Tanjung Pinang Trip 3 Part ONE: My First Ebek

This is TT's first boat trip with Wisata Bahari 1 and everything was done differently from TT's previous trips to Elly's boats. Indeed TT got a different perspective.

First stop was TMFT and everyone met up as usual. I couldn't sleep so i reached the terminal at 630 am to have breakfast.

Anyway, the guys slowly arrived and then I realised that we only need to bring two rod tubes to TP... As the others had brought up monster rod tubes. Put my rod tube in a friend's car and off we went... 8 iceboxes and 2 tubes...

We arrived at the TP Jetty and were quickly ushered to have our lunch and we even found time to visit a few places like a tackle shop.

Lunch and Tackle shop



We then proceeded to the other Jetty to take our small boat to the big boat that we will be fishing at. It was nice breeze blowing against us and all were in good mood but a friend knock his head on the boat as he was going to sit down. If it is good to mention, he also knock his head on the trip back.

We were onboard Wisata Bahari 1 and it was my first time on this boat. It was quite a spacious boat which i had no doubt could accommodate 12 anglers easily. The aircon bunk was a great incentive. The extra space on board was an added bonus.

Journey to the Big Boat and pictures of the boat

So after we have unloaded everything and settle down, it was time to setup the tackle but all of us went to sleep anyway. There were many trolling sets on board but the boat was going too fast so no trolling for us. The boat was going like a speed boat and we came crashing on the waves and back up again. Some began to vomit and merlion already.

Anyway, when i woke up when the boat reach the first spot, it was already around evening time. We let down our lines and very soon i got the first fish . It was a fairly good sized Sagai. Kekekeke... A few minutes later we were bombarded by a school of big Duri and even 1 big kim chu seng at around 4 kg was landed.

After that it was dinner already and all of us went to eat but i was excited to take pictures of the dinner so no picture on dinner. After dinner, the current was extremely strong and we were using around size 20 - 24 until Clarence managed to get a big hook up on his line. The fish gave a very strong first dash but after that was steadily pulled up until midwater where it was very heavy due to the current pull. By then, everyone knew it was a stingray and we bided our time as this tackle(Genesis PE 4-7, TLD 25, 65lbs mainline and 100lbs leader) was enough to kill the ray. Another 10 minutes later, the dreaded happened. The stingray managed to get loose of the 10/0 hook and get away.

So we continued fishing and i move to the front to get more personal space. Seems like not alot of squids tonight and i only managed to jig up 3 while the deckie scooped none. Then the mini feeding frenzy started and with our fresh bait we managed to get some action. At the back they were having fun with the Cobias and they were having fun while i was at the front with the deckies and we managed to hit many bulats. There were even double hook ups.

Then another big hook up at the back happened but this time everyone was worried as it was only a 30 lbs mainline and 50lbs leader! As suspected, the fish dashed all the way and the reel didnt manage to take in any line. By now, everyone realised that this too was another ray... The fish dashed out again and again but we could do nothing. Finally, the ray burst the line and the leadere came back frayed due to the rocky seabed. All of us were heart pain again.

There were another two big hook ups later on but both were also rays and it seemed that our luck wasnt well this night as both of them got away by throwing hook as they were fought in. That was about it for night 1. A few cobias, bulats, kacis and lost rays.

I went to sleep and woke up the next morning early to try my luck. When i woke up, i was suprised to see only the captain fishing. Everyone else was sleeping and captain was managing 3 rods. I took up my set from the rod holder and dropped down some rotten sotong i found on the floor and not long after, my rod bent and line peeled out.

After some tugging and pulling, the fish was no match for my setup and i pumped the fish with no mercy. I thought that the fish might be a parrot but my my... I got a suprise when the captain shouted EBEK! And netted it up. And here i am posing with my first ever Ebek!

Headless TT


So after my ebek and commotion, the others came up to fish and captain shifted to next spot when there were no more bites. At the next spot, some small fish were disturbing our bait and i was unable to take it so i took some squid tentacles and hooked it on a sabiki. The moment the sabiki reached bottom, i had a nibble and violent take. The fish stripped me of one colour of PE line and burst the sabiki instantly. Everyone got a big shock and i took out my secret weapon... A bigger sabiki rig around 10lbs. So i let the rig down again and another violent take and fight ensued. This time, the fish was dumb and followed my line up. So i began cranking in fast to get as much line as possible to fight the fish later.

After reeling in around 3 colours of PE line, the fish realised something was wrong and made a single dash down to the rocks. 3 Colours of PE line was stripped immediatley and i was seeing my spool. Seeing that all was almost lost, i thumbed the reel and slowed the fish down... The fish was tiring and stopped running so i pumped it up again. Kekeke... It was almost a done deal.

After an intense battle, we could all see the fish when it surfaced. It was a good sized green parrot around 1.5 kg or more. Wow... My first parrot on Sabiki... Kekeke... But then something happened... When the deckie was about to scoop the fish, the fish ran towards the net and stuck itself on the outside of the net. It managed to shake free of the hooks and swam away!!!

Now with me already knowing what fish was below terrorizing me, i baited the hooks again and let down...Same story and same fight. Dumb fish swimming up and dashing below in a desperate attempt. I burst off one of the takes but on another take i won but when the fish surfaced, i was shocked... It was a leather jacket around the 1 kg size hooked on the tail! Another new species for TT!

Sadly, after all that commotion, no more parrots or leather jackets and we moved on. By then it was dinner time and guess what we had for dinner...

Fresh duri with assam pedas! And super nice long beans. And I mean really nice


Ok guys, I will end part 1 here as its the second evening already and i shall do the videos and pictures up on another day.

Stay tuned to the next part in this CR...

The 3 musketeers and their fight against the monster fishes


Preview Video: The Sacred Jerk Musketeer Technique