Fishing In Brunei

A couple of weeks ago, i made a trip to Brunei to visit some friends and also introduce the market to Crimson Fishing Lines. I had a few days to spare so i asked a buddy of mine to make some arrangements so that i can try out some of the fishing they had there. I had been following my Bruneian friends catch reports before my visit and i was extremely keen to get in on the action.

First Squid on Yamashita Q Live 490 Glow jig

It was squid season when i arrived and we promptly set off the day after i landed. We went to a nearby island that was surrounded by a shallow reef to warm up. I had a Major Craft Corrza paired with a Shimano Sustain 2500FG that was loaded with 6lbs of Crimson DNA braid. I brought an assortment of Egi from Yamashita and Evergreen in the #2.5 and #3.0 size.

Double Hook Up on Yamashita Q Live

The Squid were reluctant at first, following the jigs cautiously back to the boat. The water was so clear we could spot them from a distance. But as soon as some sunlight broke through the overcast skies, the squid went into a frenzy. Double, Triple and even Quadruple hook ups meant that we had to be extremely alert in order to avoid the ink being squirted from multiple directions.

Quadruple Hook Up on Yamashita Q Live

The skipper took us further out to sea in search of bigger specimen and they were so aggressive we kept hitting them as the egi were sinking. We were hooking up on the drop so frequently that when someone hooked up, the rest would wait to target the accompanying squid when they surfaced.

Deep Water Squid on Evergreen Ocean Fleet Jig

While the rest continued squiding, i changed to my BlueBlue Sea Drive Mini Jigs and entertained myself with some reef species. These jigs work really well in slow current as they flutter as they sink. I had a couple of squid hitting them before they reached the bottom! I had to cast against the current to avoid the squid and hit some fun size groupers and other species.

BlueBlue Searide Mini 15g with a little grouper

My favourite colour from the Blueblue searide mini range

I landed a few more smaller ones including a stonefish which i almost handled with my hands. Luckily for me, our skipper Sahrol warned me not to touch it. Then i got hammered by some bullies which took my jigs home. My 12lb fluorocarbon leader was simply no match for the coral and rocks where these fish dwell. The cool part was that i could see the fish taking the jig because the water was so clear!

Handle with care!

Love the colours on this fish.

After losing 6 jigs in 30 minutes, i swapped to a D.O.A soft plastic with a paddle tail, that i rigged with a jighead and bounced off the bottom. It paid off with a vibrant tomato cod. Incoming bad weather then cut our trip short and we had to race back to shore trying to out run the rain.

First fish of the day on the Beat Greatray

The next day we went offshore on another friend's boat. He does commercial fishing in deep waters on his off days to supplement his income and we decided to tag along to do some slow jigging at his spots about 80km offshore. Armed with my Evergreen Poseidon Slow Jerker rod paired with my Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000NRHG loaded with PE3 Crimson Nine-X line. i stared off my day with a bream of some sort, known locally as Kerisi Bali. These were aggressive fish that hit my BEAT Greatray jig as soon as i began to work it off the bottom.

Double hook up on Shout Flash and ATC Chaser Jigs

Double hook ups were common and after the first few fishes, we stopped taking pictures completely until we hit other species. I hit a curious looking bugger on my SeaFalcon Z Slow jig. I was told that it is know locally as Ping Pong. Anyone able to help me id this guy? Then, without warning we ran into a bunch of spanish mackerel or juvenile dogtooth that kept cutting our jigs off mid water.

Ping Pong on Sea Falcon Z Slow

Meanwhile my friend was having a blast on his electric reel. I wanted to have a go at it and soon i was his commercial fishing apprentice. It is an interesting way to fish. There was a technique involved in setting the hooks, that i fortunately managed to get right on the first try. I think circle hooks would work better but i was told they are not always available. With 5 baited hooks on each drop, we managed to fill up the cooler pretty quickly. 

Nice Cubera Snapper 

Strong wind and rain, once again forced us to cut our trip short and we headed back to shore as fast as we could to avoid the storm. The weather remained foul for the next few days and we were unable to head out to sea. But having had a little taste of what Brunei has to offer, i know i will be back for more. 

So until then or the next post...  Stay Safe, Fish Hard and Tight Lines! - Isaiah

Special Thanks to Wee, Mayan, Lobo, Amir, Sahrol, Juki and all the other awesome guys for your amazing hospitality. See you guys soon!

Tackle Info

Eging/Micro Jigging

Rod: Major Craft Corrza

Reel: Shimano Sustain 2500FG

Line: Crimson DNA 6lb

Egi: Yamashita Q Live, Q Live 490 Glow, Q Live Search 490 Glow, Evergreen Ocean Fleet

Jig: BlueBlue Sea Ride Mini

Hooks: Gamakatsu Light Assist

Slow Pitch

Rod: Evergreen Poseidon Slow Jerker 

Reel: Shimano Ocea Jigger 2000NRHG

Line: Crimson Nine-X PE 3

Jig: Beat Greatray, Shout Flash, SeaFalcon Z Slow

Hooks: Mustad Slow Jigging Assist

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