... in response to Questions for fishermen, posted by capt david on Nov 6, 2001Hi capt!
I haven’t done any fishing in the Phils for many moons. When I was in Subic Bay in the Navy, we did some fishing in the waters around the base. The Navy ran a sport fishing boat from the base but I never had a chance to try it. Some of the guys caught a lot of large bonito and some barracuda on the boat but that was a long time ago. I know they run fishing charters out of some of the resort areas for Blue Marlin for example, but of course they provide all the tackle.
I took my fishing tackle off base once in 1969 to try some of the local beaches. On the advice of a Filipino shipmate, I stopped at the marketplace in town and picked up a plastic pail and a few dozen small live shrimp. I got a lot of strange stares and a few comments from the locals when I crawled into a jeepney with my fishing pole and again at the market. I guess they all thought I was totally crazy. I went out to a nearby beach resort in the afternoon and picked a spot on the beach. I was hauling in Lapulapu (grouper) like crazy but I think the locals thought it was a sin to use shrimp for bait. I tried to help out a couple of local kids with throw lines by giving them some live shrimp, because they weren’t catching anything. But instead they ran home to have mama cook up the shrimp for dinner. They came back later that evening but never did catch anything.
I have never personally seen a local Filipino with a fishing rod in his hand. They fish for food, not sport, and mostly use baited hand lines or throw nets. The tackle of choice in recent years has been dynamite or cyanide. You could hire a pump boat to take you out for some coastal fishing, but it’s kind of hard with the outriggers sticking out on both sides of the boat.
What I plan to do on my next trip is to bring a couple of those inexpensive lightweight spinning sets that fold up to fit in your suitcase. I could have had a ball at the in-laws house on the Island. The family has a private beach and covered pier and I could see a gazillion fish in the crystal clear waters, especially in early morning and evening. There are a large variety of fish, some very colorful, and it’s kind of pot luck what you catch. You can get fresh minnows (Dilis) anywhere and they should make excellent bait for light tackle fishing.
I wouldn’t bother bringing anything that won’t fit in your suitcase, but do bring hooks, line, jigs, small weights, etc., because fishing tackle is hard to find except in the largest cities. Keep it simple and travel light. If you happen to be staying at a resort on the beach somewhere, break out the rod and ask a local to get you some bait, and try your luck from the shore. It could be fun and anything that you catch they will cook up for you in the kitchen. My favorite is sinugba na isda (barbecued fish). Most of the beaches are either very sandy or very rocky. I’ve seen a lot of sandy beaches where you could walk out for a half-mile and be waist deep.
If this is your first trip, then my guess is that you will never even get your line wet. You’ll be too busy with “other things” :-)… But you’ll have to find that out for yourself. In my experience, with even the most avid sport fishermen, the lure of the native girls is far greater than the lure of the sea (ROFL!).
Ray
