Well it was supposed to be a Boxing Day treat from me and to me, but that was scuppered by yet another last minute call from my normal boat saying they had mechanical problems. That's happened far too many times lately and not happy about it.
But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as a call to my old buddy Adhek had us fixed up to go out today instead on his boat, the excellently named GT1.
The spin cycle was on maximum
Upon arrival at the main Bali GT site at Batu Abah it was clear we could be in for a good day. The spin cycle was on full, possibly the wickedest water I have ever seen out there (and that is saying something).
Third cast of the day resulted in a big hit and a big line failure - the first time I have ever had that with Varivas GT Max PE8, it just pinged. Despite that disappointment, a lure bag minus one GT3 150 and lots of friendly banter from Adhek about setting my initial drag too high, it had to be a good sign.
And it sure was, as the next 6 hours of casting resulted in 7 beauties making it to the boat, and either 16 or 17 GT strikes in total (I lost count). Biggest was 27 kgs and the smallest 10. If I could have added a 40 kg+ fish to that mix then it would have gone down as a truly vintage Bali day. That fish was indeed hooked, then stripped about 120 metres of line before I managed to pull the hook only about 20 metres from the boat.
One notable event was catching consecutive fish with the first two casts with my new Super Popping 80M, out on its first trip in my hands. Indeed, the fourth cast resulted in a bust off as well. I get the feeling I am going to like this rod :). Thanks to Andy Rowe for being kind enough to sell it to me! Set up with a SW10000 loaded with PE6 and a 120 gram Venus, it is a perfectly balanced medium weight popping unit.
Aside from the exciting fishing, it was great to catch up with Adhek in person after many months of not seeing him. The man is a pioneering legend of our sport, and I could talk fishing with him forever. From no more than 20 test casts, we had three strikes on his new prototype sinking stickbait - and when I say prototype I really mean it. A piece of beautifully shaped mahogany with a layer of clear coat on it - no paint in sight. I suggest everyone watches out for this hitting the market - it could be an instant star. Completely different shape to any other sinking stick I have used.
Star lures were Craftbait GT3 170, Adhek Venus 120, the afore-mentioned Adhek protoype and Carpenter Kattobi . Did not cast a surface stick all day which was hardly surprising given the water conditions.
All in all in really enjoyable day's fishing. After some fairly terrible trips out there in recent months, it was so good to see the Batu Abah site back to producing good fish.
(ps, I apologise for the dirty tea towel on my thighs. The crew thought my shorts were far too nice to be slimed).
Rods: an all Carpenter day: MH80H, EP82/38, SP80M, BLC83/40.
Lures: Craftbait GT3 170 and 150, Adhek Venus, Adhek prototype sinker, Carpenter Kattobi, Heru Cubera 150, Heru Bobara 150.
