Desmond

As usual with the arrival of a new group there's always excitement on our balcony as rod tubes are unpacked and tackle's taken out. We often see the best in terms of rods and reels brought out on popping and jigging trips here in the Andaman Islands. Gone are the days of Ugly Sticks and solid glass fiber boat rods. We now see brands that are very specialized and deal solely with Tropical fishing, especially popping and jigging like Carpenter, Fisherman, Smith and Tenryu to name a few. Same with the reels.... once Penn, Abu Garcia and Mitchell ruled the roost, but not anymore. They've been replaced by the Shimano Stella, Daiwa Saltiga and Dogfight and the occasional Accurate SR-30. Rods and reels like the ones mentioned above have become the regular work horses of our trade. Now one can't do without these setups if one plans to target some of the GT and Dog Tooth Tuna we have swimming in our waters.

Above, the table on our balcony filled with reels spooled with PE lines waiting to be put to use.

Above, a custom Tuna Max fighting knob on one of the Daiwa Saltigas. These new custom handles go a long way in making it more comfortable and easier for the angler while fighting large fish.

Michael fighting a solid GT that took a 'Buffalo' popper, made in Vietnam that Michael had bought on one of his trips there. This popper proved to be quite effective, pushed a large amount of water, was easy to cast and had a colour combination that seemed to be working towards the end of the season. The group was lucky they were carrying more than a couple as they lost poppers quite regularly to some big fish and grouper in shallow water. One especially that took Michael by surprise right at the boat.

One last picture of Mike and Kantha with the same fish before Kantha sent the fish over side back to the reef it came from.

Not wanting to be left out a Red Bass hammered one of the Buffalo Poppers as well. Red Bass are hard fighters especially in shallow water and in spite of their size still reef the occasional angler who doesn't put the brakes on the fish early in the fight or has not set his drag tight enough. Hard lessons quickly learnt!

Mike with a Barracuda he landed on jig. He was lucky enough to see the fish because it bit right through his assist cord when it landed in the boat. Barracuda are another reason one has to carry extra jigs to the Andaman Islands.

Isaac was the only one jigging on this trip with an over head reel, in this case a Tiburon 30, he carried out to test. On one of our jigging marks in the South his rod bent over as his jig was smashed by a huge fish. After a hard fight lifting a very reluctant grouper off the bottom, he was convinced his tackle was good for landing big fish. At points he had his set up at max and lived to tell the tale.

Mike, Isaac and Desmond with the grouper, all smiles with their achievement.

Mike was soon into an Amber Jack which we have in our waters and now catch on a regular basis in places close to Port Blair.

Desmond with a very decent specimen of a Blue Fin Trevally caught on popper.

Isaac and Desmond with their popper caught GT. In the lower picture one can see another popper with the fish catching colour combination of the week. It was a great trip with a bunch of easy to fish with guys who enjoyed being out with us. Again another set of guys we're sure we'll see again in the Andaman Islands soon.

Darran & Akshay.