.

More Aftco...
Tiagra - 24kg Game Series - Designed by Ian Miller.
Tiagra 5'6' 24kg Stand Up. Shimano T Curve.
Tcurve Hi Power Carbon by Shimano.

Halco Roosta Popper

Roosta Popper 105/135™

Here's an extract from the official website.

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The Roosta Popper is at the cutting edge of Modern Popper design. Fully computer designed and prototyped, this rattling lure is both a sensational straight retrieve and blooping popper. Rear weighting gives exceptional casting ability and the unique head and body shape reduces cart wheeling and produces exceptional noise and splash.

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Roosta Popper 135™ Specifications
Length: 135 mm
Weight: 48 grams
Swim Depth: Surface
Hooks: No.2/0 Mustad 3X Trebles
Speed: Slow to fast retrieve
Applications: Straight retrieve popping, blooping

Buoyancy: Floating

- How to Fish -

The Roosta is designed to be used as a straight retrieve popper and a blooper.When retrieved, the action can be changed by the level of the rod tip. Keeping the tip close to the water creates a massive bubble stream as the lure tracks through the water with a slight wiggling action. This can be particularly useful in rough surface conditions where the lure needs to be kept in the water to minimize cart wheeling. The low splash, high bubble retrieve can also be useful for fish that are shy of large splashes. By keeping the rod tip at mid height (2 metres from water level) the lure creates a classic forward splashing action with the cup face creating maximum splash. The flat back end of the lure becomes a planning surface and the lure remains upright and steady.

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A high rod tip retrieve creates a skittering action along the surface. The lure does not create big forward splashes, but rather a side and rear splash similar to a fleeing garfish (bally hoo).To bloop the popper allow the lure to stop, the back end will sink and the lure is ready to be ripped. A rip of the rod tip creates a huge forward splash as the rear planning area rises to the surface and the cup faces digs in hard. When successfully blooped, a large "gurgling" noise can be heard. After ripping the lure, allow it to stop and for the back end to sink. The lure is then ready to be ripped again. Blooping is best performed with the rod tip held low.

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The Roosta will also troll very well. It is stable enough to be trolled in a pattern of lures for ballistic surface strikes. Try different rod tip heights for desired action and to account for the sea conditions.

- Tip -

When casting poppers always allow a few seconds after the lures has hit the water before you commence your retrieve. This allows the lure to find its correct buoyancy and resting position in the water prior to retrieving. Commencing the retrieve the moment the lure hits the water often finds the lure not behaving correctly for the first couple of metres. Often this is the critical strike zone.

Halco Roosta Popper 135Big huge eye...which doesn't really serve a purpose...

Here's a shot of the belly. Was so bored over one of the weekends, did some DIY decoration with the popper... :-p
GT only...Tenggiri also can...

Pls Bite Accurately... :-ppp
Halco Roosta in action.

Briefly, I find the Halco Roosta Popper totally a gem to cast. And because of its weight distribution, it ensures optimum splashing position when not in motion, and the big gives it good splases, when in motion of course.

Ever Green Life Belt

PFD (personal flotation device) / lifejacket / life preserver / life vest / life saver / life belt

Wiki - Personal flotation device

Bought this Ever Green life belt a while back. Not cheap, but it's for protecting my life so it's worth every penny. I have 2 other normal Type III lifejackets but I rarely put them on when out at sea as it's hot and bulky. They always end up as cushion for the ass. And the fact is that when there's an emergency, you won't really have the time to put anything on so it's quite redundant. Hence I decided to get this life belt mainly because it's less bulky, and you won't feel much of it as it's around your waist. And it also comes with straps which I can use for fighting belts so it's like hitting 2 birds with 1 stone. And it expands either automatically upon water pressure or manually jerking the release cord.

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I know of a lot of fishing friends who don have a life jacket of any sort. Is it necessary to get one? Don't they always have them on board? If you look at a lot of fishing boats in Malaysia, most of them don't have any or enough life jackets around. And even if they do, they are usually kept and/or hidden 'safely' somewhere so that in an emergency, you can take your own sweet time and search for them. And we are not just talking about emergencies like boat sinking or something. If you look at some fishing boats around Malaysia, you get a lot which don't have any railings around the sides. What if you accidentally fell overboard? What if...nobody heard or knew you fell? What if...the boat was moving? What if...the water was very choppy? What if...it was middle of the night? Are you a good swimmer? Yes? Better than the sea? You sure you won't panic? Hehehehe..... :-p

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Finally...if you are an owner of a Stella and/or Saltiga or any other high end reels and you have yet to invest in anything for that priceless life of yours...shame shame!! :-p

Comes with a simple see through bag.

E.G. Life Belt.

118? What 118?
Poseidon.

Direction indication. :-p
Rubbery surface for additional grip.

Cordura - for maximum durability.
Shockonloc -
3M Scothlite Reflective Material.
Ever Green International.

Some specs of the belt. On the left is a whistle.

For additional air :-)

You get dotted lines across the float as guide for folding it.
System Designed by Bluestorm - The Challenge of Water.
The gas cyclinder. Am very tempted to try out the belt at the swimming pool or something but then I'll have to replace this. Hmm....am praying that I NEVER have to replace this...never...

Tried strapping on my Braid fighting belt on with a clip and it fits nicely and rest comfortably on my lap.

JERK!
Resting position when in water. Cross the arms and legs to keep warm.