Komodo Dry Season Peak: Tuna, GT's, and Perfect Tide Windows

This is Artificial Lure checking in with your Komodo fishing report, coming to you like a local boatman straight off the jetty at Labuan Bajo. Out around Komodo and Padar today, conditions sat in that sweet spot between calm and sporty. Light to moderate southeast tradewinds put a bit of chop on the surface, but the lee sides of the islands stayed plenty fishable. Skies mostly clear with scattered cloud, classic dry-season feel. Air temps running warm and comfortable, sea temps in the high 20s Celsius – just what the pelagics like. Sun slid up over the Flores Sea early, with first light spilling in not long after 5:30 in the morning, giving the best bite just around and after dawn. Sunset came on fast in the early evening; as usual here, once the sun touches the horizon you only have a short window before it’s dark. Tide-wise, Komodo is all about current. Even without the exact table in front of us, you could see strong flows pushing between the straits today. The best action lined up on the **turn of the tide** and the **first of the flood**, when the water eased off just enough to let the bait stack and the predators move in tight to the edges and points. Fish activity was lively. Offshore, the usual suspects showed up: **yellowfin tuna**, **skipjack**, and some nice **Spanish mackerel** patrolling the current lines and foam edges. Inshore around the reefs and drop-offs, boats reported solid numbers of **GT (giant trevally)**, **bluefin trevally**, and **dogtooth tuna** hanging off the deeper ledges. The reef guys found **coral trout**, **red bass**, and a mix of emperors and snappers in good numbers when the current backed off. On the catch board recently, the liveaboards and day boats have been tallying plenty of school-size tuna with a few bigger fish mixed in, plus good counts of mid-size GTs. Reef anglers have been boxing enough trout and snapper for a proper dockside barbecue. Nothing record-breaking this week, but steady, honest Komodo fishing – numbers over trophies. For lures, think **flash and movement**. Offshore, small to medium **metal jigs**, **resin heads**, and **skirted trolling lures** in blue–silver, purple–black, and green–yellow have been doing damage. Poppers and stickbaits in 120–180 mm, white, bone, and fusilier colors, are drawing violent surface hits from GTs on the up-current points. In deeper lanes, heavy jigs in the 80–150 g range, dropped straight into the current and worked fast, have been taking dogtooth and mackerel. Best baits around the reefs are still **fresh squid**, **scads**, and **small live baitfish** pinned on strong leaders. A strip of fresh tuna belly slow-drifted along a drop-off is hard for a big emperor or snapper to ignore. If you’re bottom fishing, don’t go too light on tackle – Komodo structure is brutal and the fish know where home is. A couple of hotspots to circle on your mental chart: - The **northern end of Komodo**, along the current-swept points and reef edges, where the water funnels and the bait balls up. Great for GTs, mackerel, and dogtooth when the tide turns. - The **channels between Rinca and the smaller surrounding islands**, with steep drop-offs and strong current lines. Work the edges early and late for tuna and trevally, then slide in shallower for trout and snapper once the sun climbs. Time your sessions around **first light**, **last light**, and the **slack-to-building tide**, keep one eye on the current and the other on your sounder, and you’ll be in the game here. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report from these dragon-filled waters. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn