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Desaru Offshore Fishing Trip – May 2025 Catch Report

Decent day considering we got cut off by 5 spanish macks aka batang

Great eating fish!

Was a little windy today!

Need to display the fishes

Biao again?!

We went... too far.

Must straighten the fish

It was another action-packed weekend out in the waters off Desaru, and the crew at Baktao is excited to share our latest offshore adventure!

🎣 Date: 10-11 May 2025

📍 Location: Desaru, Johor, Malaysia at Tanjong Lompat

🛥️ Vessel: Ah Long Fishing Local Charter

🌊 Tide: Medium rising tide with a strong evening current (ChatGPT said this)

🎯 Target Species: Parrotfish, Grouper, Golden Snapper, and Cobia

The Journey & Conditions

We set out from the Desaru jetty early on Saturday morning. The weather was near perfect—slightly overcast skies with calm seas and a light breeze. Water clarity was fair, and the current started picking up around noon, giving us great conditions for bottom bouncing and drifting.

The boat was fully equipped with fresh squid, live prawns, and some sabiki rigs to catch baitfish on the go. Spirits were high and rods were ready!

The Catch

Day 1 Highlights:

  • Golden Snapper (Ang Chor) – Multiple solid hits in the 1-2kg range, especially around the rocky ledges about 25km offshore. Fresh squid was the top bait of the day.

  • Parrotfish (Ikan Bayan) – Bright-colored and strong fighters, these were caught mostly on live prawns near coral patches.

  • Table-sized Grouper – Not monsters, but respectable 1-2kg specimens were landed. One lucky angler even bagged a 2kg kelong grouper using a whole live kembong!

Day 2 Highlights:

  • Parrotfish – The surprise of the trip! A 12kg cobia was hooked on a slow jig around a FAD (Fish Aggregating Device) in the late morning. An epic fight that took nearly 20 minutes! But it was not landed.

  • Squid (Sotong) – Night jigging near lighted buoys did not produce a decent haul of squid, which doubled as excellent bait and snacks for the crew.

Gear & Tactics

We found success with both baited bottom rigs and slow jigging setups. Key gear included:

  • Shimano Torium 16HG with PE2.5 braided line

  • Mustad circle hooks #3/0 and #5/0

  • 80-120g slow jigs for midwater species

  • Live bait rigs using sabiki-caught selar and tamban

Patience and precision were key—most big bites came during the tide change windows.

Final Thoughts

Desaru continues to impress with its mix of reef and pelagic species. While the big GTs and sailfish eluded us this time, the quality of the bottom species and a surprise parrotfish more than made up for it.

We'll definitely be back soon to explore deeper drop-offs and test more jigging spots. Till then, tight lines and stay hooked on Baktao!

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