BOTTOM SEA FISHING - Sharing Of Experience

   

This article was published in the October 2000 issue of Rod And Line Fishing magazine.

Bottom sea fishing is getting very popular nowadays. During my many trips out to sea, I have met a lot of beginners who were like sang kei chai (virgin boys) with not a clue as to what to do. Most of them never made a second trip. Therefore, I feel I should share some of my limited experiences with the freshies so they can enjoy the hobby of bottom sea fishing. As what is given here is only limited, I suggest that you try to learn as much as possible from the many articles found in Rod & Line as well as the sifus in your group.

Have a good learning attitude. Learn from the sifus in he group.

   In Malaysia, there are a lot of places with boats for hire. A good place to start looking is the Rod & Line Fishing Directories. One drawback of hiring a boat is you must get a group of anglers to spread out the cost, unless of course you can afford to pay more. Most of the regular boats were already fully booked for all the weekends with tides suitable for fishing. Unless someone give up their booking at the last moment, getting one is quite difficult. The only way to get a chance to fish is to be place on the reserve list of any regular group (hang around any established tackle shop and you'll find them). The moment they have any last minute withdrawals, they'll call you. Don't give me the crab, "Who do they think they are? You think I am a spare tyre ah?" Well, I know of a guy who said that and he is still a spare tyre today, three years later! After a few trips, hopefully, you'll be promoted to being a regular. Of course, this will depend a lot on your public relation skill too.

The reel on the left has a star drag while the one on the right is a lever drag reel.

   Your basic armament is of course the boat rod (a stand-up, if possible) and multiplier reel with enough capacity to do the job. Normally 200m-300m should be quite comfortable. The argument between mono filament gang and the braided fans have being going on nonstop. Personally, I would prefer the braided lines for bottom fishing, as they are relatively non-stretch and thus more sensitive. Try to buy the best that you can afford. The premium braids will usually come with thinner diameters (do not use your bare hand to pull the braided line in case you are stuck as it will cut through your hand like knife through butter). That translate into less drag in the water, which will enable smaller sinkers to be used. Imagine yourself cranking a kilo-sized sinker in strong current over a distance of more than a 100m? How many time can you do it? That is why electric reels are getting more popular.

The braided is the one on top. Be careful as it can give you a pretty bad cut. The mono-filament is below the braided line.

   The battle between electric and rice powered reel also is a hot one. My personal choice is 'rice powered' as I can keep in personal contact with my quarry. Once while grunting and heaving with a 15kg grouper on, one of my friends remarked, "Serves you right for not buying an electric reel or else you'll be sitting down enjoying yourself while the fish is been winched up. How can I convince him that I was enjoying myself immensely fighting the fish? Well, that is what fishing is all about, isn't it?

Correct way to set the drag on a lever drag reel.

   Both these type of reels come in the star drag and the lever drag version. To set the proper drag, you have to adjust it to about 1/3 the breaking strain of your line. Try to get a friend to hold and read your scale for you while setting (ignore those taunts from the smart alecs). The lever drag even though set, enables you to adjust it while fighting the fish without fear of over tightening and exceeding the set poundage. Whereas a star drag reel, once set is difficult to adjust without the the danger of over tightening (I have seen many good size fish being lost this way).

   A pretty stiff rod is much preferred for this type of fishing. If you have one without any backbone, you'll be having problem pumping and controlling the fish. In my opinion it is better to get a stand-up rod for if you locked on to a big fellow, you'll have to fight it standing up. Have a gimbal belt on the stand by too. It will prevent the rod gimbal digging into your belly. At the same time it will stop the rod rocking from left to right. As for electric reels, I have seen friends who used 11 to 14 feet rods to get their terminals away from the crowd and tangles. A few even used their big toe to press the wind button. Easy life with no hassle, eh?

 

Example of an electric reel in the market.

   The main line must be attached to the spreader. There are many types and sizes on the market. Some good, others are bad and others are downright ugly. Their job is to prevent your bait from entangling with the main line, which will render it very unattractive to the fish. In days gone by when I used to fish around the Pulau Sembilan areas, I used to bend my own spreaders, as the corals and high rocks were real gluttons of terminals. No mercies were shown and in the end you'd find that it would burn a hole in your pocket. So if you are skillful with your hands do try this very satisfying branch of the hobby too. The spreader is tied to a trace, which is usually about 2 meters in length for me. The two hooks are normally set 1 meter apart. Whether to use steel trace or not  depends on what you are targeting. Without trace, the razor thugs will normally cut you off, sometime without you realizing it. With wire trace, I guessed the bites would not be so regular. So you have to make your own choice. If possible put a good swivel between the mainline and the spreader and from the spreader to the trace to prevent line twist.

The long and short of the spreaders. Their job is to prevent the trace from wrapping round the main line.

This diagram shows the terminal tackle.

   After baiting up make sure your trace and baits are straight out before lowering your rig. When you feel the sinker hit bottom, give a few turn of the handle to lift your terminals off the sea bed. Let out lines once in a while to keep your rig near the bottom in case of strong current. Some will use a meter or two of mono-filament to tie the sinker to the spreader so that the whole rid will be anchor off the sea bed (while the sinker will bury itself into the soft sea bed) even if the current is strong. Of course this method will not work if the bottom is rocky or full of corals. As for me I normally let my terminals ride with the current to cover more areas.

   There is no lost of face or any harm done if you take motion sickness pills. You are paying a lot of money for this, not to mention the fortune you spent on gears. Take it (the motion sickness medicine) half an hour before you board the boat. After a few times when you have acclimatised yourself, then you can stop it. Don't be like a kiasu friend of mine who answered, "I want to use my natural defenses, to prove that I can stand against the sea." He nearly regurgitated the content of his large intestine through his nose and mouth after emptying his stomach! That was the last time I heard of him. Recently he resurfaced as a member of the anti fishing lobby.

  The saying, 'while in Rome do as the Romans do', is a good policy to follow. Please do have some consideration for others in the group. Be actively involved with the loading and unloading of gears to and from the boat. Eat with an eye on the amount of food provided. A sharing and caring attitude will endear us to others. I have met two fellows who finished off half the amount of food meant for ten men! Now they don't even qualify as spare tyres. Do not encroach into others' places even though you are catching nothing. Be persistent and you'll be rewarded. If you embrace and follow what Confucius said - "Do not do unto others what you do not like done unto you" you will not go wrong. Otherwise don't ever complain when you find all your invitation cards to go fishing are being sent to the wrong address.

   Last but not least. Keep the fishing environment clean.