Narrow-barred, King or Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) and Wahoo (Acanthocybium solanderi) by Dustin Foo

Intro
These two species can be treated as one, as they behave in a very similar fashion and indeed are often mis-identified. The Malays refer to the wahoo as tengiri jantan, (i.e., male tengiri). They are different species, however. Once you have caught a few they are impossible to confuse. Both are superb light tackle gamefish which are relatively easy to catch.

The chief identifying feature between the mackerel and the wahoo are their colours and the shape of their jaws. The wahoo is also known by the Malays as tengiri burong (i.e., bird mackerel). Their jaws are shaped like a bird’s beak, very sharp and pointed. The mackerel’s jaws are shorter and less pointed, but the best way to identify the species is by their colour patterns. Both are striped, but the wahoo has broad tiger stripes right across its body, whereas the mackerel has grey-bluish, thin bars over its flanks- the famous ‘narrow bars’. Wahoo are also more highly coloured. When fresh out of the water they are glowing royal blue with blue-purple stripes. Mackerel are more plain, with a blue, grey or green back and bluish-purple bars, but the beautiful luminous silver sheen of a fresh mackerel is something to behold. Mackerel reach about 120lb and wahoo about 170lb, but in Southeast Asian waters the unofficial records are something like 70lb for both fish.

The major difference between the two fish is location. You are most unlikely to ever hook a wahoo in Malaysian waters. An experienced guide at Pulau Aur told me that he had only ever heard of one being caught in the last five years. Phuket in Thailand, and West Java offer the best chance of catching wahoo in Southeast Asian waters. Mackerel, however, are commonly found in Malaysia. Because of intense commercial fishing few Malaysian mackerel exceed 20lbs any more, but if you fish at Pulau Aur, Dayang, Pemanggil or Tioman you have a good chance of catching fish from 7lb to about 18lb.

Method
Mackerel and wahoo are fished for in exactly the same way. They are sub-surface hunters which hang at some depth and shoot up to attack prey with tremendous speed. Heavy lures that run deep like tuna feathers or heavy jetheads are the best skirted lures for this work, if you have a quick enough boat. Troll them long. Mackerel and wahoo don’t often take them short. Bibless minnows are good too, if you have a fast enough boat. If you are stuck with a slower boat, use Rapala Magnums or other diving plugs. They can be fished closer to the boat than skirted lures. Replace all standard hooks on Rapalas.

Regardless of lure type, get them running deep. Clip the line to the rod with a rubber band or use a flat-line clip. For mackerel and wahoo (and tuna) you do not want the lure on the surface all the time, but coming up only rarely and running below the surface as much as possible. With plugs, you want them to dive as deep as possible. A friend of mine enlarges the lip of his diving plugs by soldering on more metal. These plugs dive deeper and generally get hit first.

Plug size is hotly debated. If there are many large baits around like bonito or little tuna, use large plugs (14-20cm). These are the best sizes for wahoo, which generally feed on these fish. Otherwise, smaller plugs (9-13cm) will do well, especially in local waters where the predominant bait species are slimy mackerel (kembong) or scad (selar). If you are restricted to one lure colour, red/white is the best for both fish, but it’s best to give the fish a choice. Pure white is good, and so are mackerel colours.

If you are trolling, once you get a strike, keep trolling. Most mackerel and wahoo travel in schools. The fastest and boldest fish hits usually the deepest lure and if you keep the boat in gear for 10 more seconds, you can sometimes get a hookup on every lure. Of course, don’t try this on light tackle, but on 20 or 30, most school fish will never come close to spooling you.

Live-baiting is an excellent way to catch all game fish, but mackerel and wahoo can be very difficult to take on live baits. They hit the bait at top speed and often miss the hooks. Large baits get their back section sheared clean off, small baits are either engulfed or clipped off behind the gills. This can be a nuisance when you are live-baiting for marlin. Even ‘stinger’ hooks sometimes don’t do the trick. Drifting a gang-hooked dead bait behind the boat helps, but if you have patience, they will circle back and take the head, much like a shark.

Dead baits are rarely used in this region but a gang-hooked garfish or pickhandle barracuda is excellent for mackerel and wahoo. Like most fish, morning and evening are the best times to get them, although they will strike most hours.

Big Fish Method
Live bait fishing takes bigger mackerel than trolling, but the two biggest mackerel I’ve ever taken, or seen caught, including a 50-pounder, were both taken on the troll. If you are targeting big mackerel use a big bait: live tuna or something like that. Live barracuda is also excellent. Of course, you must have big fish in the vicinity in order to target them, or else be willing to wait. Big mackerel are very wary fish and difficult to take. Medium-sized school fish will cripple big baits but you know when a big fish hits. Small fish take the meat off and leave the backbone, but big fish have the jaw power to slice clean through the backbone of a 10-pound bonito or a 8-pound rainbow runner as neatly as though chopped by a parang.

Trolling large dead baits can take some big mackerel and wahoo as well as other large gamefish, such as marlin. Large lures also account for some good fish and take the best wahoo. Both fish can kill surprisingly large prey because of their deadly teeth, so don’t be afraid to use large plugs like the Rapala CD-14 and CD-18 if you see or catch many bonito or little tuna, as the big fish will definitely be preying on tuna. If you are lucky you can see them skyrocketing high out of the water as they strike- a wonderful sight.

Tackle Choice/Fighting Tricks
20-30lb gear is the best all-round choice for local waters, and works perfectly for mackerel and wahoo, especially when you are live-baiting in the hope of bigger fish like marlin. Large swimming plugs like Rapala CD-18s need at least 30lb tackle to troll properly. But most average fish burn out too quickly on 20 and 30. Use it only when the fish are good-sized (30lb plus), or when you are expecting stronger fish like marlin or yellowfin tuna. Short strokers are no good for mackerel, they will give you heart problems when the fish zoom about left and right near the transom at the last stages of the fight, avoiding the gaff. Use a long rod, 6ft plus, to gain more control.

12lb gear will make even school fish fight like demons. The speed with which these fish take off on their first run is incredible, and on light tackle they are a real test of skill. You need lots of line- at least 500 yards and a cool head to land a good fish on 12lb line. Use a longer rod for light tackle fishing- a 7ft plug rod rated for 12-16lb class is a brilliant light-line weapon. As the average local mackerel is only 5-15lb, light gear is well worth the trouble. Not many people would choose 12lb for wahoo but it can certainly be done. Mackerel and wahoo on light gear are an excellent fish to learn how to catch marlin.

Reels must have an exceptionally smooth drag and lots of line capacity. Drag must be set light, at 20% or 25% of line strength. On the strike, the fish will take line with tremendous speed and a big fish can easily make off with 250 yards or more on light gear. They are not too difficult to lift, but will take off repeatedly on light gear, requiring fast reflexes to deal with. Often they will circle and create a loop of slack line. Mackerel and wahoo almost never throw hooks so don’t give up, quickly take up the slack and resume the fight. They are also quite difficult to deal with close to the boat as they zip left and right. Long rods are very useful when fighting fish off the high transoms of most Malaysian fishing boats.

Hot Spots
The Malaysian islands (Besar, Aur, Dayang, Tioman) regularly produce mackerel trolling and live-baiting. Mackerel are the most common predator fish taken in Peninsular Malaysia. 40-pound fish have been taken, which is probably the largest size you are likely to get, but most of these fish are relatively small. Good sport on light tackle though.

Indonesia offers a better class of fish. 50-pound wahoo and mackerel are taken every year and the average size in West Java is something like 10-30lbs. The trouble with fishing in Indonesia is not catching the fish, but getting cheated, unless you fish with expensive charter operations. Most fish are caught trolling. Live-baiting is very seldom practised, except by innovative anglers like Carita’s Rob Barraclough. Closer to home, the school mackerel around Batam and Bintan are the same size as the Malaysian fish.

Phuket has some very big fish, but they are equally hard to catch. The average size is about 8-20lb. In season, most captains will try for sailfish instead.

Miscellaneous
Mackerel and wahoo are excellent eating. By far the best way to cook them is barbequing, although they can be fried. If you are going to release them, switch your treble hooks to a rear-mounted single or double hook. That will catch the majority of fish, but make it much safer to release. Gaffing is the traditional means of landing these fish, but if you want to release them, this is obviously inadvisable. You can either grab them by the tail or swing them inboard by grabbing the leader. Gloves are essential.

Mackerel and wahoo are extremely dangerous. Fish to be killed should be kept on the gaff for control and quickly clubbed to death with a fish bat. If you let them get off the gaff they can create havoc in the cockpit by sliding around with open jaws. A large gaff is not necessary for these fish. Small gaffs damage much less meat and will not pull out if properly placed. They are not easy to release, but if caught on single hooks can be handled by grabbing the throat and tail tightly. Remove the hook quickly and throw the fish overboard like a javelin.

No angler can eat more than 20 pounds of mackerel per day. Although mackerel and wahoo are a relatively common fish, that is still no excuse to kill them. Frozen mackerel or wahoo quickly deteriorates. If you are having a good day and caught enough mackerel or wahoo for a fresh meal, it’s best to release them.

Introduction
These are the most common small tuna species you are likely to find in Malaysian waters. Phuket and Indonesia will also produce longtail tuna (Thunnus tonggol) and skipjack tuna (Euthynnus pelamis). The small tuna species behave in the same way and can be fished for using identical methods. Like wahoo and mackerel, the real differences between them are in location and physical features. All small tuna are great sport fish on light tackle and superb baits.

Bonito is often used as a name for all small tunas, but the real bonito (Sarda spp.) is distinguished by its small sharp teeth and the stripes on its flanks. No other tuna shares these features except the dogtooth tuna (Gymnosarda unicolor), which is really a giant bonito. They are probably not very common, as they prefer quite cool water. They can reach 15lb plus, but average from 3 to 6lb.

Little tunny are the commonest inshore tuna. Together with frigate mackerel (Auxis thazard), these are the fish that are referred to by the Malays as ‘tongkol’. Little tunny have spots near their pectoral fin and frigates don’t, but they are otherwise very much the same. Little tunny are the same size as bonito, but frigates reach about 3lb.

Skipjack tuna have watermelon-like stripes on their belly. They are probably the best fighters of the lot, and can reach 40lb plus in places like Mauritius. Most will weigh between 5 and 10 pounds. Longtail tuna reach similar maximum sizes but in this region seem to be very small, about 10lb max. They are not easy to identify, but they have yellow finlets and bronze flanks.

Skipjack tuna are real blue-water fish and as a result, are very seldom seen in Malaysian waters. If you catch them elsewhere, they are a prime indicator of good water conditions. Little tunny and longtails enter green water quite cheerfully, as do bonito.

Method
These fish are usually easy to catch, but can get difficult at times. Like their bigger relatives, these tuna hunt below the surface in packs. If they find small baitfish like anchovies (ikan bilis) or whitebait, they will drive it up to the surface and systematically massacre it. This is when they start jumping all over the surface- a familiar sight to most blue-water fishermen. Jumping tuna will often be accompanied by terns and other sea birds which are seeking the same food.

If there are lots of tuna on the surface, heading for them and trolling small lures will produce good catches. If you want to catch them in quantity for baits, use a chain of small squid on 20lb mono, trolled fairly close behind the boat. This will catch multiples, sometimes four or five at a time. If they refuse the lures, use even smaller squid on light leaders (16lb and lighter). When they are locked onto feeding really tiny bait or worse, plankton, they can be impossible to catch. Sending the lures down with the aid of a planer can do the trick sometimes: some people even use fresh water streamer flies when desperate.

You can also catch them blind trolling. Multiple lures are far better than singles, which tend to get lost in the wake. Tuna have excellent eyesight, and they can detect single lures, but multiple lures will catch more fish and produce more strikes.

Tiny rubber squid loaded with split shot in the head is the best lure for these fish, especially in chains. Small Japanese feathers and Rapalas also work. They can also be cast to using small, heavy spoons like Kastmasters retrieved very quickly , but you need to be a good caster in order to sling a lure far enough.

Big Fish Method
Most school tuna will be the same size. It’s more important to simulate the size of the bait they are attacking. Small squid and feathers will take any small tuna at any size.

Tackle Choice/Fighting Tricks
Most of the time you will simply want to haul them in for bait. They have rather tender mouths so pull smoothly and don’t jerk. Never skip them across the surface when caught on heavy tackle, as the hook will pull out too easily.

These fish are really superb fighters on ultra-light tackle and if you get the chance, ultra-light fishing for them is not to be missed. Take a 10lb tuna on 6lb line and you’ll know all about it. They can be very fast and stubborn on the light stuff- good practice fish for learning how to catch larger game.

Hot Spots
Anywhere offshore. Skipjacks prefer clear blue water. Large little tunny are not easy to find. Small tuna in Indonesia are exceedingly difficult to catch. Try Phuket for light-tackle skipjacks and school yellowfin tuna.

>
> By the way, fishing at Tuas Power station is still
> accessible at the corner facing shipyards.
>
> Proceed along Ave.4, 7 & turn left into gate(beside
> sub-station). Park at the place where the fencing
> ends. Walk along fencing(abt 100M) until water gate.
> Fish on right side of water gate. Fish landed ranges
> from 300g - 6Kg+(KBL,grunter, snapper,grouper, chermin,
> chao xi etc.)
>
> For those with 4WD vehicle, i think its better to
> fish at corner facing open sea. Instead of turning
> left into gate, proceed along until u see sand path
> into reclaimed site. Drive along seasoned path until
> u see sea water.
>
> Night Angler
>
> > was those military type concentinal(dunno how to
> > spell) wires?
> > if it is..then those are the fencing to block off
> > illegal immigrants from malaysia in entering unguarded
> > shore.
> > It is not to prevent us from fishing.
> > however, i strongly think that that's a dumbest and
> > overkilled idea by someone in some authorities.
> > Those has also been seen along the kranji coast
> too.
>
>
>

Size:
2 - 6kg. can reach up to 20kg.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Barramundi are a tropical species and can be found in the many parts of South East Asia including Singapore. Most anglers would know that Australia's Northern Territory has the best Barramundi fishing although you can easily play out a barra anytime at one of the commercial fishing ponds in Singapore.

Barramundi thrive in fresh brackish estuarine waters and inshore water and they need saline tidal water in order to breed and reproduce. All Barramundi are born male but changes their sex as they mature. When hooked, the fish will often give an aerial display that will leave you in awe. This however, also tired them out easily and most fight will not last more than 10 minutes, unless you are using extremely light tackle.The Barramundi is one of the most highly sort after sport fishes in the world.

Best Bait:
Whole Baitfish, fish flesh, live prawns and fresh prawns.

Barra Tips:
Barramundi starts feeding just after sunrise and they like to hang out in mangroves and near roots. For rigging, the most productive would be to use floats if fishing with live prawns or employ a cast-retrieve method if using dead baits.

Size:
2 - 5kg. can reach up to 40kg.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Dolphin fish are a pelagic species which can be found off the sea around Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. These fishes like to hang out in deep offshore waters, schooling near reefs, floating objects such as buoys, weed, logs, and fish attracting devices. They strike without warning and run with tremendous speed. Once hooked, you can be assured of spectacular aerial acrobatics and a good fight.

Best Bait:
Whole Baitfish, fish flesh, squid, pilchards, small garfish, crabs, leatherjacket, wrasse. Fast trolling lures and feathers.

Dorado Tips:
Calm summer days tend to produce better fishing. Younger fish will swim close to the bottom of the boat and the larger fish normally deeper out of sight. Drift fishing is productive. If a played-out fish is kept on the line alongside the boat it will often attract the others from the school which can be cast fished. Cast or troll wholebaits and lures around floating object.

Size:
50g - 300g.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Garfish are small slender creatures. They rarely exceed 35 cm, and even very large specimens usually weigh less than 300 gm. They survive on a diet of rotting mangrove leaves, algae, tiny crustaceans and larger planktons. To catch them, specialised techniques have to be employed as they are surface feeders.

When hooked, the fish will often leapt out of the water for a "tail walking" display. This will more likely amuse you and is very fun to watch.

Best Bait:
Bread, dough, prawn pieces and fish flesh.

Garfish Tips:
They are best caught using light tackles with a floated taman rigged, baited with bread. Garfish can be found in abundance in St John Island. Best fishing occurs in clear calm days. You will need to adjust the depth of your bait until you get to the right depth where the fish will feed.

Size:
1.5 - 5kg. Commercial breeders have been known to turn out 10kg specimen.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Mangrove Jack are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions. They live mainly in estuarine and inshore waters, although they have been taken in reef waters well of the coast. They are not commonly found in the waters of Singapore although they can be found in all commercial fishing ponds here as they are cheap and they fight relatively well.

When hooked, the fish will often take a dive and in the wild, a cut off may be immiment as the fish will often head for the nearest mangrove roots or rock ledges. Mangrove Jacks will respond to a variety of lures and baits.

Best Bait:
Live baitfish, fish flesh, taman, live prawns and fresh prawns.

Barra Tips:
For Mangrove Jacks, the recommended rigging would be to use a sinker as they tend to feed near the bottom.

Size:
100g - 5kg.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Mullet hang around in schools and they bite readily. They can be found in and around bays, estuaries, and sheltered coastal waters. Mullet are enthusiatic biters and provide good fun on light tackles.

They are usually caught using pieces of dough, bread, and prawns.

Best Bait:
Gardenia bread, shelled pranws pieces and fish pieces.

Mullet Tips:
A good place to go for mullet is the jetty at Pulau Ubin. Compressed little pieces of Gardenia bread in tight balls, then rigged them with no.4 hooks. Attach a float, leaving about 0.5m of line betwween float and hook and fish without sinker. You will see mullets coming up to whack your bait. :^)

Size:
1.5- 3kg. Can reach up to 11kg.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Trevally is a very popular angling species. The largest of the trevally family, the Giant Trevally, commonly reach 1.2 m or more in length and weigh as much as 20 - 25 kg. Kilo for kilo basis, these fishes will give your reel a good workout.

Silver trevally is predominantly a coastal fish preferring inshore reefs, beaches, estuaries, bays, near entrances of estuaries, in rockwalls and bridge pylons and around big water flows. They fight like a bull so be sure to have your drag settings set accordingly to avoid a cut off.

Best Bait:
Fish flesh, prawns, squid and beach worms.

Trevally Tips:
Trevally often travel in schools although the larger they get, the smaller the school becomes. Be alert when anglers around you start getting hookups. Fish also have a soft mouth requiring care when hooked.

Size:
up to 60kg.

Habitat & Characteristics :
Wahoo are solitary pelagic fish often found in deeper oceanic waters, although occasionally, they can be found over rocks and coral reef areas. They are very rarely caught in Singapore waters as far as I know. This is a very active and extremely fast fish, in fact one of the fastest, and it is well known for its initial scorching run of several hundred meters in seconds.

These lure muncher must be handle with extreme care and when being landed, they are best gaffed and killed as soon as possible. They are commonly taken when trolling for marlin and can be a nuisance as their sharp teeth tends to destroy the lures.

Best Bait:
Whole bait fishes and high speed lures

Wahoo Tips:
Fish have a habit of schooling according to age and size. Trolling lures, live baits or whole fish baits seems more productive. Moving baits tend to encourage strikes. Drift fishing with baits either weighted or unweighted at varying depths helps to find fish.