Komodo Transition: Tuna, Mackerel, and Reef Action on the Tide Change

Komodo Dry Season: Chase the Tides for Giant Trevally and Mackerel

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Komodo fishing report for this afternoon and evening. We’ve got classic dry-season conditions around Komodo today: mostly **sunny skies**, hot on the water with a bit of haze, light to moderate southeast trade winds in that 8–15 knot range, and seas running around 0.5–1.5 meters in the more open channels. Air temps are sitting in the low 30s, dropping into the mid‑20s after dark. Typical June weather here. Sun popped up around **06:00** and will slip behind the hills just after **18:00**, so that last light window is short but golden. The best bite has been tight to sunrise and again in the last hour before dark, when the current eases and the bait pushes up. Tide-wise, we’re in a **mid‑range** set today, not those crazy spring rips Komodo is famous for, but still plenty of water moving. Around mid‑day we had a higher tide standing and now we’re easing toward the evening low, giving us classic “run‑out” conditions along the reef edges and channel mouths. Here, any moving water is your friend; when it slows too much, the action usually dies. Fish activity has been solid for those reading the current. In the last couple of days, boats working the **rips off the channel edges** have been into good numbers of **giant trevally (GT)** in the 5–20 kg class, with the occasional brute crashing poppers right in the whitewater. There’ve also been plenty of **bluefin trevally**, **queenfish**, and **Spanish mackerel** harassing bait balls on the surface. On the bottom, guys dropping jigs and baits along the deeper ledges are finding **coral trout**, **emperor**, **snapper**, and the odd **amberjack**. For **lures**, the locals are leaning on: - Big **surface poppers** and **stickbaits** in natural sardine, flying fish, or mackerel patterns for GT and mackerel. - 40–120 g **metal jigs** in blue/silver or pink, worked fast in the top half of the water for pelagics, and slower near the bottom for reef fish. - Medium **minnow plugs** and **soft plastics** around current breaks and bommies for trout and emperor. If you’re fishing **bait**, you can’t go wrong with: - Fresh **scad**, **sardine**, or **mackerel** strips for mackerel and trevally. - Chunk baits or whole small fish on a running rig for GT in the deeper eddies. - Squid or cut fish on smaller hooks for mixed reef species. A couple of **hot spots** to keep in mind: First, the **north side of Komodo and the channels toward Gili Lawa**. When the tide is running, those points and saddle areas are insane — big GT smashing bait right on the pressure edges, and mackerel slicing through the nervous water. Drift the edges, don’t anchor in the main flow; a few precise casts into the foamy seams can make your whole day. Second, the **current lines off Batu Bolong and the nearby reefs**. You can’t fish right on the main dive site moorings, but if you set up down‑current and work the outer edges, the structure there holds serious fish. Vertical jigging in 40–80 meters around the breaks will turn up trout, snapper, and sometimes a surprise dogtooth or amberjack when the bait is stacked. Overall, expect **better action early and late**, focus on that moving water, and match your lure size to the local bait — smaller when they’re on tiny whitebait, big and loud when they’re smashing fusiliers. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Komodo Dry Season: Tides, Currents, and Perfect Topwater Conditions

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Komodo fishing report, straight from the straits and reefs the locals work every day. Around Komodo today we’ve had classic dry-season conditions: steady southeast trades, about 10–18 knots, with mostly blue skies and just a few passing clouds. Air temps sat in the high 20s to low 30s, and the sea stayed relatively calm in the lee of the islands but stacked up into short, steep chop in the main channels as that wind pushed against the currents. Sun popped up over the hills around 6:00 this morning and slid behind the western ridges a little after 6:00 this evening, giving a nice, long window of workable light. The early gray light and the last hour before dark were the prime bites; the mid‑day sun pushed most of the bigger fish deeper along drop‑offs and current edges. Tides ran on a typical Komodo cycle: strong moving water on the bigger swings, with the bite switching on right as the current began to build and again on the first of the slowing water. Slack periods were short and generally quiet, but as soon as bait started to stack along the current lines, the action picked up. Inshore around current-swept points and reef edges, the reef gang was active. Anglers reported decent numbers of **coral trout**, **sweetlip**, and **emperor** on fresh cut squid and small live bait pinned just off the bottom. Jigging 40–80 g slow-pitch jigs in natural sardine and pink-glow produced solid mixed bags, including some respectable **trevally** and the odd **small dogtooth tuna** on the outer reef faces. Pelagic-wise, the bluewater edges off the northern and western sides saw **yellowfin tuna** and **mackerel** pushing bait balls right on the color change. Trolled **deep-diving minnows** in blue/white and green mackerel patterns, along with **feather lures** and **small skirted lures** in lumo, accounted for most of the tuna and mackerel hookups. Fly-liners using live scad and small fusiliers did well when the fish were fussy. Topwater junkies had fun during the morning and evening currents, with **GTs (giant trevally)** smashing big stickbaits and poppers worked tight to foaming current lines and reef corners. Natural baitfish colors with a bit of flash were the ticket; the fish shied off overly bright, noisy offerings once the sun got high. For bait, the locals kept it simple and effective: - Fresh **squid** and **cut scad** for reef species. - **Live fusiliers and scad** bridled for GTs, tuna, and dogtooth. - **Small prawns** for a steady pick of reef panfish when the main bite slowed. Two hotspots to keep on your radar: 1. **Karang Makassar / Manta Alley side channels** Work the edges where the main current wraps around the shallow bars. Cast poppers and stickbaits into the whitewater for GTs, and drop slow jigs down the sides for coral trout and emperors. Time it for the start of the flood or ebb; that’s when the bait stacks up and the predators move in. 2. **Northwestern drop-offs of Komodo and nearby small islands** Here the blue water pushes hard against steep reef walls. Troll along the drop-off for tuna and mackerel, then stop and jig once you mark bait. Early and late, throw surface lures for GTs patrolling the edges. Watch your drift—currents can rip, so keep safety tight. Overall, action has been steady rather than wild, with quality fish for those who time the tides, respect the currents, and match their lures to the local bait. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more local fishing reports and tips. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Komodo Strait Fire: Tuna, GT's, and Current Line Gold

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Komodo fishing report from the deck, looking out across a glassy Flores Sea. Around Komodo today the southeast trades are in charge: steady SE wind about 10–15 knots, seas a bit choppy in the channels but calm enough in the lee of the islands. Skies mostly clear with some high cloud, hot by midday, cooler once that wind kicks. Sunrise was just after 6 in the morning, sunset right around 6 in the evening, so your golden windows were first light to about 9 a.m., then again from 4 p.m. to dark. We’re sitting on a solid mid‑day high with decent tidal movement on either side. Big water pushing through the Komodo and Lintah Straits has been firing up the current lines and eddies. The bite’s been best on the falling tide as the water starts to rip, especially along reef edges and pressure points. Offshore, the last few days have been kind. Local charter skippers around Labuan Bajo are reporting good numbers of yellowfin and skipjack tuna, plus a few dorado riding the current lines. Most boats working the drop‑offs between Komodo and Padar have been picking 5–15 tuna a trip, mainly schoolies in the 5–15 kilo range, with the odd bigger model mixed in. Narrow‑profile metal jigs, 40–80 grams in blue–silver and green–gold, have been doing damage when dropped into the marks, and small skirted lures trolled at 6–7 knots have been bending rods consistently. Closer to the reefs, the jigging and bottom fishing crew have been busy. Around Batu Bolong and the slopes off Sebayur and Tatawa, anglers have been boating good coral trout, spangled emperor, red bass, and various trevally. Slow‑pitch jigs in pink glow or orange, 60–120 grams depending on depth and current, are the top artificial. For bait, nothing beats fresh squid, scad, or small cut sardine pinned on a strong 5/0–7/0. The trick is to fish the slack and early run before the current turns brutal. GT hunters have had some heart‑stopping moments on the reef edges of South Rinca and Karang Makassar. Big poppers in white, bone, or mackerel pattern, plus stickbaits with a strong roll, are getting followed and smashed on the up‑current corners where the water boils. You might only get a few proper shots a session, but they’re worth the effort—fish over 20 kilos have been sighted and a handful landed. If you’re fishing bait from a smaller boat, try anchoring on the shoulders of the current, not right in the middle of the river. Freeline a live scad or small fusilier back into the wash for Spanish mackerel and trevally. If you’re throwing plastics, 4–6 inch paddle tails in natural baitfish colours, rigged on 1–2 ounce jig heads, are a smart choice along the drop‑offs. Couple of hot spots to keep in mind: First, the reefs and channels around Tatawa Besar on a moving tide—good mix of pelagics and reef fish, just watch that current and respect the park rules. Second, the deeper edges off Karang Makassar, especially where the manta cleaning stations drop into blue water; work your jigs and deep divers along those contour lines for tuna, trevally, and the odd surprise. That’s the word from Komodo for now. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Komodo Dry Season: GTs, Dogtooth, and Current-Edge Tactics

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your afternoon fishing report for the Komodo area. Out here today we had classic dry‑season conditions: mostly clear skies, light to moderate southeast trades blowing 10–15 knots, and air temps sitting around 29–31°C mid‑day. The sea state between Komodo and Rinca has been a bit choppy on the channels, but calmer in the lee of the islands. Typical sunrise was just after 6 in the morning, with sunset around 6 in the evening, so we’ve got a tight, 12‑hour tropical window to work with. Tides around Komodo are always powerful, and today was no exception. We had strong running water on the bigger channels during the morning and late afternoon, with softer neaps and eddies on the inside bays around the top and bottom of the tide. Current lines and pressure points have been the key – anywhere that flow hits a reef corner or a rock outcrop has been holding bait and predators. Fish activity has been solid. Around the reef drop‑offs and current edges we’ve seen good numbers of dogtooth tuna, GTs (giant trevally), bluefin trevally, and some solid coral trout. The bluewater edges have produced decent yellowfin and skipjack, plus the usual mixed mackerel. Boats working poppers and stickbaits over shallow bommies have raised plenty of GTs, with a few fish in the 20–30 kilo class coming boat‑side. Jigging in 40–80 meters has brought up amberjack, dogtooth, and snapper, with some by‑catch of ruby snapper and grouper for the table. For lures, heavy surface poppers in natural baitfish or white, and medium stickbaits in sardine or flying‑fish patterns have been the standout for GTs and trevally. Metal jigs from 80–200 grams with a slim profile in blue, silver, or pink have been doing damage on the deeper reefs. Soft plastics on heavy jigheads, 5–7 inch in pearl or chartreuse, are picking up trout and snapper when worked tight to structure. If you’re fishing bait, fresh is king. Live scad, small fusiliers, or squid bridled and drifted along the current edges have been deadly for dogtooth and big trevally. Fresh cut bonito or mackerel strips on the bottom are pulling snapper and grouper. Use strong leaders – these Komodo fish live in nasty country and they fight dirty. A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: first, the current lines off the northern points of Komodo where the deep water pushes up onto the reef. Work those pressure edges on the pushing tide with poppers and deep jigs. Second, the channels between Komodo and Rinca – areas with standing waves and boiling current – have been very productive when the tide starts to move, especially for GTs and dogtooth. That’s the word from the water. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Komodo Dry Season: GT Runs and Reef Fish in the Afternoon Tide

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Komodo fishing report for this afternoon. Out here around Komodo and Rinca we’ve had a classic dry‑season pattern: steady southeast trades 10–15 knots, gusting a bit more in the channels, with air temps sitting around 29–31°C and the humidity still up but not brutal. Skies have been mostly clear with a light haze, and the sea state outside the islands is a short 1–1.5 m chop, but inside the straits the lee pockets are very workable in a small boat. Sun came up early over the eastern side of Komodo, just after 6, and it’ll be dropping behind the islands around half past 6 this evening. That gives a nice long in‑between light both dawn and dusk, and today those low‑light windows have lined up well with the moving water. The tide has been running on a medium range. We had a decent morning flood pushing in from the south, and it’s been easing into an afternoon ebb through the main straits. Around the tighter passes like Karang Makassar and the channel between Komodo and Rinca, the current has really been ripping, so smaller boats are sticking to the edges and eddies where it’s safer and the fish are stacking up. Fish activity has been good whenever the current edges soften. Pelagics have been working bait schools off the drop‑offs. Boats working the current lines off Karang Makassar reported packs of GTs and smaller dogtooth shadowing fusiliers; a few solid GTs in the 10–20 kg class came boatside, with some bigger models busted off in the rough stuff. Yellowfin have been scattered, mostly school fish, with a couple around the 20 kg mark taken by crews slow‑trolling live scad along the outer reef faces. Inshore around the coral edges and bommies, the reef fish bite has been steady. Anglers soaking fresh cut squid and small livebait have brought up a mix of coral trout, sweetlip, and a few nice mangrove jacks tight to the structure, especially in the mangrove‑lined bays on the north side of Rinca. A handful of Spanish mackerel have been patrolling the corners of the reefs where the current hits first; most of those fish came on trolled bibbed minnows and small metal spoons in natural baitfish colors. For lures, the locals have been leaning on big surface stickbaits and cup‑faced poppers for GT and other brutes along the reef edges—think 120–180 mm in sardine, bonito, or flying‑fish colors. Work them across the whitewater of the current breaks and over the heads of the bommies. Subsurface, heavy jigging metal in the 80–150 g range dropped into the deeper channels has turned up dogtooth, jobfish, and the odd amberjack. When the sun is high and the water clear, natural colors and a bit of flash have outfished bright patterns. Best bait right now: live fusilier, scad, or small garfish for the big predators, and fresh squid or strip baits for the reef dwellers. If you can’t get live, a well‑presented dead bait slow‑trolled just outside the reef edge is still putting fish in the boat. A couple of hot spots to think about: - The edges of **Karang Makassar** (“Manta Point”): fish the up‑current and down‑current ends of the reef where the bait piles into the pressure waves. Work surface lures early, then switch to jigs once the sun is up. - The channel between **Komodo and Rinca** near the small islets: focus on the back‑eddies behind the islands on a slowing tide. That’s where the bait and the predators both take a breather and you can work lures without getting swept off the spot. Mind the currents, respect the park rules, and keep an eye out for dive boats and mantas on the popular reefs. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn