Spearfishing with Pedro Carbonell in Bali

Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 3

Spearfishing East Java

We decided to explore a different bay; one of the spot is called “Shark Island” in Javanese. We all wereexcited about this new place and hoped to see some good healthy reef. 

We started trolling and changed our lure to a Rapala; we hoped to have better luck than the first day. Thenatural landscape was gorgeous, formed by a lot of different rock shapes, seamounts, and small little islands. We could also see how dense and untouched some parts of the forest were. 

The water was rough and the current quite strong at our first spot.  It was a perfect habitat for predator fish.We didn’t see any big fish except for small trevally. We saw a green turtle but it became frightened and ran away, so I could only follow it at a distance.

Turtle

The second spot was on the front entrance of a big bay; the water visibility was rather low. I was greeted by a school of big pompano; it was too late to dive again because I just came out a minute ago. However, I could not resist the temptation and dived again and managed to take a shot on the last pompano of the group but the target was too far and I missed it completely; not a good feeling for the first shot. The others guys called it quit to save some energy for the shark island.

Spearfishing East Java

The Shark Island was nice and reminded us of the southern part of Bali. The dive was hard because itrequired the maximum depth; needless to say, diving into deep-sea consumes a lot of energy! I saw a lot of trevally medium size, Maori sea-perch, aka scribbled snapper, but the dive was too quick to get a goodshot. Then there was a big rock 13 to 15 meter deep and I saw a group of giant pompano and scribbled snapper. I waited for the pompano to come closer, but it kept its distance; I approached it then very slowly,inch by inch, but the pompano slowly backed away and I was left with the scribbled snapper who also kept its distance. I wished I was using the Cressi Geronimo gun that has more power and accuracy. I did a few more dives but no sign of the monster Pompano. By the time, I decided to swim to the seamount next to the island but I was really exhausted and, on top of it, I consumed a fair amount of sea water due to the choppy water. So I called it quit. The seamount was pounding with waves and white water wash; I was not in themood for extra sea water on my belly!

The captain was a bit disappointed because he used to catch a lot of fish back in the old days. He was telling us stories of filling up his fish hold with snapper and pelagic fish. So he took us to a more protected area with less wind; the reef was intact and pristine; it was the only part where the reef was alive, the coral was colorful and we could not see a single dead coral. The water visibility was excellent; I didn’t see any good fish to shot at except for a good size octopus; so I brought octopus back for dinner.

On our way back, we tried our luck right in front of the bay where our camp site was located; Fabio reel started screaming and after our previous discouraging experience, our spirit was up again; everyone was cheering Fabio; it wasn’t a long fight and Fabio was rewarded with a good size Spanish mackerel. We could finally have some sashimi!!! We headed back to our camp, cut the mackerel and had fresh sashimi for appetizer. We made our neighbor fisherman try raw fish for the first time and they were surprised how tasty the fish was. The fish sashimi was excellent; the meat was transparent and made all of us happy. While wewere busy eating and at the same time cutting thin slice of Spanish mackerel, Arvid was making a jumbo portion of pesto pasta, with grilled chicken and abundant amount of parmesan cheese. Everyone had twoservings of the pasta and were full!

We decided then to reward ourselves to the “spa facility” located in front of the waterfall. None of us havetaken a shower during the entire stay in the camp; so it was time for a wash-up! We walked for about 10 minute to the waterfall. There was a small pond beneath the waterfall big enough to fit 20 people; the water was clean, tasted good and had a perfect temperature. It was a big relief for all of us to get clean with fresh water and the experience was delightful!

After our outdoor spa, we all felt fresh but still exhausted, so we all rewarded ourselves with a nice cold beer. We decided to avoid drinking beer in excesses during this trip; we usually planned 24 can per person per day but only 3 can per person per day this time. To our surprise but not to our dismay, we learned that beer was in great demand for fishermen at Ramadan time. I asked them whether drinking beer duringRamadan does not contradict their religious believes?  He answered that this was not a problem for them because they have to undergo a hard life as fishermen. So every cold beer was very valuable during this trip, we consumed them slowly, and made sure to also hide them so that fishermen would not be too often tempted for a cold beer!

Arvid and Wolou decided to dive nearby, Rob was sleeping like a baby, so only Fabio and I remained int the camp. Fabio already started with his afternoon cocktail and we decided to have a sunset trolling around the bay; there might still be some mackerel or cobia. The water condition was dirty, murky, strong wind and the condition was horrible for any diving or fishing. We were pounded with big swell in front of the bay. So we decided to call it a day with no result; Arvid at the same was coming out of the water with alsono result.

When we arrived at the camp we had no more fresh water. Wolou, our hero of the day, trekked to the waterspring to collect seven liter of water that we boiled it first. Boiled water most of the times presents somerisk but Wolou made sure to collect running water to eliminate some of the risk. This was an useful lesson for us; we had to in the future add purifying powder for water in our checklist!

Our dinner menu was Spanish mackerel steak, tomato chili and basil, fried rice, spicy octopus, and grilledvegetable. We all enjoyed our last two cold beers. I tried not to drink the water from the waterfall, so I was drinking soda water, mango juice and beer. To celebrate our last night we lid up a massive firework. The sound echoed through the bay, the color and light was amazing. Arvid, Wolou and Rob were having time lap competition. Fabio and I enjoyed the ambience of the forest, river, sea and the bond of fire. It was aperfect farewell party. Nature was very generous to us during our entire stay; it offered us so much beautythat words cannot describe! And what has also been remarkable is the joy of companionship and realize that we had in common interests and even tastes! We could not ask for more to what we experienced during our stay in this magnificent place. We wish to plead those who care about our environment and future generations, government and non-government organizations, to work on ways and means to educate people to keep the place clean, stop dynamite fishing, and maintain the natural peacefulness of the bay. Hopefullythe habitat will heal itself and go back to its pristine state of the past so that our children can enjoy a safe, clean and sustainable environment. A Dutch biologist did some research on the 80s and it is shame that his recommendations on managing the national park were not enforced. He pointed out many practical ideas to maintain and ensure the sustainability of the park natural environment.

We all wish to thank our captain Marjuki and his crew; their kindness and assistant were more than we asked for; the family of the captain for their hospitality, they welcomed us to their house, let us shower and rest. We also wish to thank the Pancer people whose smile brightened our days throughout our stay. To bapak Subiyanto who has helped us to obtain a boat, which was so important for reaching the different sea locations; and to all the fishermen who have entertained us with their tales and stories about the Meru BetiriPark. And last but not the least, to my companions for their friendship, understanding and support that meant so much for making our visit to the park an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Click here Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 1
Click here Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 2

All Picture are taken by Arvid Nicholas , Velere Terrier and  Robert Koster

Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 2

I had a good sleep until 5:00 a.m.; it was still dark so I try to sleep until 6:00 am; the excitement of the fishing prospect kept me awake and all I could think of was getting ready to explore the coast. I ended up getting up just when the morning light started appearing; it was worth waking up too, the sunlight penetrated the dense forest and lighted up the bay giving a spectacular show of nature. The sound of bird chirping, the small waves breaking on the beach, and the water passing through the small river added to a marvelous experience that one can never forget!  I call this waking up in profound peace of mind, with a profound contact with nature, only our senses are active by hearing the pleasant sounds of nature, by smelling the pure air of the forest and sea,  and by seeing peaceful and natural surroundings unaffected by the growth of civilization and all that this entails. It is an amazing feeling to experience nature at its purity and magnificence.

Morning at Camp

I had some breakfast and drank my Argentinean mate-tea. Fabio and I then quickly went for short dive in front of our camp to explore the natural condition of the coast. We saw a lot of small Snapper, Mullet, small Blue Fin, Trevally and many other reef fish. Then the other camp mates finished getting ready and we all took the boat to check the potential big fish spots. The first spot had a lot of big rocks and the coral destroyed by heavy dynamite bombing was sad and very depressing. This has become a common problem in most remote areas of Indonesia; it a shame that there is nothing that can be done about this chronic situation.  Unfortunately responsible people close their eyes to bombing that is obvious and recurring all the time.  What is also appalling is that fishes are sold for cheap prices because all the entrails are destroyed, their eyes are popped out and the body texture looks like has been beaten up. The majority of the fishes end up as farm animal food, aquaculture, fertilizer and small local fish markets.

The second spot was on the edge of the bay facing the Indian Ocean. The swell was big, the wind was blowing hard, and the current was mild. Again we witnessed the sad situation of the reef habitat destroyed by bombing and we could see very few fishes and it looks like it has been fished out. The boys saw some good size Trevally but they were easily frightened. Arvid saw a good size reef Shark that disappeared in a few seconds before we saw Arvid. After the dive we found out that fishermen set net everyday on the spot. No wonder the place looked like a desert. They set their nets in the afternoon on the right side of the entrance of the bay and they then collect the fishes next morning. We saw the catch the next day and it was impressive Southern Threadfin,Red Sea Bass, and few Snapper.

Arvid and Peter Spearfishing East Java Sea

The third spot looks more promising; it is Small Island in the middle of the bay. Judging by our experience, it’s an ideal location to spot big Trevally and Snapper. We saw group of Pompano and shot one, but nothing else after that. Rob was close to wave break against the rock which forms white water and bubbles. He shot twice and both fishes were massive Pompanos.  Both fish ripped off and got off from their spears, a common problem when you are in the middle of white water, wave and choppy water caused by strong wind. The other companions only saw small Trevally and call it quit because they were too tired from the previous two dives.

Time for lunch and Arvid made a delicious rice and fish soup with blue fin Trevally. We all enjoyed the meal and were full, ready to rest for a short siesta and then go back to the water and try our luck again. Based on his previous experience, Bob was pumping himself up for his new adventure.  He is now focused and prepared to avoid making the same mistake again. We first warmed up on the reef close by our camp. There were a lot of rubbish fishes like small snappers and small Trevally. We could not see anything big and I ended up shooting a good size bream; we then headed back to the island; Rob wanted to test his luck; the wind and current were stronger. We were just on time for the peak fish activity, just before it reached low tide. I came across two Cobia, one small was in a good range but I then saw a bigger one at a distant place that slowly came closely but it then quickly turned back.  I didn’t wish to miss the chance, so I took the shot and missed at point blank. My moral went down and I called it off for the day. I dived twice to wait for the Cobia to come back but it never happened. The water visibility was getting worse, strong wind and it was getting dark.

Fresh Fish for dinner

When we returned, we were happy to see Arvid with a few fishes, Mangrove Jack, Trevally and nice size mullet. Dinner time and our menu consisted of grilled Pompano and Snappers, some grilled vegetables and spicy fried rice. After we finished dinner a fisherman went to the camp fire with a serious face. He warned me to tell everyone not to throw any chili to the fire because of the locals’ believe. Moved by curiosity, I asked this gentleman:  
“What is the believe about throwing chili into the fire?” He answered with firm conviction: “If you throw chili into the fire, the big Tiger will come; there are still a lot of big Tigers and Leopards around”.
Usually we throw away any uneatable food such as bones to the fire. We don’t want to attract any wild animal to our camp. It is an old Javanese believe and made all of us thinking what is the logic behind: fire + chili = angry/hungry tiger? In respect for our neighbors’ believe,  we didn’t throw any chili into the fire. Our conclusion to the myth was that once upon time a hunter or fisherman put a chili on the fire and coincidentally an angry tiger happened to be nearby and decided to try a different menu. The National park top predators are Civet, wild dog, Java Leopard and a handful Tiger population. Every fisherman has a story about his encounter with the king of the jungle. They believe that during drought season all the jungle animals go down the mountain to search water holes and that’s when one has the chance to see them; they normally hid out in the mountain forest.

Endangered Java Leopard

Later on during the night, Rob the ukulele master made an awesome song for the night called: "Don’t put chili on the fire"; we enjoyed the rest of the night stars gazing, making a lot wishes due to the amount of shooting stars across the sky. Rob and Wolou made more lap photographs. The sleeping arrangement changed a little bit in the tent since, instead having fish in our heads, we were now affected by tiger-paranoia; we positioned ourselves in lesser vulnerable Tiger attack position!

Ukelele master Rob

Click here Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 1
Click here Spearfishing at the last refuge of the Java Tiger Day 3

All Picture are taken by Arvid Nicholas , Velere Terrier and  Robert Koster