Squid Jigging in Terengganu

Getting Jiggy With it

Fifty fishing boats, each carrying six to eight passengers, depart from Kampung Penarik jetty and head for Pulau Chepu.

Shuib Taib gets to cross off squid jigging on his bucket list

SOTONG bakar (charcoal-burnt squid). Sotong kangkung (squid with water convolvulus). Sotong kering (dried squid). Sambal sotong (squid sambal). Unless you are allergic to seafood or are a vegetarian, it is safe to assume that you have eaten all of the above.

Squid aficionados go further by talking about their favourite sotong — whether it is sotong ghambang, sotong katak or sotong tarok.

Yet, while all these are in bountiful supply off our shores, how many of us can claim we have caught a squid?

Mention squid jigging and choppy waters, long hours and seasickness probably come to mind.

But the presence of bloggers, TV and radio crews as well as more than 100 media personnel from around the world in Terengganu (and the presence of 600 policemen, tour guides and State Tourism personnel) is enough to inspire you to kick that one thing off your bucket list.

Indeed, to mark Visit Malaysia Year 2014, Terengganu Tourism leads the way by inviting writers and bloggers from Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, UK, US, Australia, Germany, Iran, Hong Kong, India, Chile and Malaysia to attend the one-week Terengganu International Squid Jigging Fest 2014.

In no time friendships are made, business cards exchanged and selfies taken at almost every tourist stop, on the coach, on the boat and almost everywhere else.

THRILLS AND SPILLS

Fifty fishing boats, each carrying six to eight passengers, depart from Kampung Penarik jetty and head for Pulau Chepu.

In a nearby sampan, Mr Macho from Korea is sunbathing while the local media jostle for the best position in the boat to avoid the 5pm sun. After 30 minutes of cruising along the meandering river, the water changes colour from brown to ocean blue.

Fishing boats travelling in convoys.

Then we see azure blue waters as our boat approaches open sea. As it moves further from the shore, the blue sea gets darker, suggesting greater depths.

The sun is shining brightly, making the sky crimson orange with streaks of pink. It is breathtaking and so far, the water is calm. No choppy seas. After 90 minutes, the boat finally stops.

The boatmen say squid is easy to catch during high tide on a cloudy or rainy night. Since it is neither, I expect a tough time ahead.

Squid generally start feeding after dark but we take out our jigs anyway, cast them into the ocean to sink to a depth where squid may be lurking.

Although there are many ways to fish for squid, jigging is the most popular and productive method.

By now, most of the 50 boats are anchored within reasonable distance from one another. There is still some daylight left. So we wait until it turns dark before we can hope to catch any squid. I take this opportunity to get some nice shots of the sunset.

Spotlights are turned on at night to lure the sotong.

Read more: Getting jiggy with it - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/getting-jiggy-with-it-1.576957#ixzz31YLsMfEM

Nothing much happens for the next 20 minutes until someone in another boat lets out an excited scream followed by loud cheers of “yay” from the team. It can’t be more telling. Someone has caught a squid!

When it finally turns dark, our boatman switches on a spotlight and points it at the sea. Squid are is attracted to light.

We continue to raise our jigs up and down and then bam! I feel something in my jig. Excitedly, I pull it out of the water, only to find nothing!

On the contrary, one of the boatmen is on a roll. Squid after squid bite his jig, even when he is on a cell phone!

Almost three hours have passed and my team hasn’t done too badly, with our boatman having caught the most number of squid, along with a few species of fish. Altogether, he fished about 20 squid in all shapes and sizes.
“The next time you want to go squid jigging, bring me along. I seem to bring a lot of luck to you,” I say to him, much to his amusement.

Fresh from the sea.

BEST SOTONG AWARDS

At the end of the day, winners receive hotel vouchers courtesy of several hotels in Terengganu. The top prize is a Terengganu holiday package worth RM10,000. Some categories like Most Caught Squid are divided into local and international.

But two other categories send all the participants into stitches. In the Most Unique Catch, the winner has caught an octopus instead of a squid.

The Earliest Vomit award was picked up by a fellow countryman who threw up merely 25 minutes into the sea!

The Terengganu International Squid Jigging Fest 2014 was held from April 11-17.

Read more: Getting jiggy with it - Travel - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/holiday/getting-jiggy-with-it-1.576957#ixzz31YKGa3Hc