My body was shouting ... "go right”.
My logical mind whispeting ... "go left”.
It took me quite a while before deciding to fight against the wind and current.
As I closed into the zone, I was rewarded with a 'paddle-size’ catfish with my first bait! I had paddle-stop-drift ...... paddle-stop-drift before the pussy took lines out from my bait caster. This kitty was no pussy as it dived repeatedly into the deep, before surfacing. What a good start! I was all motivated ... no regrets going against the elements this time.
Then it went totally quite for the next 4 hours. I drifted, anchored, trolled, changed terminal tackles, lured, replaced bait ... nothing seems to work. I kept consoling myself that at least I had a good fight already and it could have been worst!
I gave up and anchored myself near the shore. I was totally exhausted. The water was just not good, my live prawn dies within 15-20 minutes, after hooking up. I was even too tired to change the bait. I have almost given up hope for the rest of the day.
Then came a little spark ..... a fish finally took my bait - which was probably dead. “Heeeeeeee haaaaaaaa” ....... I have got a golden snapper on the hook, it was just nice for dinner.
1 good fighter + 1 dinner fish. I am good for the day!
Then the fishing suddenly came alive. A school of herrings came by to play. It was good entertainment. “Zzzzzzz ... jump ... splash .... zzzz ... ...” All babies .... about 300-400gm ... same size ... same family. All released.
I had almost ran out of bait before another snapper came up in place of the schooling herring. This time it’s about 3/4 the size of my first catch ... a bonus here already.
A few more cast into the area before my line got stuck. I had to re-tie my terminal set but I accidentally took out the wrong size hook from the bag ... a 4/0 .. it was too big for my bait but I was too lazy to dig for another hook, so I just use it. After setting it up, I found out that the live bait well was already emptied! Blur me .... new setup ..... no more bait!
Looking around my kayak ... I found 2 dead prawns lying around. I threaded the hook into the body of the prawn and casted out. As soon as the bait hit the water ....... “Tug Tug ... the line was drifting against the current! A small prawn on a big hook ..... with a big fish ON!!!!
The fish had taken off like a train. I had to hold my rod up high in order to keep the fish away from the rocky bottoms. (at least I hoped it will) It was a full bend with lines peeling away .... on the last second bait of the day. What a finale!
As the fight dragged on ..... I prayed that my leader and line will be able to withstand the pressure.
As each burst into the deep - shorten ... my confidence grew, until .... the fish surfaced. The fish looked me in the eye and made a mad dash into the deep rocky bottom again ... it’s a big grouper! Not a pussy .... a grouper this time ........ I immediately tighten my drag and forced the fish up towards the surface again with the drag - Locked!!!! It’s a risky bet that I had to take.
The grouper surfaced and swimming in circles. As it close-in on my kayak with it’s mouth open, I lifted it up onto the yak with the lip grip, on my first attempt. Phew! My eyes brighten up with a big smile on my face.Wow! Started the day with a pussy ...... ended it with a back street thug.
As I closed into the zone, I was rewarded with a 'paddle-size’ catfish with my first bait! I had paddle-stop-drift ...... paddle-stop-drift before the pussy took lines out from my bait caster. This kitty was no pussy as it dived repeatedly into the deep, before surfacing. What a good start! I was all motivated ... no regrets going against the elements this time.
Then it went totally quite for the next 4 hours. I drifted, anchored, trolled, changed terminal tackles, lured, replaced bait ... nothing seems to work. I kept consoling myself that at least I had a good fight already and it could have been worst!
I gave up and anchored myself near the shore. I was totally exhausted. The water was just not good, my live prawn dies within 15-20 minutes, after hooking up. I was even too tired to change the bait. I have almost given up hope for the rest of the day.
Then came a little spark ..... a fish finally took my bait - which was probably dead. “Heeeeeeee haaaaaaaa” ....... I have got a golden snapper on the hook, it was just nice for dinner.
1 good fighter + 1 dinner fish. I am good for the day!
Then the fishing suddenly came alive. A school of herrings came by to play. It was good entertainment. “Zzzzzzz ... jump ... splash .... zzzz ... ...” All babies .... about 300-400gm ... same size ... same family. All released.
I had almost ran out of bait before another snapper came up in place of the schooling herring. This time it’s about 3/4 the size of my first catch ... a bonus here already.
A few more cast into the area before my line got stuck. I had to re-tie my terminal set but I accidentally took out the wrong size hook from the bag ... a 4/0 .. it was too big for my bait but I was too lazy to dig for another hook, so I just use it. After setting it up, I found out that the live bait well was already emptied! Blur me .... new setup ..... no more bait!
Looking around my kayak ... I found 2 dead prawns lying around. I threaded the hook into the body of the prawn and casted out. As soon as the bait hit the water ....... “Tug Tug ... the line was drifting against the current! A small prawn on a big hook ..... with a big fish ON!!!!
The fish had taken off like a train. I had to hold my rod up high in order to keep the fish away from the rocky bottoms. (at least I hoped it will) It was a full bend with lines peeling away .... on the last second bait of the day. What a finale!
As the fight dragged on ..... I prayed that my leader and line will be able to withstand the pressure.
As each burst into the deep - shorten ... my confidence grew, until .... the fish surfaced. The fish looked me in the eye and made a mad dash into the deep rocky bottom again ... it’s a big grouper! Not a pussy .... a grouper this time ........ I immediately tighten my drag and forced the fish up towards the surface again with the drag - Locked!!!! It’s a risky bet that I had to take.
The grouper surfaced and swimming in circles. As it close-in on my kayak with it’s mouth open, I lifted it up onto the yak with the lip grip, on my first attempt. Phew! My eyes brighten up with a big smile on my face.Wow! Started the day with a pussy ...... ended it with a back street thug.
