Log XLIII - Drift Fishing

Drift fishing is the most effective way to cover fishing grounds and thus increases the anglers' chances of passing over a school of hungry fish. However there are a few pointers for captains to take note to make the drift fishing experience a more enjoyable and fruitful one.

1) Position the boat perpendicular to the direction of the drift.

The boat's drift direction is a resultant of the wind and current. Identify which direction the boat will drift by putting the engine to neutral and observe for a couple of minutes. Once you know the direction, position the boat perpendicular to the drift so that anglers can fish along the full length of the boat.

A golden trevally fights hard by swimming around the boat. If the lines are not spaced apart, the anglers will be in for a hard time untangling the bird nest of lines.

If the boat body is in line with the direction of the drift, all the fishing lines will either be swept to the bow or stern,  increasing the chances of line entanglement among the anglers.

2) Drop the lines on the correct side of the boat

After the boat is perpendicular to the drift, remind the anglers to drop their lines on the side where the lines will be swept away from the boat instead of being swept underneath the boat. In most circumstances, it will be on the side facing the wind direction, unless the current is much stronger than the wind, then it will be otherwise.

A diamond trevally initial run is power and fast. If the line goes under the boat, there is a chance that the rod might break if the rod is not handled well.

It is easier to fight a fish when the line is away from the boat, and it also prevents the lines from getting entangled with the fixtures underneath the boat such as propellers and rudders.

3) Choose suitable spots

Though drift fishing can cover more fishing grounds, not all areas are suitable for this type of fishing. For example if you intend to fish over a wreck which is resting on flat sandy seabed. The strike zone is usually around the perimeter of the wreck, and the snag zone is directly on top of the wreck. This means there is only a small window period of less than a minute for your bait to drift within the perimeter of the wreck before reaching the snag zone.

Though drift fishing at wrecks is not easy, they are groupers'  favourite hideouts and sometimes still worth a try.

If the angler is not fast enough in adjusting the length of his fishing line to adapt to the profile of the wreck, the line will likely get snag and break. Therefore wrecks are generally not easy to fish while drifting.

Drift fishing is suitable for huge stretch of coral reefs where you can scan the seabed by knocking your sinker or jig on the reefs to lure predators out of their ambush.

An emperor nose snapper caught while drifting over a stretch of reefs

4) Target the correct species

You can catch any species with drift fishing, however certain types of fish can be hooked up easier using drift fishing compared to other methods. As a general guide, drift fishing is more effective for targeting lazy fish such as groupers, that do not swim around a lot to look for food. You have to present your bait or jig in front of them to entice them to open their mouths.

An orange spotted grouper caught by knocking the bait on the reefs using a madai

5) Be aware of the surroundings

As the boat is in constant motion, it might drift into the path of an incoming container ship or come close to shallow waters or rocks. Of course the captain has to be aware of the boat's drifting route, however he can also remind the anglers to help to keep a look out for any ships that might cross paths with the boat. This is especially important during night time when visibility is limited.

A deep sea barramundi caught while drifting in container ships anchored area. Notice all the ships in the background?

Please feel free to share your experiences on drift fishing in the comments below. All the fishing captains will greatly appreciate it. In the next post, I will share some pointers on anchored fishing. Tight lines and fish safe!

Log XLII - Maiden Trip to Indonesian Waters (Part 2)

After all the preparations, here comes the actual sailing to Indonesian waters. The sky was blue and clear, and the sun was smiling broadly at us.

It took about 2 hours including the time to clear Singapore immigration clearance at Sisters' Islands to reach Nongsa Point Marina. The entrance to the marina is narrow and the water will be extremely shallow if you wander off the designated point of entry. However the entry channel is not very well defined. We almost got grounded but luckily I managed to veer to safety after my sounder read 1.8m water depth, which raised my heart beat a fair bit.

The marina staffs were very helpful and friendly. They were already standby at the marina when we arrived. In fact they almost activated their rescue craft to prevent our boat from venturing further towards the shallow waters when they saw us from afar.

They told us that we were very lucky that we did not get grounded when we sailed through the wrong channel. In case you intend on sailing over, approach using the port side channel when facing the marina. Please do not rely on the sea charts as they do not show the exact water depth at that area.

We would be staying here for the night. Chalets on a small hill facing the sea. My ideal type of chill out.

After docking our boat, we proceed to clear the Indonesian port and custom clearance which took a very long time. We had our lunch at the marina restaurant while we waited two hours for the clearance to be done.

After checking into our apartment beside a hilly road, we sailed out for some fishing.

Dark clouds suddenly loomed above us. We could hear static buzzing sound on the boat and all our hairs were standing and dancing while we were fishing. 

We used live prawns as bait but there was no bite. The rain was not helping in improving our morale but we did entertained ourselves with our witch hairstyle.

Since there was not much fishing action and the weather was bad, we decided to go back to the marina and have a dip in the pool instead.

The following morning, we strolled through a walkway by the beach to a nearby 250m long jetty and found ourselves in the middle of a fishing competition. We paid for two rods to take part in the competition and hoped that we had more luck on shore.

There was quite a big turnout for the fishing competition. The participants had to draw lots to determine which particular spot was designated for each contestant to fish. Some of the spots were believed to be luckier than others.

We cut the left over prawns from yesterday to use as bait.

However the best bait is always live bait that can be caught from the spot. So we tried very hard to catch some live bait fish.

We thought our chances were high with the live herring but the biggest fish that was caught during the competition was this size.

The herring would be a bit too big a bait for this. We left the competition 10 minutes before it ended to have our lunch and prepare for our way home.

When we were about to leave, I got a very pleasant surprise. I saw a very familiar face on board one of the mega yachts in the marina. He is my mentor in both fishing and sailing. He is Captain John Hendricks.

I could still remember the days when we went fishing for days out at South China Sea. He would reserve the best bait for me so that I had a higher chance than other anglers on board. He would teach me how to look for fishing spots, and position the boat for most effective fishing. He was also the only person on board Artemis 1 to assist me when I captained the boat for the first time.

At the age of 82, he is very healthy and fit. He is able to take care of and navigate a mega yacht all by himself. Even diving down into the water to clean the hull is an easy task to him.

This was the most memorable experience for this whole Indonesian expedition, to have met a long time friend who had helped and guided me for so many years.

Log XLI - Maiden Trip to Indonesian Waters (Part 1)

There are a lot of commotions in Indonesian waters recently - Bombing of fishing boats from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines; Detaining of two Singaporean captains when they brought anglers out fishing. The two captains have been detained for a year and the Indonesian government yet to show any intention of releasing them.

It is no surprise that every sailor will think twice before entering Indonesian waters especially when fishing is one of the activities. But after analyzing the situation, I decided to go ahead. There are a few things to take note in order to minimise the risk of landing yourself in a prison cell at Bintan.

1. Singapore and Indonesia Immigration Clearance

Without this, you are just an illegal immigrant. Singapore immigration clearance is applied with ICA. This can be done through your agent which is usually the marina where you berth your boat.

The Indonesia immigration clearance is done when you reach the designated ports or marinas.

2. Singapore and Indonesia Port Clearance

The port clearance is like the immigration clearance for your boat. Singapore port clearance is applied with MPA which is also by your agent.

The Indonesia port clearance can be done at the various designated ports and marinas too. However you have to inform them of your arrival at least 24 hours in advance.

3. Fly Flag N and Q

You have to fly the flag N and Q after you cleared Singapore immigration clearance. Flag N means Negative and flag Q means Quarantine (which also means request to enter port). When we put these two together, they mean that the boat has no clearance and is on the way to a port to process the clearances.

Though the display of signal flags is not so strictly adhered to in this region but it is always safer to get everything covered. You can take down these two flags after you arrived at the port/ marina.

4. Fly Indonesian Flag

Courtesy flag gives the country a form of respect when you enter the country's territorial waters. Always respect the country's culture and people's life style.

5. Vessel Declaration

Actually this is part of the Indonesian port clearance. However if Indonesia is only a port of call and you have no intention of sailing around in Indonesian waters, you can consider skipping this troublesome step. But if you intend to fish in Indonesian waters, this declaration is necessary. You have to submit photos of your boat, cabin, equipment and even engine (with serial numbers), and declare any food, drinks and animals/ plants on board. The procedures are time consuming. It took me 2 hours to get it processed.

6. Be a Friendly Captain

A smile is a curve that can make things straight. If you are lucky, the locals might tell you some good fishing spots.

Hope the above 6 tips can help you with a smooth sailing trip.

Log XL - Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt

It has been 2 months since Artemis has recovered from her major operation. She lives up to her name as goddess of the hunt after she regains her health.

As a lady, and hence the tendency towards the colour red.

Whitecheek Monocle Bream


Leopard Coral Trout


The red bream (again)


Spotted Coral Trout


Lattice Monocle Bream


Coral Trout (again)

And of course, ladies like shiny stuffs too.

Queenfish


Juvenile Longfin Trevally


Longfin Trevally


Sweetlip Snapper

Sometimes we will hunt for delicacies.

Spanish Flag Snapper


Grouper


Big Grouper


Bigger Grouper


Tuskfish


Golden Snapper


Follow Artemis's hunts and learn how to track fish, lure it, fight it and tame it.
All fish that were not consumed were released back into the sea.

Log XXXIX - Artemis 1 (Not Again!?)

The good fishing days did not last long. The starboard engine failed me again at Southern Islands. I was really grateful that I have two engines, or I would have called for the extremely expensive towing service countless times already.

The engine jammed again. There was no overheating prior to that. At first I suspected the propeller might have caught onto something but it was not. I prayed that it was not another broken valve and yes, it was really not a broken exhaust valve, but... a broken inlet valve. Darn... I need to dismantle the whole engine again!

This time, I had to do everything by myself because the mechanic got real sick of this problematic engine. At least he offered to be on standby call helpline in case I needed verbal assistance. The operation was really challenging. I tried to take photo and jot down notes for every step.

The damages were more serious than the previous time.

Piston crushed.

Valve broken and valve bent.

And broken pieces of valve metal fused into the piston.

Cylinder head and fuel injector nozzle damaged by valve parts crushed onto them by the piston.

I changed all the valves, the damage pistons and cylinders, cylinder head and all the gaskets. This operation was an expensive one too. Those days were tough but I learnt a lot of things. I should be able to overhaul the engines now with the new skills I've learnt though even the thought of it is quite tiring.

Many friends offered their help.

Thank you Edmund, Andrew, Thue Christensen, Wei Lun and special thanks to my father again and my brother too who helped me the most. Every time we would go home with extreme back ache. I really admire how tough the mechanics are now.

This picture sums it all up..