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

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Bali fishing report for this afternoon. Out here around southern Bali the weather’s been classic dry-season stuff: light to moderate E–SE trade wind, mostly sunny with a bit of haze, air temps sitting in the high 20s Celsius and the sea around 27–28 degrees. Offshore chop is gentle, but that wind does stack up a short swell on the southeast and south coasts later in the day. Sun popped up just after 6 in the morning and slipped down a little after 6 in the evening, so we’re on those nice, even tropical days. The bite has lined up best on the dawn and dusk windows, with a noticeable pick‑up on the turn of the tide. Tide-wise, the inshore crews around Serangan, Sanur, and Benoa saw a decent morning incoming pushing bait over the flats and along the reef edges. That rising water switched the fish on—especially the reef stuff—while the top of the tide and first of the fall produced the pelagics a bit wider. Let’s talk fish. In close, local boats and shore casters have been into good numbers of **trevally**—GTs and bigeye mixed in—with fish from schoolie size up to the mid‑teens of kilos reported. There’s been solid action on **ruby snapper**, **red and coral trout**, and the usual mix of **emperor** and smaller reefies on the drop‑offs and bommies. A few **barracuda** showed up on the edges of the bait schools, slashing through when the current picked up. Farther offshore, around the drop‑off line and the channels between Bali and Nusa Penida, trolling crews have been raising **yellowfin tuna** in the smaller grades, some **skipjack**, and the odd **wahoo** and **mahi‑mahi**. Numbers aren’t crazy, but boats working the temperature breaks and current lines have been coming home with a respectable box—enough for a few good barbecues. Lure choice today has been pretty straightforward. Inshore, the trevally have been smashing medium poppers in blue‑silver and bone colors, along with stickbaits and metal jigs in the 20–60 gram range. Fast‑worked metals around bait balls have been deadly. On the reef, soft plastics in natural baitfish or shrimp tones, plus small to medium jigs bounced along the bottom, have pulled steady snapper and grouper. If you’re more of a bait angler, you’re in luck. Fresh **squid**, **small scad**, and **sardine strips** have outfished frozen stuff by a mile. Live bait slow‑trolled around the reef edges or dropped down the slope has been the most reliable way to find a better‑class fish, especially at first light. A couple of hotspots to keep on your radar: – **Nusa Dua to Tanjung Benoa reef line**: Good mixed bag this afternoon, with trevally patrolling the drop‑offs and snapper parked down deep. Work the pressure edges where the current hits the reef and watch for bird activity. – **Channel between Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, spilling toward Nusa Penida**: Stronger current here, but that’s been the highway for tuna and wahoo. Trolling skirts and deep‑diving minnows along the color changes and current lines has produced the better pelagics. Overall, the fishing around Bali right now is what we locals call “lumayan mantap”—not every cast a hookup, but if you read the tide, work the prime light, and match your lure or bait to the conditions, you’ll bend a rod and maybe stick something to brag about. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t 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