Typhoon Haima looms menacingly over northern Philippines during Pierre, Gabby, Anne and Mira’s first visit to Kuala Rompin and Malaysia.
The four good friends who fished in mid October experienced good fishing and we’re fortunate that we could locate sailfish close to shore as seas were pretty choppy farther out.
After catching a couple of sails on bait, Pierre and Gaby was game to try catching one on lure.
So they began throwing poppers and stickbaits out into the waters.
There’s a Sukhoi or MIG29 in the picture. Military jets flying by on training is not uncommon as there is a airforce base not too far from Kuala Rompin.
Spectacular speedstersA stonking sailfish to get the ball rolling for Pierre and friends
Pierre reviving and releasing the sailGaby with a nice spanish mackerelProbably the smallest live squid we’ve ever caught!A sailfish comes in for GabyGaby with a nice fishGaby reviving his catch
With the right gear and technique, the repeated casting is not the real challenge, although being reasonably fit helps a lot. The real challenge is standing out in the heat and having the tenacity to cast repeatedly until a fin or two starts chasing, slashing and biting into the plastic or wood.
On their third and final day of fishing, the wind from typhoon Haima hitting the northern island of the Philippines has made the sea the roughest of the 3 days.
In terms of bite rate, day 3 is the most productive yet. However, the first 3 fish hooked and played all managed to throw the hooks after a short fight, including one on stickbait that Pierre hooked up on the bow.
Pierre was ecstatic as he’s been casting hard since the day before and had quite a few follows and some hits and hookups although none stayed hooked for long.
That’s the name of the sailfish on stickbait/popper game. It’s challenging but very rewarding. Perseverance will usually pay off in the end.
Baitfish galore! Look closely and you can see more coming out in the background. Some days they’re easy to get and some days… not so easy.
Woohoo! Sailfish often puts up a show.Anne having a blast with this jumper… before it came smashing into the side of the boat – caught on video!This fish went from left to right and airborne in 1.5 secondsAnne grinning with her trophy catchReviving and releasing Anne’s fishNote the broken tip of the bill from crashing into the boatAll we can say about the new Berkley Pro Spec leader is they’re fantastic
Anne with a juvenile diamond trevallyWe had some light tackle fun with a school of small cobia
As one of the fastest fish in the ocean, they can force the angler to move fast, too.This jumper gives Pierre the run around
Pierre putting the PENN Fathom reel and Warmonger rod to the test
Success!Having landed their sailfish we encourage anglers to keep subsequent catches in the water
Fishing side by side with the Sea Urchin
Making some pick-up from the Sea UrchinSome of our Sea Urchin guests and crew
Preparing stickbaits for Pierre and Gaby on the third morning. Some solid takes but none successfully landed. Maybe next time.Our other boat with Kai Vin and familyAnne enjoying herself. No pain no gain!
IncomingHolding deep stillAbu Garcia and PENN holding on to a sailfishGaby having some photo moments while keeping the fish wetMore fish came in on this dayFish in the water usually mean better coloursGaby with another nice fish
Pierre brings in the last fish of that tripOne for the road
Juan Wei is the founder of SFA. All he does is fish (and that's a myth)! His favourite type of fishing is sight-fishing where he can cast to the target fish and see it eat his presentation. See what he's currently up to on Instagram @juanwei