Jiang the Friendly Charter Boat Captain

I first met Jiang, when my buddies & I chartered his 45 foot kelantan hull fishing boat, earlier this year. We embarked at Keppel Marina and had a great time catching table-sized snapper & infant dog fish, which we released. Jiang prefers to fish at least 100nm from Horsburgh. He says, the coastal fishing areas are over-fished by the locals. They usually don't go far from shore because of the high cost of diesel. His favorite spots are wrecks & deep-water corals. He got the spots from old fishing kakis, ocean trawlers & finds the rest whilst on passage when they poop up on his trusted Furuno fish finder. Apart from the fishing spots, water condition, changing of seasons, currents & wind play an important role. Jiang says, if the fish don't bite the first 10-15 minutes at a proven spot, its time to move to another with different water condition & current flow. For example, the waters & current between 3 popular spots, Karang Mas, Horsburgh & Berakit, although within 10nm of each other are different. When the fish aren't biting at Karang Mas, its better to move to Horsburgh. He says, when bait fish don't bite, big fish won't bite either. When fish feed, they all feed together, big & small. When they don't feed, its usually because of poor water conditions, lack of oxygen, cloudy water or no current. I asked Jiang if he usually anchors up current of a wreck to fish. His surprising answer is no. Its a fallacy he says, to think the fish are always up current of the wreck. You need experience to know which corner the fish bites, through trial & error. Also if you're too close to the wreck, you'll loose the fish, as it will head right into the wreck when hooked. Its better to stay a little away, it less action but greater chance of landing the fish. His final advice to new anglers. If you love fishing, charter a boat first, you'll learn faster & catch more fish. Buy the boat only if you decide you also love boating. By then you would have acquired many fishing spots. Keep a log on the spots & prevailing sea conditions, time & season when fish were caught. Soon like Jiang, you too could be pulling up fish every time. Happy fishing...