Kuala Rompin, Malaysia

[adkinsak]

I fished in Kuala Rompin this September (2010). KR had an amazing sailfish bite last year, which got covered in "Marlin" and "Bluewater" magazines. I contacted the Captains/Outfitters listed in the "Marlin" magazine article, and Captain Rob (http://www.ultimateangler.net/) based in Singapore was the most responsive, so I booked with him.

Upon arrival in KR, I enquired about the bite, and Captain Rob told me that it was down in comparison to last year (no surprise; areas go up and down). It also rained twice while I was there, which is unusual for this time of year. Anyway, below are my release numbers:

Day 1

6 strikes, 4 releases

Day 2

3 strikes, 0 releases

Captain Rob had two other boats chartered this day, and they released 2 and 3 sails (respectively).

Day 3

8 strikes, 5 releases (including 1 double)
The other two boats released 9 (including 4 doubles) and 4 sails (respectively)

So, over 3 days, my son and I released 9 sails. It was great fun for my son and me. And as one can see from the 9 release day for one of the other boats, KR has the potential for fast, fast, fast action.

In addition to the above, below is the good, the indifferent and the not so good aspects of KR (based on my experience):

The Good

-Calm water
-Short run to the fishing grounds
-Affordable
-Capt. Rob delivered on what he promised (there were no problems with what he was responsible for)
-Conservation. All sails were released and they have been using circle hooks since 2005. And all sails were properly resuscitated before release.
-Stand up spinning tackle was a lot of fun, although the sails in KR are smaller (50 to 75 pounds).

The Indifferent

-The boats were local Malay fishing boats. They were better than I had expected. But they are not large, have no Head, etc. The (20 year old) Malay Captain/Deckhand spoke English well, to my surprise. The boat was not luxurious (or anywhere close), but I was not paying luxury prices either. And with calm water and a short run to the fishing grounds, a large boat was not needed.
-Large numbers of sails but not large sails.

Not Good

-The universally recommended hotel in KR (Serai di Lanjut Resort) was a three star hotel by American standards (maybe two and one-half stars, etc.). If I had to do the trip over, I would not have brought my wife along but would have left her in KL or sent her somewhere else (Singapore, Penang, Terengganu, etc.). The hotel was sufficient for "the boys," but not beyond that (unless the new owners fix it up).
-I did not like the large number of boats chasing the sails. At times, there would be 8 or 10 boats all fishing the same area, not one on top of each other but perhaps in a loose crescent within sight of one another. There had to be times where the best spot was taken by some other boat.
-There are no other big game fish (marlin, yellow fin tuna, etc.). It is a great place for sails, but that is it.

Aaron

[rheyx]

koala rompin is amazing spot.. good job