Category Archives: Largemouth Bass

Pond Bass

A friend of mine, Kim, caught this 1kg Large mouth bass in a pond in our area.  Nice healthy fish.  It took a red Culprit 6” bass worm.

Friday Evening Bass

Did some fishing over at lake Lumot last friday.  I fished a brown Berkley Chigger Claw on a jig head and didn’t have many strikes till sunset.  Right at sunset I hooked these two 1lb-ers.  I fished from the shore the whole time.

Here is a pic of the first fish with the chigger claw I used in the top left corner of the pic:

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

   

Largemouth Bass can be found in the Philippines in a few lakes, rivers and ponds.  The three main lakes or reservoirs where they can be found Lumot and Caliraya (in the province of Laguna), and Pantabangan (in the province of Nueva Ecija).  From my understanding these bass were shipped over here to the Philippines many years ago by the Americans and were seeded in these three man-made lakes.  Since then the bass have successfully spawned and reproduced and now thrive in these waters.  They have also been released into some ponds and rivers in the areas around the three lakes mentioned above.

Bass here in the Philippines have been taken on pretty much all of the same lures as in other countries, including; spinners, crank baits, jigs, soft plastics, live bait and more.  Topwater bait prove less effective for most of the year due to the heat.  The Bass tend to stay in deeper cooler water and rarely venture to the surface to fed.

Favorite months for Bass fishing include November, December, January and February (though bass can be caught all year around).  I am not currently aware of when the bass here spawn, as I have seen bass fry present in the lakes most of the year.

Bass remain unknown to most people here in the country with the exception of anglers and the locals living around the lakes.  They are often referred to as; Black Mass, Black Mask, or Black Bass.

Category Archives: Lizard Fish

Lizardfish ( Synodontidae family )

a beautiful lizardfish caught bottom fishing

This is a family of fish common throughout the islands here that is often considered a pest.  They are often caught when other larger and more sporting fish are being targeted.  These fish rest on the seafloor on sandy bottoms, rock, coral or weeds and ambush smaller fish that wander too near them.  Lizard fish are generally quite small however some species do grow larger.  It is most common to catch these fish when fishing with minnow like lures, spoons or jigs, or live/dead bait.   They strike at lures with ferocious speed and on the initial strike give the impression that they are a larger fish. Be careful handling these fish because their little teeth are quite sharp.  Here in Cebu these fish are known as Tikitiki or Tuko.  They have little value as a food fish but they do make an ok bait.

These fish do look very much like lizards

Category Archives: Mackerel (Tangigue)

Longnosed Lancetfish ( Alepisaurus ferox )

Common Name:   Lancetfish, Handsaw Fish, Wolffish 

Local Name:   Tokey, Diwit, Aswang (Tagalog); ?? (Cebuano)

Max Size:  215 cm (9 kgs)

Biodiversity:  Marine, bathypelagic, oceanodromous  

Depth:  1 – 1900 m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:   none

Recommended Bait/Lures:  Fish, Squid

IUCN Red List Status:  Not Evaluated (NE)

Lancetfish are a unique strange looking fish that are capable of handling great extremes in pressure and temperature.  They are able to feed at the surface all the way down to almost 2000 meters.  They can also be found from the tropical seas all the way to the arctic.  Their diet consists mainly of squid and fish and they are primarily a nocturnal fish.   They resemble both Snake mackerel and Scabbardfish however they have noticeable differences than both.

  The fish in these pictures was caught at around 300 meters depth off Paluan, Mindoro Island by Doc and was 3.8 kilos.  He described the fish as having soft skin, two inch long long teeth and being called Tokey or Tukey by the locals there.  They caught this fish while deep sea fishing for large squid.

Alepisaurus ferox

The ferocious teeth of the Lancetfish

Oilfish ( Ruvettus pretiosus )

Big Oilfish Caught by Josh in Siargao

Common Name:  Oilfish

Local Name: ?? (Tagalog); Penahon (Cebuano)

Max Size:  300 cm (63.5 kgs)

Biodiversity: Marine, Benthopelagic, Oceanodromous

Depth:  100 – 800 meters

Fishing Season: None

Minimum Size Limit:   None

Recommended Bait/Lures:  Fish (cutbait or whole) , squid

IUCN Red List Status Status:  Not Listed

This species is a deepwater species related to the Snoek (Snake Mackerel). These are relatively rare to see around the country due to the depth at which they live.  These fish are called oilfish due to the high oil content of their flesh. They are edible and delicious however eating large quantities of this fish’s flesh causes a laxative effect which can be quite disturbing.  It is recommended that if you eat this fish that you don’t eat very much.

Another Shot of Josh’s Oilfish

Black Snoek ( Thyrsitoides marleyi )

Black Snoek caught in Batangas

Common Name:  Snoek, Snake Mackerel, Blacksail Snake Mackerel, Barracauta

Local Name: Tanigueng Aswang (Tagalog), ??? (Cebuano)

Max Size:  200cm ( 6kgs kgs )

Biodiversity: Marine, Reef Associated, Oceanodromous

Depth: Surface  – 400 m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  None

Anthony caught this bizarre fish on August 25, 2013 while deep water jigging. Apparently these fish takes good when fried.  Snoek are deep water fish that often migrate too the surface at night to feed.  They are normally found in school and feed on a variety to small fish and crustaceans.  They put up a good fight and apparently often swim straight down or up during the fight.

Wahoo ( Acanthocybium solandri )

Joshua with his first Wahoo!

Common Name:  Wahoo

Local Name: Tangigue (Tagalog), Tanigue  (Cebuano)

Max Size:  250 cm ( 83 kgs )

Biodiversity: Marine, Pelagic-Oceanic, Oceanodromous

Depth: 0 – 12 m

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

Minimum Size Limit:  None

Wahoo are another one of the popular big game fish here in the Philippines.  They are abundant through out the islands ranging in size from small juveniles to large adults.  Wahoo are often sometimes known as Black Tangigue to distinguish them from the Spanish Mackerel or White Tangigue.  These fish are most often caught while trolling large lures of fresh bait behind a boat.  Wire leaders are a must when fishing for these fish or fishing in a place where these fish may be caught.  They have razor sharp teeth which can easily slice through heavy monofilment and fluorocarbon line.

Joshua caught the Wahoo in the picture above in northern Luzon while trolling.  Notice the beak-like mouth which helps distinguish it from the Spanish Mackerel.

Horse Mackerel ( Megalaspis cordyla )

CJ and JR’s Tanigue

Here are CJ and JR’s three Horse mackerel or Torpedo Scad which they caught while trolling small Rapala lures around the reefs of Laiya.  This species was called Tanigue by the locals, because there is little differentiation between species of mackerel like fish.  These fish are schooling pelagics and are commonly caught around 20-30 cm in size.  These fish can grow up to 80cm and weigh around 4kgs.

Narrow Barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson)

This is a very popular gamefish here in the Philippines which I have not yet caught.  This is Chito with his 11+ lbs Spanish Mackerel.  This fish was taken on a large trolling spoon trolled from a Pump Boat or Banka.

Chito’s Tanigue

These fish (and various other related species) are known throughout the Philippines as Tanigue or Tangingue.  They are sought mainly by trolling lure such as; large spoons, large Rapala-like minnow lures, Squid Skirts, live bait, dead bait, and various other lures.

These Macs can grow quite large, up to 30+kgs, though most caught around the Philipines are around 2-10kgs.  They lurk near reefs, and other structure and feed on smaller fish and squid.

Good times for trolling for these fish are at sunrise and sunset as that is when they are most active.

When fishing for Tanigue be sure to use a heavy mono (or fluoro) leader 0r a steal leader as these fish have razor sharp teeth.

 

Double-Lined Mackerel in Laiya

Last monday a friend from the Marshall Islands and I went out trolling in Laiya, Batangas.

This Double-Lined mackerel (called a Tangigue by the local guys) took this 11cm blue Strike Pro Titan at around 4:30pm.

We were trolling slow not far from shore when we hooked up.  Here is another shot of the fish:

As you can see we also got a 6kg Dorado bull who is  poking his head into the pic

Category Archives: Mahi Mahi (Dorado)

Pompano Dolphinfish ( Coryphaena equiselis )

Common Name:  Pompano Dolphinfish,

Local Name: Dorado, Lali (Bisaya)

Max Size:   127 cm  (commonly 50cm)

Biodiversity: Marine, Pelagic, Endemic

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

This is a small species of fish that is often misidentified as juvenile Dorado (Mahi Mahi).    It is in fact a different species known as a Pompano Dolphinfish.  They are smaller than their Dorado cousins but also travel is schools.  One way to identify the species is by the long dorsal fin which extends the length of their whole body.

These were caught off of Dumaguete by angler Mike and his companions while they were fishing around FADs or payaw.    These fish were in a feeding frenzy and Mike related to me that they were hitting just about every lure that was thrown at them.  Over 40 fish were caught in an hour.

So next time you are out hunting around payaw and come across “baby” Dorado, take a closer look at it and see if you have a Pompano Dolphinfish.  These are an excellent food fish tasting like Dorado, but sweeter according to Mike.

Surrounded by a Dolphin Pod

My last fishing trip to Laiya for a while was yesterday.  We trolled most of the day and I tried one of the new lures I got.

We had a slow day till around 10:30, when a big dorado took the lure pictured above.  Unfortunately I was not able to get a good hook set and when the dolphin leaped then landed in the water the lure came loose.    Oh well.  Point proven that these lures work as a substitute for fresh squid.  (Mang Roger was impressed

 

Later in the afternoon we trolled some more and as we near one of the buoys way out, we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins.  It was fun watching them swim around us, jump, and flip.

We had a fun day on the water even though we weren’t able to bring home any fish.  Goodbye Laiya (for now) and hello Cebu

 

One of the buoys we slow trolled around:

 

Dorado Bull

Here is the picture of the Mahi mahi Bull (male) that I caught on the last trip:

It weighed 6kgs.  Here is what we used for bait:

Mahi Mahi in Laiya, Batangas

Went fishing last week with friends JR and Ceejay in Laiya.  We fished the afternoon and used the same bait and tactics that I used on my last trip; fresh squid (pusit bisaya) double hooked, and trolled with no weight around bouys.  On the fourth buoy we cricled I hooked this 5.2kg  (11. 1/2 lb)  female mahi mahi (dorado).  She put up a great fight and went airborne a couple of times.  After her we only had a couple small bites.  Still, a fun successful trip on a beautiful tuesday afternoon.

For any of you guys interested in trying dorado fishing, you can contact Mang Roger our boatman.  He lives in Laiya and has a couple boats there.  He is a good fisherman and knows the water there, how to fish it, how to rig gear, and how to teach first timers how to bring in dorado.  Tell him you got his number from Ben the “cano”

Dorado Fishing in Laiya, Batangas

Sunday, 11/27/2011, three friends and I drove down early to Laiya  for a day of saltwater trolling for Dorados or Mahi Mahi.  We got an early start (3am) and were on the water by 7.  We used fresh squid that our boatman got for us and we slow trolled them whole around buoys that were a ways away from the shore.  We had a produtive morning, hauling in 4 fish and then again in the afternoon bringing in one more (after having a 4olb leader snapped by something big).  We learned that from now until Feb, it is dorado season down there.  It was a great trip and I am thankful that I had my first successful saltwater trolling experience.  Here are some pics from the trip:

 This was the first fish of the day, 2.5 kgs caught by me.

 Reggie caught the next one, 5.2 kgs, this was the most acrobatic of all the ones we caught.  It leaped and flipped the whole time.

 Lui caught the biggest one, 5.6kgs

 Reggie caught a second (the smaller of the two), 3.2kgs

 The mornings catch.  Not Bad, with every one getting a fish and Reggie getting two.

 After lunch I was able to hook one more, 3.5kgs and we called it a day.

 

Category Archives: Milkfish (Bangus)

Milkfish ( Chanos chanos )

Common Name: Milkfish

Local Name: Bangus, Awa

Max Size:  180 cm (commonly 60-100 cm)

Biodiversity: Marine, Brackish, Freshwater, Benthopelagic, Endemic

Fishing Season:  All Year Long

This is the national fish of the Philippines.  It is a saltwater species that can also be found in freshwater.  These fish are farmed through out the country in ponds along the ocean for food. It is also a popular game fish due to its strong runs.  It however feeds mainly on algae, small invertabrates, zooplankton and fish eggs.   Anglers target these fish mainly in stocked ponds with dough bait, bread and occasionally fly fishing flies, however they can be caught in the in the wild along the coast around reefs and in mangroves, estuaries, and bays.  This large Bangus in the picture above was caught by Josh in Cebu.  Large adult Milkfish are also called Awa.

Category Archives: Mullet (Banak)

Lobed River Mullet ( Cestraeus plicatilis )

Lobed River Mullet

Common Name:  Mullet, The President’s Fish

Local Name:  Banak, Ludong (Tagalog);  ?? (Cebuano)

Max Size:  32.5 cm ( 2 kg)

Biodiversity: Marine, Brackish, Freshwater; Endemic

Depth:  0 – ?? m

Fishing Season:  Closed Season October to January

Minimum Size Limit:   6 inches

Recommended Bait:  Flies, bread, algae

IUCN Red List Status:  Data Deficient(DD)

This mullet  is well known throughout the country as being the country’s most expensive fish.  They are most common in the Cagayan River of northern Luzon, however they are also most likely present all around the country in estuaries and rivers.  These plant feeders like most mullet species are a challenge to catch on hook and line.  Anglers targeting this species and others are likely to have success fly fishing with small bread, algae, and shrimp pattern.

Ludong are one of the few freshwater species in the Philippines to have a strict fishing season.  The months of October to January are when these fish migrate to spawn and fishing for these fish during those months is now illegal.  This is most likely due to the reputation this fish has as being one of the best tasting and rarest freshwater fish.  It is said that this was the former president Ferdinan Marcos favorite fish.