Philippine Islands Early Wet Season: Trevally, Tuna, and Monsoon Bite Windows

This is Artificial Lure, checking in with your Philippine islands fishing report. Out over Manila Bay down through Batangas and Mindoro, we had classic early wet‑season weather: hot, humid afternoons, scattered thunderstorms, and a steady southwest monsoon breeze. PAGASA’s coastal bulletin this afternoon mentioned 10–20 knot south‑southwesterlies and seas running 0.75–2 meters, a bit choppy on open coasts but manageable inside bays and coves. Sunrise was just after 5 a.m., sunset a little past 6:20 p.m., so your prime bite has been that 5–8 a.m. window and the last light from 4:30 p.m. to dark. Tide-wise, local tables from Manila and Cebu ports showed moderate highs late morning with decent water movement on the falling tide through early afternoon. That moving water has been key: slack has been pretty dead, but once the tide starts pulling, the reef edges and drop‑offs wake up fast. Around Luzon, inshore guys working Manila Bay and Cavite reported fair numbers of **talakitok** (trevally), **sapsap**, and small **apahap** (seabass). Charter skippers out of Batangas and Puerto Galera have been into mixed bags of **tulingan** (mackerel tuna), **tambakol** (yellowfin), and skipjack just outside the Verde Island Passage currents. In the Visayas, local word from Cebu and Bohol is that the **kitang** and **lapu‑lapu** bite has picked up on the reefs, with occasional **mangrove jacks** sneaking into the mangroves on high tide. Down south around Siargao and Surigao Strait, those who braved the chop picked up school‑sized **mahi‑mahi** and more tulingan along current lines and flotsam. Fish activity has followed the light and tide. Early mornings, you’ll see bait dimpling tight to shore, with small trevally and queenfish smashing pods just outside casting distance. Late afternoons, once the heat eases and that monsoon breeze lays down a bit, the surface comes alive again—perfect for topwater. Midday has been tougher and more of a deep‑structure game. For lures, local boys have been doing damage with: - **Small metal jigs** in 20–40 grams, silver or sardine pattern, bounced along reef edges for tulingan and trevally. - **3–5 inch soft plastics** in pearl or green, on 1/4 to 1/2 oz jigheads, slow‑rolled around rock piles for lapu‑lapu and kitang. - **Topwater stickbaits and poppers** around 10–14 cm in white or bone for surface‑feeding talakitok and queenfish right at dawn and dusk. If you’re soaking bait, best bets right now: - Fresh **hipon** (shrimp) and **squid strips** for reef fish and snapper. - Small live **tamban** or **dilis** slow‑trolled or drifted for tuna, mackerel, and larger trevally. - For mangroves and river mouths, live **mud crabs** or small mullet for big mangrove jacks and apahap. A couple of hot spots to keep on your radar: First, **Verde Island Passage**, between Batangas and Mindoro. Strong currents plus structure have made it a highway for tulingan, tambakol, and mahi‑mahi. Work the current edges, FADs, and any floating debris with metal jigs or trolled deep‑diving minnows, and keep a casting rod ready when tuna push bait to the top. Second, **Cebu’s east side and Camotes Sea edges**. Reefs off Liloan, Danao, and across toward Camotes have been holding nice lapu‑lapu, kitang, and the odd pelagic cruising the drop‑offs. Fish the first two hours of the falling tide with jigs or live shrimp right along the breaks, and you’ll feel that thump. If you’re shore‑based around Manila, don’t ignore the breakwaters and pier lights at night. With the southwest monsoon pushing bait in, small metals and glow jigs have been pulling in decent talakitok and occasional squid around the harbor structures. That’s your island update from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the next bite 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