GETTIN JIGGY WITH IT MARCH 2012

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Sea fishing India in March 2012. I was eager to pop for big GTs. My first visit was in 2010 but I now had all my own equipment and more experience . With expert guiding from the Sea Fishing India team I knew it would be a great trip.

My guide for the first day was Alban Regnoult .WOW can that guy throw a popper. Alban was very knowledgeable guide and I learned a lot from him in the few days we fished together . He speaks a little funny but that's not his fault he is French after all ..LOL .....In the off season from India Alban also guides for Pike in Sweden and can be reached at info@lpn.nu

It didnt take long before I hooked my first GT which was around 20kg . I landed 3 more around the same size before catching an awesome fish of 32kg. I caught 7 GTs the first day which was good solid start . The fish were hitting a little short .I took advantage of this and caught 3 of my 7 fish using a smaller Orion pink popper casting to fish which had come up for Alban's 200g "AMMER ED" lure and missed. Thanks for teasing them up Alban..

I had a good sailfish hit my popper but he unfortunately came off. This colorful reef fish hit the popper as the sail let go ..He was almost the same size as the popper,.

The crew were also having a few casts as I was the only customer onboard . This Rosy Jobfish fell victim to a jig .

After 3 successful days fishing from Port Blair Akshay and I fished our way up to Havelock to try some jigging as I really wanted to catch a Dog Tooth Tuna. We caught 5 GTs popping on the way with the best being 20 to 25 kg. Sea Fishing India have an arrangement with the Wild Orchid Hotel on Havelock Island where i stayed for the next few days . Nice accommodation and awesome food..I basically ate fresh fish every day cooked many ways but all delicious. Washed down with a few Kingfisher beers and life is good ..

On our first day fishing from Havelock we set out with a plan to do some jigging over a deep water hump . Akshay wanted to blind fold me before he would take me out as he said this spot is one of his hidden gems. I was sworn to secrecy instead and we headed out in search of a big "Doggie". I had jigged before but i asked Akshay give me a few pointers .

I was using Shimano Trevala Jigging rods paired up with Stella 10000 and 2000reels. It wasnt long before I hooked into my first fish which really gave the Trevala rod a workout ..Akshay thought the rod looked a bit light but was very impressed as I was with how it handled some really big fish . My first Doggie was a nice fish .We were off to a fantastic start .. It was one of those days when we really couldnt do much wrong . We worked hard and had 5 Doggies and 15 GTs up to 25 kg.

I know Popping can be tiring but jigging for 6 hours was absolutely exhausting ....The hard work paid off with several double headers. What a blast!!!

My best Dog Tooth was around 25kg and almost ripped my arms out of their sockets when it tore off after hammering the jig on the drop. What a great first day . I wonder what tomorrow will bring??

We started the next day with some popping as Akshay explained it was important to hit the 50 meter hump on the right tide. We caught some smaller GTs and I lost a huge Doggie . Akshay saw a big grouper following a smaller fish which the guide had just hooked . Not to miss out on any opportunity I launched my popper in the direction the grouper had come from . Not far from the boat a huge Doggie 2m plus destroyed my popper . I set the hook and saw the fish turn right in front of me . I couldnt believe the size of the fish . He was there one minute and gone the next and I was left empty handed and cursing with only a chewed up popper.

It was time to hit the hot spot again so we headed out to the deeper water . I caught a Green Job Fish on the first drop. You just never know what will hit the jig.

This was the start to what was another great day for me .In addition to the Green Job Fish I landed 4 doggies up to 15kg and 7 GTs. The crew had "one of those days" and only landed 1 GT but lost at least 12 fish ..

There were 2 highlights of the second Havelock day . The first was when Akshay spotted a baby Turtle tangled in an old net floating on the surface . We managed to cut the net so I could untangle the Turtle and set him free . It was such a great feeling when he swam off unharmed ...

Talk about instant good karma... Only 10 minutes later i was jigging when my rod literally got ripped out of my hands. I hung on thinking I was fighting a big Doggie. After a tough fight involving some good boat control I finally wrestled a 35kg GT to the surface.. A personal best for me and the fish of the trip.. After all the time I had spent popping on the trip I really didnt expect to get this great fish on a jig .. What a fight and on the Trevala rod too ...

This was my last day and it was time to head home but not before booking again for next year :). We also managed to get some fun videos which can be viewed by connecting to YouTube from the video bar at the bottom of this blog .. Enjoy ...