Mad rush for tenggiri in Kedah

The many fishing boats available for anglers to charter near Kuala Yan Kechil.

IN THE midst of the changing monsoon season – off Yan district in Kedah where the water is still rough and choppy – the sea is teeming with tenggiri.

In the past month or so, anglers have been striking big with these catches, resulting in a mad rush and excitement among fishing enthusiasts to charter boats on weekends to try their luck and skill.

Tenggiri or Spanish mackerel is one of the preferred game fish among local anglers.

It is a migratory species and during this season, it would travel from the north to south, through the narrow Straits of Melaka.

Fishermen at Yan district had put up tukun and unjam, both man-made fish-aggregating devices, near Pulau Songsong, Pulau Bidan and Pulau Telur to encourage the tenggiri to stop and hunt for smaller prey taking shelter and feeding at these artificial reefs.

As such, during the migratory season from January until March, this species would lurk near the tukun and unjam for a while before making its way down south to breed.

Fishing for tenggiri at ‘tukun’ and ‘unjam’ sites can be fun but requires a bit of skill.

The tenggiri found here during this period are much bigger and more aggressive, and the catch can weigh between 3kg and 10kg each.

Other pelagic fish such as tambun, kembong and selar, cencaru (torpedo scad), dorado, giant trevally, talang (queen fish), jenahak (golden snapper), grouper and gerut-gerut (sliver grunter) can also be found in abundance at the tukun and unjam sites.

These devices are made from concrete balls, old trawlers and unwanted car chassis or palm leaves tied to rope and long bamboo sticks on the top, and anchored to giant concrete sinkers on the seabed.

The popular method to fish for tenggiri is by casting or jigging but bottom fishing or drifting can also be used.

For jigging or casting, metal jigs and spoons can be used while live bait is preferred for bottom fishing.

For those who carry out bottom fishing, they can also expect to target species such as jenahak, gerut-gerut and grouper while jigging and casting with feather, pintail, spoon and macro jigs can be effective for trevally and talang, aside from tenggiri.

Fishing for tenggiri in Yan is completely different from anywhere else.

An angler with his tenggiri catch off Yan.

The fish here tend to be choosy about how the bait, lures and mainline are presented.

The best way to catch tenggiri at Yan is to use the duck feather jig — produced locally using white duck feather — tied to a small torpedo-shaped sinker attached with a hook.

This local jig, which is unique in style, is known to be effective and productive in terms of fishing for tenggiri.

However, to use it effectively, one must have a bit of skill to retrieve it quickly in an intermittent fast-stop motion, to imitate the swimming action of a fish.

As for the rod, I prefer a medium action rod with a light set up — a 2000 or 3000 series reel — with a 25- or 30-pound monofilament line.

For a first-timer to Yan, the trip can be exciting and promises not only to bring plenty of challenges but also fun, while learning a thing or two about landing the catch using different methods and skills.

Happy fishing! - Star