[caranx]

All right, I got this news for you, paradise for jiggers exists and is frankly a hell of a paradise. Let me cut this short, I got Mathias Henningsen involved with my crazy plan, he actually tried jigging the rock with some stuff I have sent him but we both wanted to give it a better try. Harmattan was the great fishing platform, a 36' Rampage Express extremely well equipped for the main porpouse, marlin fishing. Let's talk about marlin first, Blue Marlin to be exact. I was in the boat with two guys whos target was the prized billfish, Pat and Jaab, Texan and Dutch, great guys to be with. The plan was to troll during the day for Marlin and around 6 pm to start a jigging session, either anchored to a bouy or drifting. And marlin fishing we went, freshly landed .... and Marlin we saw To be exact the first one who showed after the teaser came up something like 30 minutes after we started, and in the next 4 hours 4 more either followed the teasers or charged them and attempted to the bait and switch. 5 Marlin in less then 5 hours, I'm not a billfish expert but I assume it can't get any better than this.... During the next 5 days of fishing we saw 10 more fish, hooked 5 I guess and landed 2, no monsters but a hell of a great fishery, Ascension Island was keeping up with it's fame. Together we had a bunch of very brave Sailfish striking the big Konas, 2 of them eventually bit the iron and one, over 120lb was quite a nice catch.
Jigging time now, oh boy ! On the second day we moored at the buoy around 6pm, I dropped the jig and maybe on my first or second attempt I had a Tuna on, lost it for a bad line, as well as the second and the third. Not the most appropiate start, thus a lot of fish below the boat. I finally landed my first Tuna, and so did the other two guys, we left the buoy around 9:30pm or a bit later with a vast amount of strikes. On day two again at the mooring and again tuna time. Many strikes and nice fish between 20 and 80lb, a hell of a lot of fun on medium tackle. I also landed a 50lb Oilfish, on my first and only drop to the bottom. Everybody was tired and we left the buoy after a couple of hours. Day 3 is the first not so serious attempt to jig the drop-offs while drifting. Nothing spectacular, just a couple millions Black Jack and no mayor take. Day 4 we try again, more seriously but again, only for maybe an hour. Black Jacks, Black Jacks, Black Jacks.... and a big strike, rod bent, drag singing and a great fight. Amberjack! I yell to the capt'n, and a nice one. We found them between 55 and 85 metres of water, 2 in a row in a very short time, 50 and 30 lb, well actually the second one was around that weight tail included but the sharks happened to meet her before I could bring her up. Once I found the AJs (almaco Jack to be exact, Seriola Rivoliana) I thought that the place passed the test with a 10/10. I jigged for less than 15 hours altogether and I was hooked for probably 12 hours in total, fish after fish. And if you think that Black jacks are a nuisance, wait for the big ones to show in between, there is a good bunch of them. In addiction to what we caught there is a good number of Wahoo waiting to bite an iron, more bottom species and more pelagics, I cannot imagine what you could land in a whole week seriously dedicated to jigging, few records I bet and sore armpits for sure. Paradise is there, pretty far, pretty isolated and very pretty itself. Ascension, I'll see you again, I just hope Mathias liked my company

Here's some pictures

THE ROCK



The Harmattan



A beach



Caranx lugubris, one of the 27 millions that we caught



More to follow

ciao

Nicola

[caranx]

More pictures, with my digital camera with an obvious probles with the"white"

One of the Tunas



Oilfish



The bigger AJ



As soon as I'm able to scan some of the slides I will post few more images here. Sorry for the skinny report, I've just come back and I had a lot of work to do

ciao

Nicola

[Roddy Hays]

Nichola,

Ah you lucky man !! I can't wait to get back to Ascension one day, and it won't just be for the marlin, enthralling as that fishery can be sometimes ! Reading your post brings back all the magic of that place and the threatened promise everyday of fish unknown, big and seriously wild.

When I went down there in 2003 to run the Harmattan for five weeks I was kindly lent two rods by Bertrand (not sure what denomination) and I bought a 16000 Stella for the one rod and packed an Emblem 6000 for the other. Suffice to say the lighter three-piece rod was broken by a client on a 10lb black jack who thought a popping rod could be brought vertical when the fish was at his feet. The Emblem survived the BJ's okay, though I doubt it would do anything with a 20K+ GT !

Bertrand's big rod and the Stella formed a lovely partnership but was only testd by oilfish and BJ's. The tuna were very absent when we were there and as it was my reel I refused to let the combo be used for general fishing - I also had my eye on using it down the windy side at that spot where the wahoo come close enough to be caught from the shore. Alas, the one day that we were free and the wind was down, I was ill with flu and didn't go with the others. They did, and although the blue stripey ones were absent the boys had great fun with BJ's up to 40lbs or so - some nice fish for that species. Personally I got bored of catching those black devils on spinning gear and used the flyrod instead whenever I got the chance, a much more challenging task but better suited to the size of the fish. I hope the boys don't damage the stock of those fish too much with the need for six-gill baits. They're too easy to catch and if they're like GT's they will be quickly reduced in numbers I think.

But, back to the point of this post........I knew there were AJ's and almaco jacks in Ascension, and even some caranx hippos apparently, but we failed to find them on any of the occasions we tried for them. Talking to the locals did not produce much info which would make sense since if the fish were in deep water like Hawaii you'd only find them by chumming (if fishing commercially), and the only reason you'd be chumming would be to catch YF and we all know what AJ's and amalcos do when YF turn up - they bugger off. Anyway, we passed many an hour trying for the big two, but never struck gold. One morning, however, as we broke off the mooring and slipped out over the edge it was flat calm, and as the water started to drop from 60 m to 200m, and the colour changed from that beautiful green to the blue, I saw a group of fish ahead of Harmattan on the surface. I first thought they were cobia, but as we closed the distance at 25 knots I rapidly stopped leaning nonchantly on the console up in the tower and stiffened with surprise. Scattering in front of the boat and pushing away in great boils and rushes of water was a mixed shoal of AJ's and almocos, some of them of mind-boggling size, triple-digit fish to be sure. The party on board was a marlin-mad crew who couldn't give a damn about what we'd run over and so we carried on out to the edge as I cried into my sunscreen !! The water where we ran over the fish was 150m or so deep. I have no idea what they were doing, but I can only surmise that if they weren't sunbathing then they were doing something associated with breeding.

Never did see a horse-eye although a local diver did say they did exist, along with
guelly jacks - that peculiar bottom feeding species with carp-like mouths.

When I go back to Ascension I want to have a boat for a week, loaded with the right gear, all of Steve Badman's knife jigs and loads of those other cool Japanese jigs, a bunch of poppers and have fun with everything but the marlin. I think we'll need some live chum too............and plenty of Tuf line !!

Oh, and the oilfish get my vote too - Jason Pipe had a 120lb fish on a 30lb outfit for over an hour and nearly came totally unglued towards the end of the fight - and he's a good angler too ! I didn't catch a big one but would loved to have done so. They pull like a freight train.

Gotta go, and thanks for the story Nichola. Hmm.............

Roddy

PS: anyone interested in reading a bit about my stay down there can do so here :
Ascension story

[Ravelling]

Nichola,

Ah you lucky man !!  I can't wait to get back to Ascension one day, and it won't just be for the marlin, enthralling as that fishery can be sometimes !  Reading your post brings back all the magic of that place and the threatened promise everyday of fish unknown, big and seriously wild.

........................................and more ................

Roddy

PS: anyone interested in reading a bit about my stay down there can do so here :
Ascension story

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had a few YFT of 50-80 lb on the mooring (the one in 200metres, where we got the six-gills) and also some Bull's Eye snapper (beautiful looking and good eating). The curious thing was, whereas I found the YFT quite easy on 30# gear, when I handed one off on gear with a knot in the mainline (a reel had given up the ghost, when under no particular pressure) the lad who took over proceeded to take an hour of hard work over it. Could be he was applying far too little pressure (because he knew about the knot) or that it was about 100 lb rather than 80. Maybe there is something about the style of pumping. I don't know.

When we tried jigging in daylight in much shallower water (for spotted Grouper) I tried using a cedar plug as a jig (lead end down) and adding a collar of Jelltex sandeels like a skirt. Well the fish destroyed the "tentacles" and completely avoided the hook. A bit like when I tried a Storm Wildeye swim shad for the trigger fish - they stripped it back to the (internal) lead and none were ever hooked.

I agree with Nicola and Roddy about the feel of Ascension. Even on the rare days when the fishing is only "fairly good", you get a strong premonition that at any moment you could be hooked up to something amazing ! perhaps something even a little scary (in a nice kind of way)


Damn the place is addictive - just ask TJ !

[caranx]

Ravelling, I was testing my new Lamiglas CHJ5650 rated 50lb and really giving the rod a hard time. The Tunas and the AJs were a good test (maybe a tad too small) for the pole and matched with a Saltiga 6000 and 65lb braid I would land those critters (same weight as yours) in about 3 to 8 minutes.
Heavy pressure I bet

I will be probably back to Ascension next year but this time it will be a full jigging and popping trip, I'm sure that many surprises will be awaiting for us

ciao

Nicola

[Ravelling]

Oh I envy you ! (thinks: must stop spending so much on tackle and start saving some of the money towards actually going fishing ! )

[TJ Hook]

Got back a few days ago from my latest trip to Ascension. Unfortunately the small boat I intended to use was out of water due to divers running into rocks so only managed 3 jigging trips out with a local guy. (I fished some more but unfortunately using bait as the local guy wanted meat not sport)
I still had a great time trying out the new Torium reel filled with 80# Tuf XP. First trip (late afternoon/early evening) had 6 YFT to 45lb but lost loads more due to bad hook-up rate. (I fished 2 assist hooks from top of lure, for these smaller fish I maybe should have hung a treble on the bottom too)
Fishing deep (110m) hooked a couple of freight trains, which were both lost, not sure what they were. Maybe big Amberjacks or Bigger YFT. Second trip had a couple more YFT, but then they kept turning into sharks (Hammer & Galapagos) half way through fight. Fished once more with jigging gear had a nice mixed bag including YFT, Rainbow Runner, 1 Dorado, & 1 small (25lb) Wahoo. I took a 6 foot 6 inch solid carbon pirking rod, strong but paid a heavy price as fore grip was too short & it was reel hard work fighting the fish. I mostly used jigs I had made myself & found that plain alloy seemed to do as well as anything.
Whilst I was there Marty Bates the Kiwi deckie from SHY III had some great popping sport from the Turtle Pond Rocks in Georgetown. Best fish a 60# Amberjack & he lost 2 poppers to bigger fish. Not bad sport from shore I say. There was a couple of big bait shoals in the bay & several big predators including YFT were in casting range.
Jigging was fun but certainly a lot harder work then the bait fishing I am used too. A couple of the locals were surprised to see me catch fish on jigs & one good friend is has taken several jigs to try in St Helena which I am sure will be the first time jigs have been used there.
One interesting thing is you can fish some of the inshore marks during the day that you cannot fish with bait. The super prolific Black triggers strip your bait in seconds but using jigs is a real winner
I plan to return late Feb for another 11 days; this time I will spend more of the time Jigging/Popping. I will have a proper jigging rod by then & hopefully access to the boat I want.

Tightlines,
TJ

[caranx]

TJ, very interesting, I like the idea of being challenged by those fish in the -110mt mark... Also I love to hear that good AJs strike poppers, is just what I needed. A tad more than 2 months for me to get there, cant wait

ciao

Nicola

[TJ Hook]

Gents,
For those who may not have seen this report from Matthias Capt on Harmattan elsewhere, looks like Nicola & friends are having a OK time down Ascension.
Tightlines,
TJ

April 2nd 2006
At the moment we are fishing with some Jiggers from Spain. The last 5 days we only fished for 5 hours for Blue Marlin and raised 2 Blues. The rest of the time we have spent Jigging. Our result is around 100 fish per day, mainly Black Jacks and Amberjacks but also a few tuna and wahoo. Yesterday we had around 130 fish, over 50 of them were Amberjack. Today we had the biggest catch so far, a 130 lb Big Eye Tuna on a Jig.
Tight lines,
Matthias Henningsen

[EL INGLES]

Hi Tim,
Any idea on the size of them amberjack' i know there's tons of black jack and even though are tough fighting little buggers they are little, but i can imagine that down there there must be some big a.j's have you had any nice ones??
looking fwd to nicolas report.
J.

[caranx]

We've just come back from Ascension for an hardcore jigging trip, here's some pictures, chatting later

Ascension Photo Report

Ciao

Nicola

[Ravelling]

" Aaaaah! " (wishin' I were fishin' !)

Beautiful photos, Nicola !

[catalyst]

Great report Nicola!

[caranx]

Ascension is one of those magical palces, one of the few left in this poor planet. I don't think I ever experienced anything symilar while deep jigging, and I believe I probably won't again, until I go back to the rock. What lacked a bit was the big guns, but we had the chance to land 2 Bigeyes around/over 100lb that really lit up the trip. I was expecting bigger AJs, I know they're there and we probably didn't go over 60lb, and bigger YFY, but this is seasonally and we had some around 70 to 80lb. Numbers added up to numbers, 6 rods bent altogether, more than 1 ton of fish in one day (released...beside tuna for dinner and sushi) and a nice variety of predators.
Ascension fish ain't particulary fuzzy, we had luck with many different jigs and very few didn't work as consistently as others. Big jigs did a bit of selection on smaller fish, but still the Black Jack and the little AJs were damn aggressive. I believe that with a future trip we can do a much better job, we spent some time finding the right depths and the right drifts and I'm sure more oportunities will arise. If I'd go back now, i'd probably concentrate my efforts on the large Tunas, by far the strongest and difficult fish to land. maybe next year....

ciao

Nicola

[TJ Hook]

Hi Jason,

There are some bigger AJ's over 100 but most of the "AJ's" seem to be Almaco Jacks (Seriola rivoliana) which do not get as big as the Greater Amberjacks. Have seen some nice Greater Amberjacks schooled up breeding (think you & Roddy may have seen the same when you where there) but when they are like that they won't even take a live bait never mind a jig. My biggest AJ's where taken in 120m but up about 15m from the reef itself.

Nicola,

Thanks for posting the great report & photo's. I would have loved to be down there to see how you guys do it. Looking at the photo's you stayed at Paradise Beach, great place to stay.
Few questions please;

1. Where most of your deepwater Jacks, Almaco's?
2. Did you catch any Horse-eyes Jacks & Dog Snappers?
3. What about Deepwater Bullseyes & Deepwater Grouper any big ones?

Tightlines,

TJ

Este tema ha sido editado por TJ Hook: 08 April 2006 - 05:11 PM

[caranx]

Hi Jason,

There are some bigger AJ's over 100 but most of the "AJ's" seem to be Almaco Jacks (Seriola rivoliana) which do not get as big as the Greater Amberjacks. Have seen some nice Greater Amberjacks schooled up breeding (think you & Roddy may have seen the same when you where there) but when they are like that they won't even take a live bait never mind a jig. My biggest AJ's where taken in 120m but up about 15m from the reef itself.

Nicola,

Thanks for posting the great report & photo's. I would have loved to be down there to see how you guys do it. Looking at the photo's you stayed at Paradise Beach, great place to stay.
Few questions please;

1. Where most of your deepwater Jacks, Almaco's?
2. Did you catch any Horse-eyes Jacks & Dog Snappers?
3. What about Deepwater Bullseyes & Deepwater Grouper any big ones?

Tightlines,

TJ

TJ,

during my first trip I have found Almacos but in this trip we caught a good deal of Greater AJs, and it puzzles me that none of the big girls showed up. No Horse Eye was caught, we saw them around one big boat anchored outside Georgetown but none took our lures. No other grouper rather than RockHind was caught abnd I'm not sure I know what a Bullyeye is. BTW, I saw your book at the hotel

Ciao

Nicola

[TJ Hook]

Hi Nicola,

This is what I call a Deepwater Bullseye:
http://img.photobuck...OK/Bullseye.jpg

This is a Deepwater Grouper:
http://img.photobuck...aterGrouper.jpg

Both are great eating & will take jigs, in fact jigs normally catch bigger fish then bait would. Normally you catch the Grouper during the day then Bullseye feed better dusk & night time. Oilfish are normally pest when fishing for Bullseyes.

Next time I update my book I will mention jigging more, as now it is a method used with good effect at Ascension.

Pleased you like Ascension, for me I love it for sure. My next trip is 18th May, then the shore should be warming up with the fry around, popping & casting should be A1.

Tightlines,
TJ

[sailfish1]

Hi Nicola
what a great report and pics
what weight of jigs you used for your CHJ5650?

TJ
I am sure that your next trip will be a full jigging trip and I may be there with you
see you in AZORES in sept

[caranx]

TJ,

yes we caught Bulleyes, not sure about the Groupers though, I thought they all were Rock Hind.

JJ, in terms of jigs weight I was a bit wrong because the firts time I used them in the 200/250g range and this time it was obviously too light. The wind and the current make strong drifts around the island and 250g was a tad too light. I had the best results with fast sinking jigs in the 300/350g range and slower sinking jigs over 350. Next time I'll only bring jigs heavier than 300/350g. BTW, the CHJ5650 behaved incredibly well

ciao

Nicola

[TJ Hook]

Nicola,
By a long way the vast majority of the grouper inshore are Rock Hinds with a few Red Hind mixed in. (they don't have the saddle on the tail wrist like the Rock Hinds) Biggest Rock Hind I have seen went 13lbs. I like to fish for them from some of the deepwater shore marks at the back (East) of the island, it's good fun & they taste good too.
There are also a few Jewfish although I have never caught one myself. (know a couple of diver friends who have had a shock from them when entering caves)
In water deeper then 120m you find the Deepwater Grouper Pontinus nigropunctatus but they are not everywhere & normally found on a very rough bottom with caves etc. Same locations as the Bullseyes but taken during day, they are in the area of the mooring off the pipeline. Only other bottom fish really worth talking about are the Dog Snappers but the problem is getting past the black Jacks I suppose. Have caught some nice Sand Tilefish on jigs in water about 45m & even a couple of Queen Triggers. My most unusual jig captures at Ascension are an Imperial Codfish of about 20lbs & a Milky Mouth Jack. Hopefully I will manage to catch some more species with jigs on my next visit.

JJ,
I unfortunately will not see you in Azores in Sep as I did not make the team this year. I believe you will see Jason (El Ingles) there though so you can have a good chat about the jigging in Rodrigues & Mauritius.

Tightlines,
TJ