Fishing Near Ulong

On Saturday, LB, Dave, and I took their boat fishing. We headed southwest out of Koror to Ulong Island in the western portion of the rock islands. When we arrived we began casting on the reefs near Ulong. There are several ways to fish in Palau. There is casting on the reefs in which you use a fishing rod to continually cast a metal lure out and reel it back in. There is also bottom fishing with bait done in deeper areas. There is also trolling and hand lines used while the boat is moving. Dave has been improving as a fisherman and earlier in the week caught a twelve pound yellow-fin tuna.

At Ulong, I cast from the bow while LB and Dave took turns at the controls and cast from the stern. We eventually took a break from fishing and went ashore on Ulong Beach. It is a long pretty beach best known as the home to the Koror Tribe on Survivor. There are no longer any traces of their camp, but later when I got home I watched some of the episodes and could readily identify Ulong Beach from the rock faces nearby. We explored the beach and found the little shelter set up by the government for picnics. We also found the plaque memorializing the location near where the first European ship, the Antelope, made contact with Palau in 1783. Unfortunately for the Antelope, that contact was more than just talking to the natives. The Antelope was lost when it ran aground on the reef and the crew built a new vessel on Ulong.

We continued fishing around Ulong without any success, so we headed out to the outer reef. Dave got a few fish to bite, but they jumped off the lure before he could reel them in. I had a few fish interested in the lure, but not enough to bite. Thwarted again, we went snorkeling at cemetery reef. I had been there once before, but with the variety in fish it makes each time different. This time I was completely surrounded by a school of fish. LB saw a turtle, but Dave and I did not get there in time to see it. We left cemetery reef and headed out for more fishing. A good way to find fish is to follow birds grouping together and diving on the water. We followed the birds and cast near them when some of the birds came right on top of us. On one of my casts, the line caught a bird in mid-air and wrapped itself around the bird's wing. The bird flapped and squawked and landed in the water with the line around the wing. I drew him alongside the boat and luckily the lure had not snagged the bird so LB was able free it. The gull was able to fly away. The bird turned out to the only thing we caught as we were unable to snag any fish.