Lirang & Wetar Islands Indonesia June 2016

To the east of Alor Island and in about 18hours of sailing time lays Wetar island.

I set sail on this journey with Raymond, Bogdan and Thomas trying our luck to push far and beyond in search of a new destination. We charter Valor sport fishing guided by Captain James Teo and his partner Wiwied Soeparto.
In the beginning of this report I want to mention that the area was affected by an earthquake right upon our arrival which we were not aware of till we came back to Alore and checked the phone to see a message from Paul. The bite on the first 2 days was slow but it only got better and we definitely needed more fishing time to increase our chances as the area is wide.
We flew from New York to Dubai to Jakarta and then took a local flight from Jakarta to Kupang to Alor. With all this traveling we still managed to get all of our luggage. And this was a total surprise! I was very impressed by the internal flight even though we got hit by the access luggage fee which was still doable in comparison to any domestic airline in the USA.

We get transferred to the boat right away while we pushed slowly out of Alor. The journey was long to Wetar filled with stories and hoping to have more to add to our memories and life circa. It is always a challenge to fish in a new untouched area and a big learning experience for any avid angler.

The scenery was astonishing and the people were nice whenever we meet them in the island or at sea. The simplicity of their life make you appreciate the beauty of it.
I am still sensational of that aroma that enchanted through the wind at dusk, stuck in my brain and I can literally close my eyes and feel it with a joy and a smile, it surely brings a great memory!

The area has a lot of potential but we barely covered 20% of the entire island due to our limited time, I was delighted to see Bogdan catching his first GT and happy for Thomas on catching his first Bluefin Trevally.
The guys fished very hard and got multiple chances on some big fish. Bogdan hooked an unstoppable Dogtooth tuna upon our arrival to Wetar island and right at dusk. Unfortunately, could not manage to land it. The fish shewed the leader leaving him furious with big disappointment on his face.

As the night approached we set anchor in about 60 meter and we jigged the night catching all sort of species from Doggy to big eye to small GT. At a certain time, the machine was lit up with all sort of life beneath not to forget Thomas yellowfin tuna on the Smith KGS rod that made him go around and around in circle till he got it to the boat. Endless fishing night on the lighter set up kept us awake most of the nights.

We met kids and elderly in their little manmade canoes. All seemed to be happy in their environment, we gave fish away and receive gratitude in return. Locals came in with their little canoe offering fresh coconuts.
We enjoyed every bit of it and the guys did their best to accommodate us keeping in mind that you’re in a 3^rd world country.

On our 3^rd day things start to look better and we start nailing some GT’s. Thomas grabbed my rod and casted the Shell Shaping Chu bar. Out of nowhere submerged a huge shadow behind the lure estimated big, very big. He inhaled the lure with no chance for Thomas to stop it, and here went the fish of the trip heading to the reef leaving Thomas speechless.

The current was moving fast with some productive drift till we made it to the mouth of the island where we start seeing birds circling and Yellowfin tuna on the move. Our offering was taking into account and the bite went on fire with double and almost triple hook up. However, the Shark did not leave us alone and turned every Yellowfin tuna into a shark. The bell is ringing and the tax man was claiming, countless lures been lost but we still managed to land some and most of all we were so happy. After a while the bite faded away but when I looked at the screen I saw a hump at 60 meter, I grabbed my jigging rod and I dropped a jig.

Couple of crank and I could not believe it as I began getting bite after bite with no hook till a solid one came in and here we were - Doggy on the menu.

We repeated the drift with 4 bending rods and screaming reels. Raymond lost a descent one at the boat side and I landed mine after a long run. I was surprised to see it on the deck as I was pretty much sure that I am going to be reefed.

We kept on that drift catching doggies till the nightfall.

On our 4^th day we woke up early and headed for a short session looking for the yellowfin tuna. It didn’t take too long and we were right on them, hooked, landed and released countless one till we called it off and headed to the mother boat for a breakfast.
The GT’s where on the menu that day but the Dogtooth tuna bite we encountered the day before at dusk did not develop.

On the last day we jigged in the early AM and decided to hit back and fish Alor Island. It was not a bad choice, the area produced descent action and we ended the trip fishing all along Alor Island.

I want to thank Valor Sportfishing charter for all effort to make our trip a memorable one, we will be back to fish Indonesia in the near future. Thank you!

Tackle used:

Rod: Race Point 300, 250, 100, El Maestro 82M, OBX-400, OBX-300, Hot’s SSS-63M.
Reels: Shimano Stella 20k,18k,14k,10k,8k, Accurate Valiant 300, Accurate Boss Dauntless 600.
Lures: Shell Shaping, Carpenter, Ulpen, Hammerhead.
Line: Jerry Brown Hollow 130lb, 100lb, 80lb, Unitika PE8, Sunline
Hooks: BKK, Shout