OLD HANDS AND FIRST TIMERS

These last days we have been fishing with our returning customers Capt. Lam and his friends Tan and Lee. We also had Bader making a last-minute trip from Kuwait to try to get some fishing footage for a TV program in Kuwait. From Delhi, were Mansher with Adil, Armana and Ajay trying out popping and jigging for the first time while fishing with us.

The concern over the Coronavirus outbreak globally means that it is getting a bit difficult to travel these days. So far, fortunately we have been relatively unaffected and hope that it stays that way going forward. The windy conditions are yet to subside this season, and while the GT bites have been hot, it has been difficult to get to the spots where we are most likely to land the best fish.

Bader had booked four days of fishing with us but unfortunately had to return to Chennai due to missing baggage, which meant they could only do two days of fishing. However, we managed to have two great days of action filled fishing which included a 30 kilo GT on popper and 25 kilo Dogtooth. This, with a whole lot of light jigging action and smaller GT’s meant that they were able to get some great footage on our Andaman fishing as a destination.

Capt. Lam had booked the smaller Tropical Star for the week, and with the strong winds it was extremely difficult for them as a group to get to the best fishing spots. They were here to target big GT’s on topwater, and we had to make the best of conditions and try wherever possible to get them onto good fish.

This we did manage and raised three really good fish. Tan was the only lucky one to land a 35kg upwards GT on his Temple Reef popper, while Capt. Lam got reefed on a real monster. Mr Tan again hooked a huge fish that managed to bust him off as it got back into the reef – another unstoppable fish! Popping and jigging in rough weather is a tough ask for any fisherman, as the windy conditions make the sea choppy especially during the best fishing times, with the tide against the wind.

Working the lures is hard and balancing is tougher, so to hook and land a big fish in difficult conditions is when you need all the luck and skill combined to make it happen for you on that day.

Mansher and group have fished extensively for Mahseer in the Northern Indian rivers and had decided to take the plunge into saltwater game-fishing to see if this is a type of fishing they would like. Of all the groups these fishing days, this one managed to have the most fun as they figured out topwater popping and light jigging. Mansher, as leader of the group caught a nice 25 kilo GT on his first trip, as well as a 15 kilo dogtooth tuna. However, it was Armana, Adil’s wife who had the most fish and species, as she really took to the light jigging and landed fish after fish on all the spots we went to, including a first time species on jig, a Parrot Fish.

Ajay mastered the art of casting far in no time but was unlucky not to land a good-sized GT on his first attempt. The group really liked the jigging action and Adil said that after they had told the skipper Manoj, they just wanted to keep jigging no matter how many jigs were lost to the fish below, because once you have experienced the long run and power of a saltwater fish, it is more than addictive!

Till our next trip report enjoy the pictures

Tight Lines!