Fishing In Bali With Bali Wahoo: Wahoooooooooooo!

Intro

If you know anything about me at all, you know that fishing is just part of me. Since I grew up, I have fished in multiple places around the world, whether it be catfishing at a lake outside of Chicago, or landing a grander black marlin off the coast of Vilankulo. 

Well, during my week at home in Bali, I had the opportunity to head out with a long-time friend, Wayan, on a game fishing day trip. 

Cost 550 USD for 8 hours. Included is lunch, drinks (12 beers), all equipment, and snacks. Off season seems to run from Sep/Oct-Feb, peak season March-Jul,y from what I can tell with no real data… 

Departure/Boat

The night before, Wayan confirmed with me that he would personally pick me up bright and early at 7 am (we headed out later due to tide change being later in the afternoon). Come the next morning, Wayan was there bright and early to pick me up, and we headed off to the launch point for the boat in Nusa Dua. It’s a little bit of a trek down there during the afternoons, but during the day it only takes about 40 odd minutes if you’re lucky. 

Bye, home, let's try and bring back a fish!

Ahh yes, the land of the scooters "Bike, BIKE, BIKEEEENUFNJFNRFRFNJ 😅"

Seeing the deckhands once again (I have fished with Wayan and his crew many times), we exchanged greetings and stepped onboard the 38-foot twin outboard (for those that aren’t fishing geeks, it means that the engines are above water and not below). The boat is nicely equipped with a front deck to sunbathe on, an upstairs to have some drinks on, as well as an interior with benches, and a toilet down below. Look, it’s not a 47 Viking, but we are in Bali… 

It's a beautiful boat, honestly.

The interior is perfect for napping in the shade, or twiddling your thumbs, praying that a wahoo takes the short corner. To each their own.

The front is a nice place for napping as well

Heading snorkelling? Jump off the top with a front flip. Just don't belly flop like me 😅

They do fish with 5 rods on Bali Wahoo. 2 on the riggers (running off outriggers), 2 on the corners, and 1 short on the shotgun

Paying the 550$ (around 7 million IDR), we fired up the engines and made our way out towards Nusa Lembongan. 

Is There Any Fish Here? 

Probably not 😅. There is something you need to know before fishing in Bali. This isn’t as if you are gamefishing with 130’s on the Great Barrier Reef, it’s more about being out on the boat for the day, cracking a few cold ones, and sharing those famous fishing stories from your past. Alternatively, Wayan also offers some fantastic snorkelling with Manta Rays if you get “unlucky”. 

Patrolling the waters. It can get choppy out here, but Wayan will let you know before and offer to reschedule free of charge.

See!!! Manta Rays!

Wayan tends to work along the Lembongan island when game fishing, specifically around the big rock, and will drive over a few pinnacles while reminiscing about the old days when they would have all 5 rods go berserk when crossing. Unfortunately, Bali has been overfished by commercial fishermen, especially out to the West. 

Finally got to the big rock, but nothing. Zilch.

In the first 4 or so hours, we landed a few small bonnies on some feathers, but nothing of decent size was raised. You know what was decent: bumping some Cold Heart by Elton John, having one too many Bintangs, and soaking in that ocean breeze. 

Or Is There?

After 6 hours of seeing no fish along the 7-mile stretch, we made our way back towards Nusa Dua in hopes of raising something across the straights. 10 large Bintangs in and feeling like this day was a wash (fish-wise), I headed off for a little tipsy sleep. They don’t call me Jack Sparrow for no reason (no one actually calls me that 😅). 

The nicest captain in Bali at the helm

BOOM, like a friggin banshee screaming I woke up to the sound of the crew shouting “fish on”. While I might have been half asleep, I knew from the second that line stripped it was a wahoo. We were on. Something wasn’t right about the way it stripped line though. It was running eractically, instead of straight, it felt foul hooked. 

BOOOOM. There is a reason they call it a: WAHOOOOO

Sure enough, after a nice 10-minute fight, the wahoo came up and was hooked in the gills. Wayan made a nice gaff shot, and it was wahoo sashimi for dinner. Unlike many of the well-known game fishing spots, it’s a real privilege when a game fish is caught. Everybody wants pictures, high fives are shared, and it feels special. So, in the grand scheme of things, a wahoo isn’t a big deal to catch, but it was here. 

You can see where it was hooked as well, ate a medium-sized rappi

Captain Wayan actually came to my birthday party one year, which happened to be on a much bigger boat!

Just like that, we headed back to the port where a driver which Wayan had arranged was ready to take me back home. 

Final Thoughts

If you are looking at heading out on a boat fishing during your time in Bali, I cannot recommend Wayan enough. While the fishing might not be the very best in the world, the lovely captain and crew make up for it. Maybe you’ll catch a fish, maybe you won’t. However, I will say that you are almost guaranteed to have a great time. Just make sure to put that BIG JBL speaker to use 😉