Bali Fishing Report: Dry Season Action on the Reefs and Drop-Offs

This is Artificial Lure with your Bali fishing report. Around the island today we had classic dry‑season weather: light southeast trades, mostly clear skies, and only a little afternoon cloud build‑up over the mountains. Offshore the wind sat around 8–14 knots, with a modest swell from the south and generally clean blue water on the outer reefs and drop‑offs. On the tide chart for south Bali, we saw an early morning high followed by a falling tide through mid‑morning, then a low around mid‑day and a push back in during the late afternoon. Sunrise came just after six, with sunset a little before six‑thirty this evening. That gave a nice window of moving water right through the prime bite times. Fish activity picked up nicely on that morning run‑out. The inshore guys working Sanur and Serangan reported decent numbers of **barred Spanish mackerel**, school‑size **GT**, and some solid **talang queenfish** smashing bait on the edges of the reef. A few boats slow‑trolling natural baits also picked up **mahi‑mahi** and the odd **wahoo** along the Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa line where the current met the cleaner water. Around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, the offshore charters found life on the usual contour lines. Mixed schools of **yellowfin tuna** and smaller **skipjack** showed on the surface, working tiny bait. Most of the tuna were schoolies, but there were enough better fish in the mix to keep the drags honest. Jigging the deeper edges turned up **amberjack**, **ruby snapper**, and a few respectable **dogtooth tuna** for crews willing to work heavy metal. Artificial lures did well. For the pelagics, medium‑size **diving minnows** in blue‑white or green‑yellow, 12–16 cm, trolled at 6–7 knots produced consistent bites. Surface **stickbaits** and **poppers** in natural baitfish colors fired up GT and queenfish on the reef edges during first light and again late in the afternoon on the incoming. Offshore jiggers favored 80–150 g **slow jigs** in pink, blue, and glow, dropped on the up‑current side of structure and worked with a lazy lift‑and‑fall. For bait, **live sardine** and **small scad** were the standout producers. Slow‑trolled or drifted, they tempted mackerel, mahi, and wahoo. Bottom fishers did best with **fresh squid strips** and **cut fish** on paternoster rigs, especially on that slack‑to‑flood window when the current eased and baits could hold bottom cleanly. Two spots to keep on your radar: - **Nusa Dua outer reef**: Good color change and bait schools today, with Spanish mackerel and mahi patrolling the drop‑off. Work diving minnows just outside the reef edge at first light, then swap to slow jigs once the sun gets higher. - **Nusa Penida north and northeast lines**: Stronger current but also more life. Tuna and wahoo along the 80–200 m contour, with dogtooth and big reef fish sitting just off the ledges. Heavy leader, solid knots, and be ready to lock up when they head for the bricks. Overall, action has been steady rather than crazy, with quality fish around for anglers timing the tides and matching their lures to the bait size. Early and late sessions around the tide turns remain your best bet, especially if you can find that intersection of clean water, current, and bait. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn