Bassas Trip Report

[MCC]

MC COETZERS FLY TACKLE TIPS








FLY TACKLE



•10 wt rod & floating line for the Parrots and Triggers on the atoll. Crab patterns in sizes 2 and 1 in tan or cream with a bit of orange worked best. Make sure that you have a range of weights (especially lighter weights) and all flies must have good coral guards on both sides of the hook. Despite a lot of advice that the hooks are going to get chewed to bits by the Parrots, the small Gamakatsu SC12’s stood up extremely well. Forty crabs should be just about enough for five days’ fishing but don’t forget some very light flies for the Triggers at dead low tide when there is hardly any water movement and they are extremely skittish.



•12 wt rod & intermediate line for the Bohars on the atoll, the Black GT’s off the boat and some of the smaller species close to the outer edges of the atoll. On the atoll you’ll do well with a variety of Brush Flies in 6/0 to 8/0 and on the outside you can’t go wrong with some Clousers in 4/0 to 8/0. The Black GT’s are particularly partial to small #2 clear Clousers or similar sprat patterns fished at night at the edges of light around the yacht.



•For more serious offshore work you will need the 14 wt combined with a 700 grain fast sinking line. This is for the Yellowfin and Wahoo which can even be caught while the yacht is on a mooring.



•Good wading boots are a must and knee pads will help a lot when stalking the Parrots.

[MCC]

ANDRE VAN WYKS TACKLE TIPS







RODS AND REELS



•Popping/Casting – I unfortunately arrived at Bassas with the tip guide of my main Stickbait rod (Jigging Master GT Monster 86) broken off, so couldn’t be put to use. Having a slightly longer rod when fishing from a large boat is certainly a blessing as it gives you increased casting distance to reach the reef. Fernando put his JM GT Monster 86 to good use, as did Franz with his 9ft Custom Purglas from Enigma.



•I fished heavy Stickbaits ( 150 and 200 gram )on a Ripplefisher 79H matched to a Stella 18000 with 130lb braid and Wind On leaders. The outfit performed flawlessly… I was loaded for bear… Other than that huge GT that gave me chillies, I didn’t have a single fish pull more than 4 metres of line off me on this set up… I like to bully fish! 



•Smaller Stickbaits and Large plastics I fished a Ocean Revolution Stealth STK76 matched to a Stella 6000FA spooled with PE 5 braid… Flawless set up…



•Parrotfish and Tight spoons/plastics – Berkley Air Extra Heavy, Daiwa Hertate HD 3500 Custom, PE 3. Perfect outfit for this.



•Jigging - We didn’t spend as much time heavy jigging as we thought we would, as we focused more on the topwater bite, and light jigging in the evenings… But I had along:



•Jigging Master 100 matched with a Daiwa Ryoga – Amazing set up for light jigging, with the guts to bully a decent fish when you need it



•JigStar 250 Spin matched to a Stella 8000FA – Taught a few Men in Grey suits a couple lessons on this set up



•Jigging Master 3 Kings Special matched to Alutecnos Gorilla 20 – Potato Bass Slayer… I doubt there is a tougher or stronger jigging set up on the market anywhere… awesome.



LURES



•Topwater it was all about the Stickbaits. DarkStar Ulua’s, Wahoo’s and Bopara’s were the way to go for me… We got so zoned into the Stickbaits we didn’t fish poppers much, but I definitely think they have their time and place at Bassas.



JIGS



•As we mainly fished light jigging, all my success came on SW Labs Leaf Jigs, Squiddie Jigs, and Buck Tail jigs rigged with plastic tails, as well as JigStar Swivel Head jigs, rigged with extra Large Worm Hooks and 7 inch plastics.