Bali - Oct 23 2010 - GT season well underway

[Mark Harris]

The Kaiser boys gave a flavour of early season action at the main Bali site of Batu Abah here: http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=2842.0.

Since then odd decent fish have been caught but it was not until yesterday that things really started to happen. A combination of the full moon, very choppy water and moody skies created a raging current out there which really got the GTs out to play.

The two hours before high tide were superb and provided what was probably the best GT fishing I have experienced in Bali. The level of aggression was outstanding and as well as landing two fish estimated at 35 kgs and several smaller ones, we had a huge number of bust offs and misses. With no broom-handles on board, a lot of fun was had fishing PE8 with genuine PE8 rods.

Any off you considering a family holiday to Bali with a sly day or two of fishing slipped in there should be very encouraged  . Here are some of the pics, both big and small fish.



Captain Fantastic:


A little one:


A big one:


And a little one:


DJ83MH getting the bend on:


If anyone wants any pointers on GT fishing in Bali, always happy to try - just ask.

Who: me and my great buddy and captain fantastic, Agustinus
Weapons: Carpenter DJ83MH, Ripple GT79R and GT82. Dogfight, SW18000, TP SWA10000 with No Limits 16000 spool, all loaded with Avani GT Max PE8. 
Poppers: Adhek Gecko 160 gram was the star, also used Adhek 160 gram PomPom.

[Paul Vogl]

Congrats on a great session Mark! Are they some of the bigger models you've landed locally?

[Mark Harris]

Cheers Paul.

Although others have caught mid-40s fish at Batu Abah, I have never got one there estimated more than high 30s.  I should also say that I am pretty crap at estimating size!

[Patrick Naslund]

Seems like a great day Mark.

Makes me wanting to go back to Bali... It's 24 years since I was there.. 
Where in Bali is this.. ?

Patrick

[Mark Harris]

Hi Patrick. That's far too long  .

This is the main GT site in Bali which is around a steep drop-off from the offshore karsts called Batu Abah on the eastern side of Nusa Penida.  Penida is an offshore island in the south east of Bali - about 90 mins in a fast boat from either Benoa or Serangan harbours. The main jigging spots are very nearby.

[Ben Earl]

Im interested that you have seasons there for GTs. Is it due to accessibility or the the fish go off the bite/arent there? They seem to be here year round with no real season to speak of.

[Mark Harris]

Ben - yes seasons for sure. The off season is the cooler June to September period when the south and south east winds are set in and the water considerably cooler than normal. I cannot imagine that the GTs move far but they certainly do not seem to feed in the cold topwater at this time. Same goes for most of the reef fish here - to catch anything aside from pelagics in June, July and August is tough.

It starts to brighten up a bit in September and then October through to March/April is the prime season.

[Patrick Naslund]

Tnx for that Mark, and yes 24 years is far to long.
Had some great time in Bali.I guess a lot has changed since then...Back then it was mainly backpackers and Aussies going there.

Any ideas on how the fishing is around feb ( is it wet season then ?..remember rain coming as clockwork in the afternoon when I was in Darwin around that time ) ?

I was planning on going to Kenya but changed my mind after meeting up with the organizer ( lets just say they confused me on everything.. Tackle..they used.. the way they fished.. etc...)

Patrick

Edit: I see posts has been made while I was making this reply..... I guess end of Feb would be ok then ? 

[Mark Harris]

Patrick I would not recommend that anyone outside of South-east Asia comes all the way to Bali for a fishing holiday. If on the other hand you want a general break with some good fishing as well, then ideal. February would be fine, if a bit wet.  June, July and August are to be avoided from a fishing viewpoint, although the weather then in glorious.

[Patrick Naslund]

Dam ,was looking for a reason to go back there 
But yes.. It's fishing that's no:1 prio.

[Peter Morris]

Some nice fish there...

The DJ83MH has a serious bend in it....looks like its being pushed to the limit,...?

Is there a bit of a funny action through that rod or is it just me..??

Pete

[Mark Harris]

Funny in what way Pete?  Remember that it is a long rod so the parabola will look a bit different to the 7 ft 6 jobs. And yeah, nice healthy, strong fish.

It might have been close to the limit but I did not feel in imminent danger. The fish on the end was good size (mid 30s) and hit the popper very hard only 5 metres from the boat. It immediately went deep and very fast. A jig rod would have been very helpful at that moment  , but the long Carpenter handled it.

[Jon Li]

Hi Mark ,

I am happy to hear you are happy with DJ83MH , it has a powerfull enough " root " power but at the same time , easy to cast so you can reach the strike zone which sometimes are not easy to access when the swells are high . Batu Abah can be difficult during certain time with wind n current going against each other creating chop which make it difficult to stand n cast on a small boat . 

Jon .

[Mark Harris]

Indeed Jon as you know well from experience out there. As you might imagine, a breezy day on a rising tide at full moon yesterday was exactly as you describe.

I think anyone who uses that rod will be surprised by the power it has in the butt end. I certainly was!

[Peter Morris]

Funny in what way Pete?  Remember that it is a long rod so the parabola will look a bit different to the 7 ft 6 jobs. And yeah, nice healthy, strong fish.

It might have been close to the limit but I did not feel in imminent danger. The fish on the end was good size (mid 30s) and hit the popper very hard only 5 metres from the boat. It immediately went deep and very fast. A jig rod would have been very helpful at that moment  , but the long Carpenter handled it.

Just a very parabolic stick by the look.

I think I am to used to my 80M..

Pete