Bi_polar

No sure what sort of fish they were....some sort of white bait. As for the smoked jacks....well that was a bit of a strange one.....lol.....the boatman was smoking them to take back to his family. Once smoked he would just stack them away in his stuff never to be seen again.....lol....but we didn't care, he was a really good boat operator and a really funny guy. It's always a lot of fun living with guys you can't understand and they can't understand you. Every night they offered us beetle nut, mustard beans and lime and it was great to be with such humble people. All the others would eat our dehydrated meals but Niko the boatman was really into his clean pure food. One afternoon we caught some tarpon and kept one and as soon as we got back to camp he had a fire built and a stick in it's gob cooking it. (Pic attached) By the way....Tarpon are extremely bony.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

No sure what sort of fish they were....some sort of white bait. As for the smoked jacks....well that was a bit of a strange one.....lol.....the boatman was smoking them to take back to his family. Once smoked he would just stack them away in his stuff never to be seen again.....lol....but we didn't care, he was a really good boat operator and a really funny guy. It's always a lot of fun living with guys you can't understand and they can't understand you. Every night they offered us beetle nut, mustard beans and lime and it was great to be with such humble people. All the others would eat our dehydrated meals but Niko the boatman was really into his clean pure food. One afternoon we caught some tarpon and kept one and as soon as we got back to camp he had a fire built and a stick in it's gob cooking it. (Pic attached) By the way....Tarpon are extremely bony.

There were more bones than in would like to remember....lol
We had a few tastes and decided to boycott the Tarpon

No sure what sort of fish they were....some sort of white bait. As for the smoked jacks....well that was a bit of a strange one.....lol.....the boatman was smoking them to take back to his family. Once smoked he would just stack them away in his stuff never to be seen again.....lol....but we didn't care, he was a really good boat operator and a really funny guy. It's always a lot of fun living with guys you can't understand and they can't understand you. Every night they offered us beetle nut, mustard beans and lime and it was great to be with such humble people. All the others would eat our dehydrated meals but Niko the boatman was really into his clean pure food. One afternoon we caught some tarpon and kept one and as soon as we got back to camp he had a fire built and a stick in it's gob cooking it. (Pic attached) By the way....Tarpon are extremely bony.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

No sure what sort of fish they were....some sort of white bait. As for the smoked jacks....well that was a bit of a strange one.....lol.....the boatman was smoking them to take back to his family. Once smoked he would just stack them away in his stuff never to be seen again.....lol....but we didn't care, he was a really good boat operator and a really funny guy. It's always a lot of fun living with guys you can't understand and they can't understand you. Every night they offered us beetle nut, mustard beans and lime and it was great to be with such humble people. All the others would eat our dehydrated meals but Niko the boatman was really into his clean pure food. One afternoon we caught some tarpon and kept one and as soon as we got back to camp he had a fire built and a stick in it's gob cooking it. (Pic attached) By the way....Tarpon are extremely bony.

No sure what sort of fish they were....some sort of white bait. As for the smoked jacks....well that was a bit of a strange one.....lol.....the boatman was smoking them to take back to his family. Once smoked he would just stack them away in his stuff never to be seen again.....lol....but we didn't care, he was a really good boat operator and a really funny guy. It's always a lot of fun living with guys you can't understand and they can't understand you. Every night they offered us beetle nut, mustard beans and lime and it was great to be with such humble people. All the others would eat our dehydrated meals but Niko the boatman was really into his clean pure food. One afternoon we caught some tarpon and kept one and as soon as we got back to camp he had a fire built and a stick in it's gob cooking it. (Pic attached) By the way....Tarpon are extremely bony.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Great trip Stu moments you will never forget

Great report Lance and there are so many more things that happened that I pop into my head each day and i have a little chuckle to myself.
One of the most memorable was one afternoon when Lance and I were fishing a particular area that was holding plenty of Bass and we were slowly motoring up to a really good looking snag and I looked at Lance then looked down at his rod and Said.  "Jeez...give me a look at your rod".....well gullible Lance went to hand me his rod and I quickly fired a cast off to land it right beside this big vertical log sticking out of the water. Well that backfired on me and because I was laughing and trying to get the cast off so quick I put the lure straight over a branch above the log and it didn't hit the water. Well Lance was quick on the uptake and fired a cast straight at the log also and didn't do much better and went straight over the top of the log and tea bagged his lure right beside the log. Well a cranky bass came flying up and grabbed his lure that was barely touching the water and took off. There was a few frantic moments getting it off from around the log and the fish was boated. Lots of laughs and it was released to happily swim another day. That was just one of the many moments that will stick in my head for a very long time. 
I feel very lucky to have done what we did and it was awesome to do it with a good mate. I think it's best if we add to this report as we remember things and clearly we probably should have written a diary every day. Anyway good job Lance and bring on the next trip.
Here's a picture of the hut from the river and some mangrove jacks that were smoked traditianally over the fire in the hut.

Yes!
That is all I can think to say right now...
Yes!!!

Sensational report Lance - well done to Stu and yourself for pulling off such a complicated and yet ultimately rewarding trip. Beautiful part of the world.

On the 25th March, Stu and myself set out on a trip deep into the jungles of West Papua in search of the mighty Black Bass in some river systems that have never really been fished except for the local villagers in the area.
This was a trip of epic proportions with months of planning and 3 days of travel to reach our destination.
Our journey seen us fly to Bali and then Makassar where we spent the night in a motel and then we boarded another plane at 2am to fly across to Biak where we met up with our local mate Teddy.
We were supposed to jump on another plane the next morning for Serui on the island of Pulau Japen but bad weather seen all planes and ferries cancelled so we sat this out for 2 days.
This gave us a chance to have a look around Biak so we could  visit the local fish market and check out the different sights around the city.

 

 
On the
On the second day we got to hike deep into the most beautiful valley that you could ever wish to see to catch a Spot Tail Bass but unfortunately the fishing was very quiet.
The scenery and the waterfalls were just spectacular to see and not catching any fish here really did not matter.





Some local villagers that lived downstream paddled their way up river in their dugout canoes and picked us up and took us downstream through a series of rapids and log jams to where they had a long boat waiting to ferry us out of this insane prehistoric looking valley.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular with heavy rainforest reaching right to the water.
As dark fell, the fire flies came out which was just amazing to see.
On the third day, we decided to jump on a fast passenger ferry to Serui  instead of flying over due to the excess luggage and camping gear that we had to take with us.
This was a 5 hour boat trip and it gave us a chance to see some of the local islands and coastline which was a very enjoyable part of the trip.

We finally arrived in Serui  where we arranged a driver with a small truck to run us around to find a motel for the night and to do the necessary food shopping and fuel purchases that we needed to arrange.
After purchasing  1200 liters of fuel and enough 2 stroke oil for the trip and a ute load of food and water, we had dinner and then headed back to the motel  where we settled in for a hard earned rest before the huge trip into the jungle the next day.
Life in Serui is vastly different to other parts of Indonesia that we have travelled through.
The rubbish and filth around the city is unimaginable and really has to be seen to be believed.
No one uses a rubbish bin or takes their rubbish home, they just drop it where they have finished with it and the water’s  edge around the small harbour was a tip site on its own.
It is one place that I would be very happy to never see again.



The following morning we struck our first major hurdle when the guy supplying one of the boats went missing  so we were left with only one  boatman with his 6.5m long boat to take us fishing for the week.
We loaded this poor boat up with all the camping gear, food, water,  fuel and 6 people and  I estimated that we had over  a 2 ton payload all up but she went like a rocket ship with the twin tiller steer 40hp Yamahas.
Our  boat trip was around 150km to where we wanted to camp but our plans changed when our  boatman grew up in a small village on an adjacent waterway.
It just happened that they also owned the river system that we wanted to fish in so on our way into the jungle we stopped at the village where he grew up so he could introduce us to the chief and also so he could catch up with his family and friends.
After meeting the chief and the other village elders over a coffee, the chief invited us to stay the night in his house with his family.
As it was getting late in the day and with no chance of reaching our campsite before dark, we kindly accepted his offer and we spent an amazing night with some of the nicest people you could ever  wish to meet.



Up bright and early the next morning, we headed off through this long and narrow waterway where we eventually popped out into the river system that we wanted to search for the elusive Black Bass.


Spread throughout the river system were these  little fishing shanties on stilts over the water that the villagers have built for their fishing trips and we were offered the opportunity to use any of these that we wanted.
We checked one out down near the river mouth but it was a bit small for us all so we ventured further back up river where we found this amazing little shack sitting proudly over the river with its own little jetty at the front door.
This was now going to be our campsite for the week so we unloaded the boat and then ventured off to have a look around and to have an arvo fish.





We ventured upstream into a small lake system that was 3.5km long and it had 5 separate entrances from the main river.
These creek entrances all held Black Bass, Mangrove Jacks,  Trevally and Tarpon and then inside this lake was hundreds of small palm islands, trees and stumps,  which many had good numbers of fish around them.
This was an amazing little waterway to begin our week of Black Bass fishing.



The next 2 days were spent down around the river mouth in the pure salt water looking for the bigger Black Bass.
We fished many miles of creeks and anabranches and even the adjacent river system but sadly we couldn’t find any fish down in this area.
They would have to be there as the water looked good but they were either shut down or maybe there at another time of the year.
The next few days we decided to stay well up river in the lake area where we caught our fish on the first day.
This proved to be a bonanza with many fish being hooked, landed and lost.
Most of the fish caught this trip were on the topwater  using mullet poppers and just a few were caught on deep divers.
Tarpon were everywhere this trip and were fun to catch when the bass fishing was quite.
You could see the schools of Tarpon finning on the surface and their bubble trails in the water everywhere.
A quick cast over their heads soon stirred multiple strikes at the popper.




















 
The last day we had some bad weather coming in so we decided to get out of the jungle and start the journey back to Serui.
We spent the night in a boatmans hut at the village again as the spring tides had made the creek too shallow to navigate in the dark.
After a good nights sleep, we headed off at 4.30am to beat the falling tide.
This time we hit many stumps and also had to drive the boat over whole trees to reach the deeper section of the creek.
Once out it was full stick down the river and across the bar to the open water where it was quite choppy for the first 50km.
About half way back to Serui we pulled into a small village where our boatmans wife lived so we managed to get a nice jug of hot coffee and buy an extra drum of fuel to complete the trip.


 
Hugging the coastline to avoid the choppy waters, the  trip back was beautiful as we navigated through a series of tropical islands and over some shallow coral reefs.





Once back to Serui, we found a motel for the night and we all enjoyed a good feed and a few cold Bintangs.
The next morning we boarded the ferry for another 5 hour journey back to Biak
Here we stayed another night at Teddy’s house before the final 2 day journey back home.
Overall it was an amazing trip and venturing so deep into the jungle with no support and no idea of what to expect added to the thrill of this adventure.
The people we met and the places we got to experience will be something that all of us will never forget.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I might be keen, I'll know more by Tuesday..... been a member for nearly 10 years and haven't been to one yet. It's great your organizing all this @Danielle 

I might be keen, I'll know more by Tuesday..... been a member for nearly 10 years and haven't been to one yet. It's great your organizing all this @Danielle 

I might be keen, I'll know more by Tuesday..... been a member for nearly 10 years and haven't been to one yet. It's great your organizing all this @Danielle 

You'd better put your skates & your Baby Bjorn on then! 

Hmmmm .... I thought I'd worked something out for a moment. I drink beer, I catch bu99er all ....... Wayne doesn't drink beer, he bores me with all the fish he catches ........ But then my mind turned to @tugger so I'm still none the wiser!!!

@timtam_ @Terry H @Do$tylz @jon @Shane69 @samsteele115 @Panther @christophagus @Bi_polar 
Some others posters on lately  
 

Kingfish are very susceptible to going soft if not iced down or slurried quick enough.
Opening the gut cavity and icing them down is a good way to treat Kings as you need to lower their core temp asap,much the same as Tuna.
The Kingfish that go soft after killing them is caused from an infection of microscopic Kudoa which lives in the flesh of the fish.
It gives the flesh a soft and mushy appearance which we call Milky Kingfish.
The parasite only causes the flesh to turn milky after the fish has died over a period of a few hours so there is no telling if the Kingy has it when you first catch the fish.
Icing the fish heavily as soon as you catch it is the only way to prevent the parasite from destroying the flesh but this does not always stop it if the infection is bad enough.
Once dead for a few hours you can tell by pressing firmly on the side of the fish in a fleshy area and you finger marks will remain as deep depressions in the flesh.
A good fish the depression will mostly disappear immediately.
When I fished for Kings commercially it was only 1 fish out of several hundred that we would find with this Kudoa Parasite and I would not know until we took the fish to the co op later that day as it took quite a few hours in the ice box for the parasite to do its work on the flesh.