26th April 2015, Port Dickson Jigging

Waking up early for fishing was never a burden for I Casters members; moreover this trip was for a new method of fishing for us called ‘Jigging’. We gathered at Klang, Bekerly Corner at around 6.30a.m, took light breakfast and decided to start our journey to Port Dickson. On the way, we had to stop in a Rest house near Port Dickson to meet another member who guided us to the boat dock at Teluk Kemang. We also had to buy some food and drinks like bun and cold drinks to eat and refresh on the boat later.

We reached the dock at 8.30a.m and met the boatman “Apek Kecik”, a very well-known and friendly name among jiggers. The boatman asked us to arrange all our fishing materials in the boat while waiting for the boat to be towed to the beach. After arranging, we also started to tie leaders and jigs to the fishing gears. They used a mini tractor type of vehicle to tow the boat to the beach. Together with us, there were also other boats getting ready to go to the sea to fish. 

Approximately around 9.10a.m we got into the boat and begin our journey to the sea. We were advised that the Port Dickson Sea is not very deep compared to other common jigging areas and the water tide on the day was slightly low. This makes the underwater current to go low as well which may result on reduced bite rate. However the boatman promised to bring us to the best spots in Port Dickson which boosted our confidence level.

Arranging fishing materials in the boat

One of the member “I-Casters’ president” was playing light jigging and the rest was playing slow pitch. First fish strike on slow pitch resulted on a broken rod. Luckily spare gears were brought together. The silence and frustration on the boat was broken upon the first fish strike. We got a Queen fish which jumped out of the sea fighting with an 180grams silver jig in its mouth. We managed to land it successfully in less than 10 minutes of fight. The boatman constantly changed location, drifted the boat to align with the water current, helped us to save the jigs which caught under the corals and did all he can to ensure good fish strike with minimum lost. The boatman also caught a Queen fish in one of the spot we stopped. Reward for a hardworking man.

First strike on the boat

Second queen fish landed

Many beautiful living natures discovered on the day such as, flying fish, a small coral fish that looks like a dorado fish (we got no idea what is that for real), a fast hunting Cobia fish which misses a jig and very hardworking birds which kept on hunting from morning for anchovies. Looking for spots has leaded us to a fish frenzy spot. How we found it? The birds guided us to the spot and there were multiple explosions on top waters due to fish attacks. Spontaneously we all tried to cast to the frenzy area in the hope to get a strike. The boatman asked us to relax and advised us to just wait as the frenzy fish will travel around the boat later. Using light jigging set added advantage in the situation as it allows casting the jigs further into the fish frenzy area. The Boatman also advised us to use popper and pencil lures for top water strike.

We managed to land a good sized queen fish, also a member managed to hook up a striped mackerel without wire leader (gosh!! it was breath taking) and we missed few strikes as well. Finally, after trying to chase the frenzy fishes and covering few more spots, the boatman brought us to the most favorite spot which is Tanjung Tuan. That was the place where our I Casters President managed to get a heavy strike. Boatman and the rest of the members could not guess the fish which got hooked as the pull and the shape was something new to all of us. Upon fighting for almost 20 minutes a 7Kg spotted mackerel was landed on a 40grams jig. According to the boatman, spotted mackerel was last seen a year ago in Port Dickson Sea and it is very rare to catch the species on this size. That was the last catch on the boat and it turned out to be the best catch of the day.

Spotted mackerel caught with 40grams Jig

Striped Mackerel caught with 60 grams jig

Around 4.30p.m we had to stop jigging activity after Tanjung Tuan, as the day was about to rain heavily. We had to pack our things and rushed to the land. We waited for the boatman to park the boat at the dock and brought out the fish to be shared among us. The boatman requested to keep the tail of the spotted mackerel as a new record in Port Dickson jigging trips. We managed to move back home at about 6.00p.m in the evening.

The tail of the spotted mackerel

Again, I Casters had cast the passion, but now in Port Dickson Sea.

An Article By
Vimalan Krishnansamy