Big Sumba GT's - last weeks trip

[Anthony Dillon]

The below photo's were taken during a trip last week by 4 guys from Surabaya. This trip was intended to follow in the footsteps  and hopefully replicate some of the exceptional fishing experinced by a group of our brothers in October of 2009 . The area is North East Sumba Island after crossing from South Komodo and Rinja.

I am compiling a detailed report at the request of the Extreme Ulua guys and will post this over the weekend.

Suffice to say the average size of the GT's caught ( and lost ) was exceptional and has resulted in many sleepless nights for myself since I returned - 4 line breakages on Friday within a 1 hour period. I landed my largest Mumma and cannot wait to get back there ( this time with the strongest and toughest  braid I can get my hands on )

The guy crouching ( Rudy ) is holding the largest Indonesian GT I have ever seen. It was extremely deep in the belly. Unfortunately in the rush of  trying to get him back in fresh the quality of the photo's suffered. He took 3 people to get into Rudy's lap and he could not stand whilst holding the fish. Pak Mustafa and Pak Kosashi placed him at 45 Kg's and with the experince these guys have there is no doubt.

Joko, Beryl & John - we missed you guys.

John - all the  GT were  taken on Cubera's with the exception of 1.

Anthony.

[Jon Li]

Hi BigMan ,

See you on Monday n if you have time for dinner , I will try to gather the others to meet you ! 
I was not listed to be in your group this time because they told me I am no jigger ! 

Jon .

[Andy Rowe]

Congrats on a successfull trip Anthony , nice stout looking fish there regardless of the weight, i bet she raised a sweat for Rudy.

[Nathan Cefai]

Nice fish guys,well done,some goodfish caught// 

[djoko pranoto]

Hi Anth,
Nice report, when we back for revenge with momma GT

[marthen]

Hello Anthony & team,
Congratulation, nice report & nice pic. look very Greate. btw, this specise much and same size at              mine, couse ocean as still safe & health. My plaece in Sumbawa-Nusatenggara closed from Bali or Lombok.
See link.
http://www.google.co.id/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CBUQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsumbawasportfishing.blogspot.com%2F&ei=cZIZTNz-N5OWcfOojaYM&usg=AFQjCNF7pHL-1yM6RZ8UBHrwJ5PeVcSnkg

[Mark Harris]

Some very nice fish Anthony and well done. 

Quite coincidentally I have been looking at the possibility of putting together an exploratory trip to areas of south Sumba for jigging as much as popping GTs.

[andrias surya]

wow guys those are some serious fish u got there. Just wondering how much is those kind of trips cost roughly? I am from surabaya myself but currently living in Australia. I always wanted to have that kind of fishing trips but have no idea of the logistic involved. Any info will be appreciated
cheers

[Mark Harris]

Andrias, it is generally quite expensive to fish Sumba and there are not many trips.  It is bloody brilliant though both to the north (as this trip) and areas south of the island.

Elsewhere in East NT:

Komodo, Rinca and other parts of west/north/northwest Flores are easier and cheaper and the fishing still good. A Google search will find you prices. Normal is to fly in to Labuhan Bajo. 

Southeast Lombok and Sumbawa is often approached out of Bali either on a simple liveaboard or staying onshore in the Kuta Lombok area. Good GT popping and some excellent deep jigging. Trips offered here by the better Bali-based operators are quite popular.

In the far east, Alor is by some reports not as good as it used to be, but others dispute that. I can't say first hand but am going this November for the first time. Alor is known for big black GTs and notorious for big Dogtooths wrecking your gear . It is not too hard to find good charters at the right time of the year in Alor. Most people fly in to Kalahabi via Kupang and meet the boat  at Kalahabi harbour.

I hope that helps demystify a bit.

[Anthony Dillon]

Hi Andrias,

I fished with the xtreme Ulua boat which is owned by the guys I often fish with from Surabaya and Jakarta. Solid boat nicely designed for popping with a great deck surrounded by a rail . Comfortably 4 guys can pop at the same time on this boat.Air con below deck which helps in the hot weather big time and for sleeping. The boat is based in Labuan Bajo but can be positioned in Waingapura if you want to fish Sumba specifically. From South Komodo/ Rinca it is 30 miles to cross to Tanjun Sasar and took us about 4- 5 hours ( trawled across). Crew specialty is popping and jigging and have been fishing these waters for over 10 years now. These guys know the game as well as being a great bunch of guys. Kos the Captain is also a good popping fisherman having crewed for most the Japanese testers/ manufacturers in the early Komodo days when numbers were huge. Boat comfortably sleeps 4 guys . If you need any more info drop me a line and I would be happy to put you in touch with the guys.

http://xtreme-ulua.com/

[Anthony Dillon]

Hi Mark,

two things struck me with North Sumba. 1. everyone's fascination with the cliffs at Tanjung Sasar when the fishing along the coast east of there on our trip was outstanding. 2 The average size of the GT's. The guys who showed us the jigging spot Luma Katumbu tell some wild stories about the fishing in the South East around an area called Kalala which is well know to the surfers. We are gonna give it a go in end Oct / early Nov to see if the legends are true - might do a quick run down there in next few weeks to check out the waters and logistics - fly into Waingapura and drive to Kalala.

We will not move west from the big Island down there as the  areas are not safe. The locals 2 weeks before we fished had caught a local fisherman  from Bali long lining  for sharks and killed him. Guys are hard core and only advised to fish if with the locals or strong local contacts.

When the monsoon ends and winds change to the East the seas around Kalala turn very nasty and prevent fishing the East and North coasts.

If you go pls let us know how you get on

Cheers

[Mark Harris]

Hi Mark,

two things struck me with North Sumba. 1. everyone's fascination with the cliffs at Tanjung Sasar when the fishing along the coast east of there on our trip was outstanding. 2 The average size of the GT's. The guys who showed us the jigging spot Luma Katumbu tell some wild stories about the fishing in the South East around an area called Kalala which is well know to the surfers. We are gonna give it a go in end Oct / early Nov to see if the legends are true - might do a quick run down there in next few weeks to check out the waters and logistics - fly into Waingapura and drive to Kalala.

We will not move west from the big Island down there as the  areas are not safe. The locals 2 weeks before we fished had caught a local fisherman  from Bali long lining  for sharks and killed him. Guys are hard core and only advised to fish if with the locals or strong local contacts.

When the monsoon ends and winds change to the East the seas around Kalala turn very nasty and prevent fishing the East and North coasts.

If you go pls let us know how you get on

Cheers

Hi Anthony

Thanks for all that.  It is areas in the South East of Sumba that I was referring to earlier. I am in the early stages of figuring out a trip there with some top guys from Bali. If I can get it together, will definitely let you know and would of course be delighted to receive any feedback from your exploration! I will be in Alor in early November, otherwise would be sticking my hand up to join you. Very good point about the winds..... avoiding the southeasterlies/easterlies is even more important here than in other parts of East NT it seems.

On the fascination with cliffs.. isn't that just great? After more trips than I could count, I am still awe-inspired by the magnificent white cliffs of Nusa Penida, just off Bali. No matter how many times I go there, the reaction is always the same. I can only imagine the reaction at Tanjung Sasar.

Have you ever thought about the fishing that most be out there in southern Maluku? I suspect it would blow us all away. It will remain a pipe dream though with all the instability in that region.  Pirates? What pirates ? 

[Anthony Dillon]

Hi Mark,

I couldn't agree more with Nusa Penida - I caught my biggest Doggie there in early 2007, right after we lost a bill fish.All the action was right on the cliffs on the South East corner. Its also  a place I could swear the GT's know what a popper and stick bait is ? I have seen some big boys come roaring up to my lure and veer  off at the last minute .

On the subject of Southern Malaku it might be fish able. I remember John Hambali telling me he had fished out of Fak Fak many years ago with some friends and that is not too far East from there. Further north there is a guy from our club in Surabaya who goes diving there regularly and has caught some big doggies. We were thinking about going up there to check it out. I will send you the info if it comes off.

Regards

[Mark Harris]

If you do put a trip together to Maluku please do remember to tell me. I have no doubt about the fishing..... it just has to be good. Loads of security issues out there though.

There are a few old, wily black GT in those Penida waters for sure. I think they have been caught and released so many times, they must know the Adhek Bali range better than any of us . The area of east/southeast Penida with the offshore karsts and stunning high cliffs is called Batu Abah, and yep , that's where the best action is with GT, Doggies, Amberjack and Rubys (although there are other spots). I am very itchy at the moment as it is pretty much unfishable there from late June thru end of August.

[Garry Wong]

If you do put a trip together to Maluku please do remember to tell me. I have no doubt about the fishing..... it just has to be good. Loads of security issues out there though.

There are a few old, wily black GT in those Penida waters for sure. I think they have been caught and released so many times, they must know the Adhek Bali range better than any of us . The area of east/southeast Penida with the offshore karsts and stunning high cliffs is called Batu Abah, and yep , that's where the best action is with GT, Doggies, Amberjack and Rubys (although there are other spots). I am very itchy at the moment as it is pretty much unfishable there from late June thru end of August.

mark,
 3 months away, i guess this is one of the spot we going to fish?