By Cyrus Boyum
Posted Sunday, July 29, 2007
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Another action packed Jungle Ulua Adventure started our season recently. Slippery wet jungle trails, the biggest waves in 20 years, and the biggest tides of the year made for some interesting days of fishing and close calls. However, through thoughtful organization by Indonesia shore whipping legend, Michael Owen (aka Big Dog), world class grinds, comfortable living conditions, and great friendships were forged and prevailed.
Our two guest where, Missy and Rod Erausquin, from Santa Cruz California. Missy’s spirit of adventure is awe inspiring. She compliments her adventurous side with a career as a surgical nurse. I was awarded by her nursing background the most. She nursed a horribly infected finger of mine back to health after it was poked by a Mu spine while cleaning the bugger, thanks Missy! Her husband Rod is an extreme fishing fanatic, and a counselor for work. His fishing background is deep. From shore striper fishing the northern California coast, float fishing trips down many rivers of the Pacific Northwest, Kayak fishing long miles off the Santa Cruz and Big Sur coast of California, tackling big Ulua off the reefs of Aitutaki, and much more Rod has landed few fish! But his favorite fish of all is the Ulua. Catching them off the beach is his true passion. So with the Jungle Safari, exotic wildlife, and remote beaches to meet Missy’s adventurous side and world class Ulua grounds for Rod, an eight day Jungle Ulua Adventure was right up their alley.
 Day1:
The first day of all our adventures is a travel day and starts late in the afternoon. Michael and I met Missy and Rod at their beautiful hide away resort amongst the terraced rice paddy hills of Ubud Bali. We like to have a good trip briefing since we are going much deeper into the jungle than just the base camp location at Bobby’s G-land Surf Resort. Basic tips go into the briefing things like “do not look for animals and walk at the same time. Stop then look up. Don’t worry about snakes we haven’t seen one in a few trips. Most of the tigers were poached out but our jungle wise local camp assistant says there are still a few around. Remember the foot prints you do see in the sand are probably small cats so don’t worry about that. The majority of wildlife consists of various Monkey species, wild pigs, deer, and monitor lizards. The air and tree tops are full of eagles, king fishers, horn bills, and parrots.” Bintang beers calmed the anxiety that might have been stirred up after the briefing. Then we were off to catch the 11pm mini bus that takes you from Kuta Bali to base camp at Bobby’s G-land Surf Resort, located in a large National park on the south east tip of Java.
Day2:
After the all night drive across Bali to the car ferry that takes you to Java, and then another 2 hours to that last fishing village before the National Park, we were ready to board Bobby’s speed boat that takes you from the fishing village to base camp in 20 min. There by avoiding 2 extra hours of shock less bumpy driving along an unpaved Jungle road. The 4 of us all sat down for a hearty breakfast at Bobby’s and decided that we would take a short nap until 12 noon and then walk up to a decent fishing spot about 40 min from Bobby’s. Although I wouldn’t consider it world class this spot has produced some huge fish (see shot of Michael in front of Bobby’s camp with a potential 90lb plus Ulua taken from this spot a few years ago.) The spot was off and didn’t produce a fish, but Rod got a sense for the grounds and was excited about the days to come. Upon returning to Bobby’s Rod and Missy were amazed to see 18 porters talking with Michael about our Jungle Safari to the back country camp that would depart at sunlight on day 3. “I thought a maximum of 3 - 4 porters were all we needed” said Rod. Michael and I replied “we live it up out there by bringing everything we can, 3 - 4 wouldn’t cut it, and plus we don’t want to carry anything but our fishing poles.” I could see that Rod and Missy were impressed by the organization falling into place, and after a good dinner and a great night of rest at Bobby’s they felt ready for anything. However, for Michael and I our sleep was interrupted by the sound of the dreaded “R” word, rain! That meant one thing, a slippery muddy walk for the morning safari trek to our fishing grounds and back country camp site.
Day 3:
Enthusiastic and ready to go Missy and Rod enjoyed there daily coffee while the 18 porters tied up the last of the supplies to take down to the trail head. Porters went down to the trail head first, followed by the 4 of us. The drive from Bobby’s to the trail head is undertaken in true jungle style. Known as the Grenddong, this diesel powered piece of work, managed to navigate through slick jungle road that was rutted at times up to 3ft deep by previous passes in the same truck. At the trail head all 18 porters had finished packing the load for the 3 hour safari trek to base camp. Off we went behind an entourage of 18 porters. The trail was slick and reminded Michael of his father in law, who had gone on the Kokoda trail during the war. Each step had to be carefully planned to avoid falling. All was well until a small creek crossing bridged by slick pieces of wood. Suddenly Missy lost her footing over the creek bed. Her legs went up and she hit the jungle floor hard. I was in shock at the speed she bounced out of it. We were stoked to see no injuries, and continued the rest of the trek to fish camp safely. Arriving just before lunch Michael and I got to work with the 18 porters to quickly un-pack and set up camp. Our guest enjoyed some more coffee and crackers as they took in the beautiful scenery and solitude the location has to offer. Once camp was set up and some food in our bellies, I took Rod and Missy for our first fishing outing. It was a little past the prime tide but the water still looked good. 5 casts later Rod had his first Jungle Ulua on and fighting hard!
The fish worked in his favor as it decided to head for the sand channel out the left rather than the coral studded reef straight out or right. With a big grin his first fish of the trip, an Ulua in the 35 - 40lb range was held up for photos. Rod decided he would rest the arms. He sat with Missy farther up the sand relaxing and taking in the Jungle environment. However, I was impressed with the action at hand and wanted another hook up. Rod had a unique new purple pencil popper a friend of his, Mike Fixter makes. The action on this lure was amazing, but the retrieve was fairly slow for my liking. I wanted to give it a try. As I sat with Rod he instructed me on how to retrieve this popper. By then the grounds in front of us were fading quickly with the dropping tide. Reef was exposing its self just beyond the sand channel we fish. I thought my chance to try it would certainly have to wait until the next day. Suddenly a swirl caught my gaze in the now calm channel. There was a big Ulua still there. What a great chance to put a new lure to the test. I hadn’t ever hooked up in water this calm to a big fish. 3 casts later the chase by this 1 large Ulua ensued.
In crystal clear calm shallow water this fish was locked on the action of the purple pencil popper. 1, 2, 3, and on the 4th try, “Bang” fish on. I was shocked to now be hooked up to an easy 50lb fish in such calm water. The fish headed straight to the exposed reef. All I could do was try to turn it fast. No way! Ulua do what they want that first run. This fish was thinking its way through an obstacle course of exposed reef. The runs would pause just for a moment to make me feel I had a chance and then a pulse would take place as the fish found its next avenue through the shallows. A few more minutes in and the fight was over. But we had a new found appreciation for the action this lure had created to make this fish strike in such calm water (Mark white had similar strikes in the same water as well on a previous trip. I was on outer reefs and didn’t witness them. Definitely a testament to his lures as well.) Back at camp, fish taco night dinner was prepared and enjoyed. Throughout the trip and after every meal all Missy could say was “the food here is to die for”.
Day 4:
The surf came up and came up BIG. We are talking Jaws Maui Big. To say the least fishing was hard. Every spot but our favorite was completely washed out. Too our dismay even our favorite spot didn’t produce fish. For the first time ever we were skunked on day 4. That didn’t mean the day was action free. As the tide peaked with the surf we watched nervously from our beach front camp as shore pound waves washed up to the edge of the embankment and nearly into camp. I thought we were in the clear and was sitting down to show Missy some photos. Michael was still watching the shore break from a large log that was parked in front of camp. Suddenly we hear Michael yell “hear we go”. I look up to Michael bolting at break neck speed back into the jungle, drift would six feet up in the air, and a wall of green water flooding through camp. Thankfully all our supplies, tents, poles, and bodies made it out of the tidal flood with nothing more than some water logged sheets and items. We spent a few hours cleaning up and organizing again and were back to full operation by the afternoon. Another fishing session didn’t produce anything. Later that evening our local lobster fishing friend dropped off a nasty fresh lobster for an appetizer to start dinner. Dinner was a tasty meal of smoked salmon, cheese crackers, and seasoned pork chops over noodles. After dinner we settled down for an intense night of sleep as Michael and I both stood watch during the night time high tide to warn of a wave doing the same thing to camp as it had earlier. Thankfully the night time high wasn’t as high as the day time, and the water never got close again. Just as a note, in 2 years of fishing and camping in that location we have never seen water evidence around our campsite. Perched on a high point it was a testament to just how large the surf was this past trip.
 Day 5:
Surf continued to disrupt our trip through day 5, but no water came into camp and fishing started to pick up. The morning session produced some very nice strikes and chases but nothing stuck. That evening we hit one of our favorite low tide spots. It was a bit nerve racking standing so close to the large surf but fish were around. This was evident by a massive bate ball that had large Ulua swimming in and out. “Fish on” yelled Rod. Michael and I shot over to help and take photos. 10 min later Rod was holding up his low tide catch of the day, a very nice 30lb Ulua taken in huge surf off an exposed outer reef! Dinner was wine, smoked Salmon, crackers, and the main course of my famous Tom Yum fish soup. Once again we heard that the food was “to die for”. I could see by their smiles they were experiencing a once in a lifetime trip.
Day 6:
What a change a day can make. From average to poor fishing day 6 produced a true world class day of fish! Early in the morning Rod and I walked down to a new spot to see how that was. A few cast and Rod had a nice 10 - 12lb borderline Papio Ulua on the beach. It was foul hooked and we had to keep it for dinner. I landed and released a few. But, as good as the action there was, we were in the wrong spot! Michael had sneaked up to our main spot and went 6 casts for 6 fish over 40lbs. The biggest fish was in the 60lb range. He released all but a few to take back to Bobby’s camp to honor a fish request. Rod and I hiked up to where Michael was just after the heavy action slowed. “Better late than never” said Michael. Rod immediately started bringing up fish with his poppers. Strike after strike ensued. Some were insane hits by big fish. Missy took a crack at landing one and nearly had it. The biggest fish of the trip was landed by Rod that afternoon. The strike was 1 solid smash. Then a reel screeching run followed. Rod kept his tip up and was happy to see the fish going to the left and out the sand channel. He started getting nervous as the run continued. I tried to calm him down and said “you got plenty of line, just hang tight.” Next thing I see is chrome. “Oops, wrong advice” I thought. “Run Rod run fast, go go go” as I yelled to him while he ran down the reach taking back some needed line. Finally the fish turned and the stand off started. In time the fish came in and we landed what Rod said was either his biggest Ulua ever or near it. Another fantastic candle light dinner was prepared to end the day. The trip was made by this day and both Rod and Missy had ear to ear grins to show for it.
Day 7:
Fishing slowed down again. The waves were now too small for our liking, and maybe that had something to do with the slow fishing? During our morning session there were some nice chases, a few strikes, but no fish landed. We returned and broke down camp for the trek back to Bobby’s. The 7th day of all trips is a fishing day and we trek the beach the entire way back to base camp, stopping at 2 or 3 great spots along the way. At Bobby’s that evening we were treated to a cultural buffet dinner and Javanese dancing ceremony to send off a large group of surfers. It was a perfect end to another great Jungle Ulua Adventure.
Day8:
The last day is once again a travel day repeating the drive from day 1. We dropped Rod and Missy off at there Bali hotel around 4pm. Saying farewell with a few more Bintangs and small talk we ended the adventure.
If anyone would like to hear more about the trip from either Rod or Missy they would be happy to hear from you. Contact me first and I will forward on email details for them.
Aloha from Bali,
Michael Owen and Cyrus Boyum
Jungle Ulua Fishing Adventures
Website: www.adventureindo.com
Email: jungleulua@gmail.com
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