Williamson Jet Popper

Some time back, I posted on the blog about the Williamson Jet Popper (see post) which came in 7inch & 5inch models.

Recently, I found these to be extremely effective for night/low-light popping. The chugging action, splashes and loud "pop"s attracted the GT attention quite well.

Youtube video courtesy of RapalaVMC

Good thing the last GM (Green Mackerel) in the tacklebox converted a strike after busting of a NS (Natural Silver) earlier

Jiggin' Jarak... Again (Part 3)

We also did try jigging for the supposedly ever plentiful Golden Snappers (Angcho) but they were elusive this time. Strangely enough in fact, all the bottom dwellers seemed passive though the current was ideal.

This lone ranger was the only Goldie that turned up. And it sure did look bruised up badly, as if it survived a fishy gangfight in the depths below. Either way, it gave a good account of itself on its way up. Caught on the ever faithful 150g Bluefox Herring

The casting game begins...

The stern roof was pushed back, allowing ample space for our elongated wands to propel our lures towards the reefline and drop-offs.

The fish seemed to wisen up to the surface lures. So the ever witty KH rigged up a Bluefox Reflect Pirk and began casting with the new upcoming Okuma Nemesis 6-12lb rod coupled to a leftie Curado E7 (a speedy oh la la reel!)... and was soon in business!

"Aye Mama mia! You love me, no?"

KH cradling his beloved

(D1: Shouldn't you be biting a rose??)

When dusk approached, we landed a nice Spotted Mackerel and all the hungry anglers smacked their lips. SASHIMI!!!!! Sensei Frodo-san the master sashimi chef brandished his beloved Rapala fillet knife and skillfully cut up some nice ite sized morsels of Mackerel. With wasabi & shoyu - WALLA!

Sashimi wiped out less than 2mins after photo taken *BURP*

As the sashimi was being wallopped, there were huge splashes near the front of the boat. Several Skitter Pops & X-Walks landed in the midst of the surface commotion but were bust off almost immediately.

Joey however connected and was soon battling it out painfully with GeeTee Jr. The Majorcraft Offblow handled the fish very nicely coupled with Okuma Trio 55. BTW, did I mention the sound whizzing out of that graphite/aluminum crossover spool is simply music to one's ears? Hint: it's very different from how an aluminum spool would sing when line fizzes out at high speed!

Joey to GT: "No, I'm not going to give you my Trio 55!"

Rod: Majorcraft Offblow PE1.5-3 Casting Spec

Reel: Okuma Trio 55

Line: Sufix Performance Braid 30lb

Leader: Sufix Superior Leader 50lb

Lure: Rapala X-Walk13 CLN

Little girl can catch big fish! Way to go Sister Joey!

Jiggin' Jarak... Again (Part 2)

Andy & Joey were taking it easy throughout the session. They were catching the more edible fish such as the groupers which ended up nicely steamed for dinner that night.

Relax-'lah' brudder!

Andy was catching them groupers one by one. Majorcraft Offblow PE1.5-3 helping to lift the goods from the bottom

What produced the goods? Williamson Vortex 150gm of course!

Close up of the Vortex Jig

Okuma Cedros also got to showcase its capabilities though we wished the bigger fishes would hit the setup to allow us to test its limits. Nevertheless, it was one smooth and strong baby

Who says real men don't use pink? KH beaming away with another GT landed on pinky Williamson Vortex 200gm jig.

Vortex jig was one of the top GT producers

And of course, our brother Ron C was equally happy with several more school GT under his belt

Jiggin' Jarak... Again

We fulfilled our second pilgrimage to Pulau Jarak again for 2010.

This time the catch unfortunately, was not as happening as our previous trips due to unfavourable tides (ain't we all love to blame our poor catch on something else ey?). But nevertheless, fellowship and great food all made up for it.

So before we set off, it was our usual stocktake on our battle inventory...

Williamson Vortex, Gyro, Bluefox Herring & Jigging Skarpsilda - CHECK!

New Bluefox Reflect Pirk patterns - CHECK!

Williamson Abyss & Benthos - don't leave home without them!

And new uniforms - CHECK!

Of course we brought along the new Okuma Cedros jigging reels that worked like a charm

Smooth, sexy yet tough

The honour of landing the first fish went to Ron C who hooked up a massive 6kg Mangrove Jack.

Biggie MJ

We were also bullied with many snapped lines and lost jigs. Apparently we had drifted over a playground of little kiddie Barracudas that were so eager to have new jewellery hanging out of their gobs. Too bad for us, as more jigs lost meant more $$ flying away. Still, we did land a few.

Of course, there were in between hits of good fish. Evergreen Poseidon bending over

Walla! Finally a GeeTee on Williamson Abyss 250g...

To be continued...

Lady & Her Cedros

One wonders if she is happy she's hooked onto a shark or grimacing in pain?!

Okuma Cedros in Action

Visitors to the recent Rapala seminar would have noticed the silverish-blue eggbeaters on display. One of the recent releases from Okuma, the spinning Cedros boasts some no- nonsense saltwater features targeted for serious jiggers & lure-chucking anglers. Lets take a look at the specs...

High-Speed gear ratio (5.7:1 to 6.2:1)
DFD: Precision Dual Force Drag system (up to 15kgs of drag)
Multi-disk, Japanese-oiled felt drag washers
4 HPB corrosion resistant stainless steel ball bearings
1 Quick-set anti-reverse roller bearing
Precision machine cut brass pinion gear
CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process
HDGII: Corrosion resistant, High density gearing
ALC: Rigid, diecast aluminum frame
Corrosion resistant graphite side plate and rotor
EOS: Patented Elliptical Oscillation System
Machined aluminum, 2-tone anodized, port spool
Rigid, forged aluminum screw-in handle design
Custom blue anodized, machined aluminum handle knob
Hydro Block water tight drag seal
Heavy Duty, solid aluminum, gold anodized bail wire
RESII: Computer balanced rotor equalizing system

Paparazzi shot

Check out the Jap-style power knob

Heavy duty anodized aluminum bail wire

Rather than test the eggbeaters on the local bakery dough mix, the Rapaleros took the reels out for an outing to target some schoolie Blacktip sharks.

After several bust offs, Joey finally connected to one

I was pretty sure it wanted Joey in the water by looking at how the rod bent through

Finally some colour

Proudly captured on Williamson Abyss jig and promptly released

KH testing out the cute little Cedros 40 with the new Okuma Ergosense PE1 rod on another school-going shark

Kids... don't try what KH is doing. It's very very dangerous... and yes, Sharkie was released unharmed

Verdict:

Stylo mylo looks and solid cranking power. If you're looking for a quality saltwater spinning reel without busting your pocket senseless on those high-end Stellas & Saltigas, this reel is worth checking out.