BigMac Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Well I'm home and back in the world of reality When I arrived in Karon, I immediately phoned Micheal, the guide on my boat of choice "M/V Reel Thing", a 21ft walkaround centre console boat capable of 40knts. There was a typhoon heading from south to north up the east coast of China that was having a serious effect on the weather in Thailand and the last time out (the 17th) they had to endure 4m swells and a severely reduced area to fish in due to the 29 commercial boats taking shelter in the lee of the 2 islands, Racha Yai and Racha Noi. On the plus side they had seen 6 or 7 sailfish free jumping in the afternoon. The wind when we arrived was blowing south west 5 or 6 and there was a huge swell hitting the beach. Phone again in a couple of days to see if the weather is going to allow a window to get out. Thursday was the last available day as we were due to leave at 5.30am on friday morning. A phone call to Micheal on tuesday evening and it was looking like the winds were going to pass on wednesday and the conditions looked perfect for thursday. He was to pick me up at the hotel at 7.00am and we should be on the water by 7.30. Micheal picked me and the missus up prompt at 7.00 and we chatted al the way to the pier that the boat left from. A very knowledgable guy originally from Denmark who had been living in Phuket for 8 years and had been involved with the fishing industry since moving there. He asked what I wanted to fish for and, being a billfish virgin, I said I would love to catch a sailfish. He promised to do his best. I also explained that I really didn't just want to reel them in, but also wanted to be involved in all aspects of the fishing including running the lures, cutting the belly strips etc. "No problem" When we arrive at the pier Micheal says " I have a suprise for you. Instead of going out on "Reel Thing" ( a 21ft T-top speed boat) the owner has upgraded you to "M/V Gecko" (a 40 ft, air conditioned big game boat, usually in use for liveaboard fishing safari's to the Andaman Islands)" What a result We set out on Gecko with Teo at the helm, Toy as deckie and Micheal as guide. We run a pattern of 7 lures on flatlines and outriggers within 10 minutes of leaving the pier, with the intention of securing enough skipjack, kawa-kawa and longfinned tuna to use in the afternoon as belly strips for the sails. We ran 4x8" kona head types lures on the outriggers and far left and right flatlines attached to 30lb class gear and 3 chrome head jigs on the centre 3 rods attached to 20lb class spinning tackle, each jig trailing 3 muppets in the wake of the boat. Troll speed is 7.5 to 8knts. The first of a dozen or more small tuna hit the lues and provided excellent sport on the light spinning rods provided. They run you ragged for a couple of minutes on 30lb braid and a 20lb class spinning rod and when you get em to the side of the boat they're about 3 or 4 lb. Amazing fish We change a couple of the lures and run some chrome bubblers behind a bird teaser on the two centre rods. Second pass between the islands and its away I pick up the rod, set the lever to strike and wait for the line to tighten. as it pulls tight I hit it and in the blink of an eye 100 yards of line is gone and the line falls slack "Marlin" Micheal says quietly as I dejectedly reel in the lure for inspection. The hook is almost straight and I know that I'm to blame for the lost fish for not striking the hook home properly. All too soon its lunch time and Toy the deckie brings out enough food to feed to feed the 5000!!!! We eat on deck whilst trolling, an turn down the opportunity of snorkelling for an hour, so as not to stop fishing. The prime time for the sails is 3.00 till 6.00pm so at 2.00 we change the rods over to belly strips of tuna The hot time for sails is 3.00-6.00pm so at 2.00pm we take all the rods in and then put out 4 rods baited with panama belly strips, 2 on outriggers and 2 on flat lines. The troll speed is now only 4knts. At 3.30 one of the flatlines is away and a dorado about 20lb jumps 6ft in the air 6 or 7 times and then spits the hook!! We fish until 5.45 and only a couple of tuna disturb us. No sails seen or hooked As we are on our way back to Chalong pier Micheal gets a call saying that the commercial boats that were sheltering in the lee of the islands had weighed in 21tonnes of sailfish 1 day and then 14tonnes of sails on the next. Obviously Micheal wasn't the only one that saw them onthe 17th!!!! All in all a great days fishing and I will land that elusive billfish one day. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Brilliant report. Hard luck not landing a sailfish. Unfortunately weather (specially the bad) and fishing go together. One day, you will catch a sailfish, and many more after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Second pass between the islands and its away I pick up the rod, set the lever to strike and wait for the line to tighten. as it pulls tight I hit it and in the blink of an eye 100 yards of line is gone and the line falls slack "Marlin" Micheal says quietly as I dejectedly reel in the lure for inspection. The hook is almost straight and I know that I'm to blame for the lost fish for not striking the hook home properly. I bet the first thing you said was" Phuket" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Second pass between the islands and its away I pick up the rod, set the lever to strike and wait for the line to tighten. as it pulls tight I hit it and in the blink of an eye 100 yards of line is gone and the line falls slack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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