Back to Bali and Lombok

Back to Bali, and Adhek has a new boat!

By John Cahill

Craig serving it up on a Carpenter MH80H

The author locked into the bow sprit

It has been almost 10 months since I last had the chance to fish Bali with Adhek and I considered that long overdue. A trip was organized with past customers Marc, Craig and David who had all enjoyed good fishing with Adhek before. As our late November trip dawned, much to our delight Adhek had purchased a new boat! Whilst GT1 was a legendary vessel it was weary after its many years of battling the Bali and Lombok currents. This new / secondhand boat was impressive. At 13 meters long (42 feet) it is powered by twin 225 hp Suzuki engines, loads of comfort and three impressive casting decks – 5 anglers can cast in ease all at the same time. There are a few photos of her in various poses at the end of this blog.

Our fishing plan was a little varied on past efforts of doing day trips from Bali and we were to stay on Lombok so we could fish that coast line for longer, a night in Kuta Lombok would be a welcome change! Day one was at the home of Bali GT popping – Batu Abah possible my favorite place in the world. Initially the current was a little tame but we were confident that this would not last long as we were only a couple of days after the full moon. 90 minutes later right on cue it was raging and the water mighty promising. The bite window was relatively short, perhaps two hours at best but 6 bites offered enough opportunities (successful lures Fullscale Sidewinder, Fullscale Kong, Strategic Angler Custom Lures Walker Series, Adhek Bali Viking and ASWB SS130 Scad). This bite unfortunately converted to only 2 fish and a very solid reefing and lost Strategic Angler.

Fullscale Sidewinder prototype scores

No hook is safe

Day two was departure time for Lombok, the crossing of the Lombok Strait was rough due to strong current however the trip was uneventful in this seaworthy vessel. At out third popping stop we had not yet seen a fish and we closed in on a location where I have been bricked no less than three times over three trips each time using an Adhek Cuttle. One for tradition, I tied a cuttle on again, tightened the drag and fired in casts. Very delighted to hook up, I did not give the chance over shallow reef with many prominent bommies and although a modest specimen, it was great to finally ‘win’ at this spot. Two spots later David came up very tight on a Temple Reef Ballista Popper and the crew backed the boat out into deeper water. After five minute we still did not have a turn on the reel and sadly the hooks pulled. A few more hits and follows rounded out the day – hard work in full sun. Alas the rest of the day did not see a great return, only one fish boated (lures that got bites, Adhek Bali Cuttle, TempleReef Ballista Popper, ASWB ‘M’ series SS130Scad.

at 1.6 meters overall, that's a brag mat!

Lovely by-catch

A night on Lombok was much welcomed and a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Bali, it was certainly great to pick the brains of Adhek over dinner – a bonus any day. By 11 am the next day as we picked our way down the Lombok coast it was extremely quiet and not looking promising – the call was made to call it quits and head back to Batu Abah – an excellent suggestion. The afternoon there provided three bites with Marc and Craig both scoring lovely fish (Marc's was the fish of the trip on his trusty ASWB SS130 Scad and Craig's on a BFP Swim baits Mafia One. Unfortunately David dropped his fish hooked on a Adhek Viking. The final day back at Batu Abah was to be Craig's day – early on he scored a lovely mahi - mahi on popper followed by no less than three big GT’s all raised on Adhek Big Buffalo one resulting in his PE8 line detonating with a crack at the reel as the fish hit the after burners. No one else had a sniff all day except when the final fish was raised it was tapping and following Craig's Big Buffalo and at the last second switched over to the Adhek Viking I was working back to the boat which resulted in a back breaking vertical fight on a foul hooked fish. Craig was rightly annoyed! Whilst it was hardly a red hot bite it was great to get back to Bali in search of monsters in great company!