INDIANANGLER

A straight run of about half an hour had us in the deep blue water of the
Arafura Sea.

We scanned the waters around us and immediately saw tuna jumping out of the water after bait schools ...there was no bird activity to give us their location this time.

Out with the spinning rods, which were rigged up with 40 gm Raider metal lures, and a long cast into the feeding frenzy with a super fast reelin had us hooked up to the long tail tuna.

Line was ripped off at a searing pace and then we worked them back to the boat...we were exhausted after boating a few of these speedsters.

A decision was then made to go reef fishing with soft plastics and we rigged up with the Zman plastics, which had proved so effective and durable in previous outings.

The first jig back had me hooked onto a shark, which was boated instead of cutting the line.I guess the guide was conversant with what he was doing!
A quick picture or two and it was released.

The usual reef fish started to come on board but were interspersed with a notable catch of a beautiful coral trout and also golden snapper (also called fingermark bream here because of the spot on their body which resembles a
fingerprint).

As it was late in the afternoon on our first day out, we decided to pack up and leave for the lodge ...the coral trout and the golden snapper came back with us.

Kingfish

Starting out.
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Another shark on a soft plastic...can't seem to get away from them.
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Long-tail tuna.
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School mackerel on a soft plastic Zman.
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Zman lures.
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No, it is not a GT! It is in fact a brassy trevally, but it fights almost as hard.
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Coral trout...catching one of these makes your day! It's such a pretty fish and it is superb eating.
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Well that was the Arafura Sea for you.

Kingfish

Beautiful catches . Were the fish roasted , steamed or fried ???

The coral trout was served grilled by the lodge chef for us,along with a mixed green salad.

It was so tasty that there was no need for a sauce as an accompaniment.

Can't recall if the golden snapper was served or not.

Kingfish

some fantastic catches.. The coral trout looks beautiful..lovely colors.

Thanks for sharing trip report and photos

Regards - Vinod

Thanks for sharing such nice pictures. I felt as I was there with you learning some steps of sea fishing.

Congrats on posting these beauties.

Look forward to see more of them

Ezek

Lovely fish!

@IndianAngler

Thank you...the coral trout is the prettiest although there are others,such as
the parrotfish,tusk fish,Maori wrasse which are very colorful and can be part of one's catch when reef fishing.

Kingfish

Masked bandit?

You may see in the pictures above the guide with a full face mask..this is not because he is shy or does not wish to be identified.

He is wearing what is called a "buff"".

This is a piece of sun repellent cloth that is being increasingly worn by anglers in Australia to protect them from the harmful rays of the sun,which causes skin cancer.

The ozone layer above Australia is the thinnest in the world and skin cancer amongst the sun loving Aussies is the most severe anywhere.

These fishing guides have to be out in the sun everyday for almost the entire
year, so they are at maximum risk of getting skin cancer unless they are covered top to toe with protective clothing and sunscreen cream.

You may be able to see me (or perhaps,more correctly,not be able to see me!) in future wearing this mask.

Kingfish

Great catches kingfish....Thanks for sharing your experience.



Regards
Vijay.

Fantastic catches sir.. Looks like you had a wonderful time..


Tight Lines,
GRC

Thanks Gavin .... Anything similar in Sunderbans? Apart from the crocs and the yellow striped man-eaters?

Kingfish

Great catches Sir, thanks a lot for sharing.

hope to learn about Sea fishing from you...kindly share more with us.

In sunderbans lots of variety of fishes are there near the mohana(delta) from mangrove jacks to parshe(small highly taste fished preferred by bengalis as fry),from barramundi to kamots (a diff varienty of sharks) & lots of big crabs in creeks.

I was there on a mission from NAT GEO for 4months.Permission has to taken from Chief Ranger-Goshaba.

take care, hope to expect a lot of catch from u.

rgds
Neil

Hello Neil,

Nice to hear about the Sundarbans....I always thought one would be able to get barramundi there but understand fishing there is quite risky due to man eating tigers that can swim to the boats!

If you can, please see the post I have put up in the forum ("Arnhemland Barramundi Fishing") which should give you some indication of how to fish
for barra in mangrove swamps similar,I presume, to those in the Sundarbans.

It would be fantastic to see some pictures and accounts of the fishing in that part of the world.

Kingfish