Seth joined us last season on one of our single angler trips. He had a blast and decided to come back again this season with friends Dan and Tony as well as Seth’s old man Bill, who had heard about the GT’s power and wanted to go toe to toe with one personally.
We set off for Little Andaman as soon as the permissions arrived from the Fisheries department and decided to fish along the way. Tony was on his first trip and Dan had some prior experience with GT’s from his trip in PNG and the Maldives. Seth, who was the most experienced of the anglers, took no time to start the ribbing which continued through the trip with lots of laughs and cursing when fish came off.
The plan was to get everyone into a fish asap and then get the bucket species off the list i.e the GT and Dogtooth tuna, which we accomplished in short time. The doggie spot was full of marks and there was excitement that we would get them on topwater, but this was not to be as they ended up liking the small jigs and gave Bill a good run around as they took off on the light gear he was using.
We were covering new areas that we were fishing for the first time this season and the expectation was high to see what would come up. We were not disappointed as strike after strike followed through the day and we got loads of GT’s, Bohar Snapper and some Dogtooth Tuna to keep the action going, the biggest were in the 20 kilo range and provided for lots of fun and the action the Andaman Islands are known for. Once you get a taste of the visual appeal of GT fishing it’s very hard not to get addicted. With over 40 fish boated, the guys came back a happy group with both stick baits and poppers working equally well.
The next day was similar in action to the first but the action tapered a bit; probably to do with the changing of the feeding times as we get closer to the new moon. We still got over 20 fish boated and lots of action.
The wind had picked up and we had to make our way back to Port Blair. Bill had a bad back so we needed to travel slowly and could not do as much fishing as we would have liked to do and with the fish now feeding on a different part of the tide we had a slow day but still managed to land a couple of Geets, to keep spirits up. The highlight was Seth hooking into a sailfish on the jig which bust off and then came to surface, jig in mouth with a hungry pack of reef sharks in hot pursuit. The sharks probably got Seth’s leader but in a way saved the Sailfish from a worse fate.
We next fished an old spot of ours, where we know the big Geets regularly prowl. The fishing was slow in the morning session with just 3 GT being landed; however, once we moved to a deeper reef there was loads of activity with flying fish being chased, bonito and long toms all breaking the surface. Dan was chased by a pack of GT’s each so intent of fighting the other off that they missed the lure. Tony was followed by a big sailfish that swiped at his popper and missed before losing interest. Bill got another nice Dogtooth on his light jigging setup. Post lunch and confirming the change in feeding time we started to get bite after bite but we were landing 3 fish for every ten bites even after setting the hook and hearing the drag go off. Bill who was feeling a bit under the weather even managed to retort that “we should have a hook setting 101”. By mid-afternoon the bite really picked up and we had 7 GT’s on one jigging drift. First drift back on the popping spots and Seth and Tony each get a GT followed by a Bohar Snapper for Seth. By this time however, Bill was feeling unwell and although we had about an hour of prime fishing time left we had to call it for the day and head back in.
On their last day Bill decided to stay back. At 70 years of age the tropical sun does take it out on you and full credit to him for making the effort he did for the trip. With an early start to the day and a favorable forecast, we set off for what was to be an action filled day as few places like the Andaman Islands can provide. Continuous non-stop action on both the popping and jigging spots, some big fish missed, a G-cup Hammerhead busted, 50 GT on the boat along with 2 huge Barracuda, Pompano and Bohar snapper and we had a delighted trio get back from a their last fishing day wishing the trip was not over.
Overall, a great trip with lots of fun, laughs and good company; we hope to see them back again soon.
Tight lines.
Tackle used
Popping Rods: Saltywater Tackle, Racepoint 100, 150, 200, 250
Popping Reels: Shimano Stella
Jigging Rods: Saltywater Tackle OBX 300, Tenryu Jigzam
Jigging Reels: Shimano Stella, Accurate Valiant 300
Popping Lures: Hammer Head, Cubera, Fish Trippers, CB One
Jigs: Shout, Hots
Species Caught: Giant Trevally, Bluefin Trevally, Dogtooth Tuna, Bohar Snapper, Barracuda, African Pompano, Coral Trout, Yellow Spot Grouper, Yellowfin Tuna, Black tip reef shark
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