Featured Post

Maldives is a light and micro jigging fishing heaven

“It’s not about whether the fish were bigger or how easy it was to get the fish on jig but rather, it was that two hours of catching various, unique reef fishes with just about any jig in your tackle box. Yes some jigs were better than others and I’ve caught bigger fish on light jigs but never before was I so enthralled with jigging before. It was kind of like catching Pokemon except that it wasn’t a virtual game. It was real – the strokes, the sights and the sound. Simply beautiful.” – Nigel, when recollecting his light fishing adventures in the Maldives (2016)

 

Beautiful video done by Shawn shows most of the light jigging action we had. Skip to 4.44 if you want to avoid Nigel losing the big fish (grrr...)

Well, so this is it. I know I mentioned that light tackle fishing in the Maldives wouldn't work but the weather was turning bad and the the fact is I still love some light jigging fun. Singaporeans are still quite good at it so off we went for some small fishes. The light jigging was done at some sheltered reef areas with drop-offs so it can be a sure-win insurance if you want to hide from the bad weather or you really need to inject your trip with some fishes. 

While light jigging didn't produce the big fishes (not in our two hours session at least), it guaranteed us lots of fun as the bite rate was good (about a minute or two to get a bite) and the hits got very frequent when we were close to the drop-offs. Unfortunately, the strong winds meant that we only had a minute or two before we were blown to the shallower side of the drop-off so the boat had to readjust again. The variety that came with light jigging in the Maldives was absolutely mind blowing. We filled up the pail in about two hours and caught a myriad of reef fishes which included rainbow runners, groupers, trevallies, job fish and even extra large leng chiams (or long nosed emperor).

After being humbled by the GTs of Maldives, this was a good way to reclaim some honor (as Shawn put is so aptly) and we just had too little time.

Beautiful extra large goat fish on jig. We had this for lunch later.
The goldspot trevally!
Looks like an arumugam but way bigger
Fiesty jobfish. A small one but an increasingly rare sight in Maldives I heard
All leng chiams were extra large in size
Filled up the pail in no time. The locals were happy.
A larger specimen. The rainbow runners were good fighters.
We had this one for the BBQ
Apparently, Maldivians also love red grouper
Pesky triggerfish were everywhere!

If you’re interested in joining such a rustic fishing trip, I can arrange one for you and although there are certain packages available, such trips are purely exploratory and still at an infancy phase. If you have good fishing finesse skills though, you’ll probably do very well. Contact me at nigel.lian@gmail.com 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Basic Introduction to Prawning: Simple Tips & Tricks

New Prawning Pond in Singapore for 2024: Olden Days Prawning

Singapore Fishing Paypond Locations (updated 31 October 2023)

What is the difference between the Kurau (Indian Threadfin) and Senangin (Blue Threadfin Salmon)?

Marina South Singapore Fishing Spot (Eging and Shore Jigging Recce)

Ah Hua Fishing and Prawning at Neo Tiew Lane 2, Gallop Kranji Farm Resort (formerly D Kranji Resort) visit

New Fishing and Prawning Pond at SAF Yacht Club (SAFYC), Sembawang (Opened on 27 October 2023)