Open sea fishing enthusiasts: The Sunsuri Gipan Anglers.
FOR extreme fishing enthusiasts, a long once-a-year leave is the most anticipated time to sail to the open sea.
However, weather forecasts do not provide a guarantee for any planned trip as there are times anglers have to struggle with unforgiving weather conditions.
Recently, this writer had the opportunity to join the Sunsuri Gipan Anglers group for the third time for three days and two nights to catch fish at a depth of between 55m and 130m at the West Coast of Sabah, in the South China Sea waters, Pulau Mengalum, Sabah.
Starting from our respective houses in Kiulu, we boarded a Mola-mola ship at one of the jetties located in Kota Kinabalu city with a captain and two crew members.
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At 2pm, we headed for a fishing site located about 55km and took about four hours to arrive.
The preparation of the leader using the Apollo technique and the use of reel or drum reel as well as suitable fishing rods is crucial for catching deep sea fish, especially if the reptiles fought back.
The diversity of the Apollo rigs should be in accordance with the size of the line and the size of the hook while the bait should be well prepared so as not to be easily loosed and able to attract the “target”.
Whereas a sinker made of tin with a weight of at least 400gm had to be used and a heavier sinker will be used if the ocean wave is stronger.
The Apollo technique is the best method to offer the bait with the combination of line size, the amount of hooks and the weight of sinker.
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It was made to understand that the techniques according to the individual’s creativity are very important as they will be influenced by fishing locations, fish types, the time of fishing, clarity of water and water flow.
In addition, the skilled captain’s experience in handling the boat had also facilitated our quest when the boat was moved from one location to another to ensure that the area is inhabited by a various species of fish.
Who would have thought the calm situation when we initially boarded the boat had turned into a hot, heavy rain and high waves.
However, the situation did not affected the anglers who were hungry for challenges and for their passion of fishing unless the captain decided to return if he receive an uncontrollable weather signs.
Among the fishes caught were stingrays, ‘ping pong’ fish, mackerel, red snappers, red fish, barracuda, ‘titir’, ‘kerisi bali’, grouper and ‘pisang-pisang’.
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Meanwhile, Rickless Francis Das, 30, said fishing is one of the ways to relieve stress as well as to make new friends.
“In fishing, everyone has the same goal of catching fish and the anglers can forge a stronger bond among them as well as sharing problems and knowledge.
“Fishing away from the city’s bustle also enabled us to release work-related stress and it also train us to be more patient in facing our daily challenges,” he said.