Oz on the Allure of Light Jigging

_{Source: http://bangkokhooker-fishing.com}

I’ve tried on two separate occasions to fish via light jigging, and on both endeavours I have been fruitless in my attempts. The problem was that I was jigging from a commercial fishing boat — those big, clunky wooden things that people use to catch fish and squid for the markets.

They are spectacular for bait fishing but for light jigging it was like trying to eat ice cream with a shovel: just too big for the job. The size hindered light jigging in two ways. Firstly, the boat moved too slowly and took too long to reach the good fishing spots, and secondly, the craft need to be anchored in order for fishing to happen.

I was recently invited by Rung of Gett-It! shirts to give light jigging a go  on his friend’s boat. The boat is named the Heng Heng Junior and charges only THB 11,000 (USD 370) for an entire day of light jigging in the Gulf of Thailand. It takes off from Jomtien Beach in front of the Furama hotel. Transport to Pattaya then to Jomtien are not included in the price. Nor is gear, but I had a light jig setup collecting dust somewhere at home — too many days of snakehead fishing had left it neglected — so I brought along my Chojin FC Monsters PE1-3 rod and a Bogan Kencron 3000 reel spooled with a PE2 line, a setup that has yet to produce any fish.

The Heng Heng Junior is a small speed boat that can take up to four fishermen and can quickly get to all the fishing spots within minutes. When we reached a particular area, Captain Laem would park the boat and allow us to drift along as we jigged the bottom and mid-water for fish. Our target species was mostly queenfish, pompano, trevally grouper, the occasional Spanish mackerel and barracuda.

The trip was really short for us that day. By the time we started fishing it was already 9 a.m. and we were finished by around 2.30 p.m. We landed several different species. As for myself, I landed my first two fish on jigs in the form of two queenfish. I have to say that it felt pretty awesome to finally land a fish via light jigging after two failed trips. I think the moral of the story here is that it really makes a difference when you’re going with someone who knows that to do.

For more fishing escapades from Oz, check out his blog at www.bangkokhooker-fishing.com.