Philippines Fishing Report: Southwest Monsoon Bite - Trevally, Tuna, and Reef Fish on the Morning Flood

This is Artificial Lure with your Philippines fishing report. Across much of the archipelago today we’ve had classic southwest monsoon conditions: light to moderate southwest winds, scattered clouds, and passing showers, with air temps running around 30 to 32 degrees mid‑day and feeling hotter with the humidity. Coastal water temps are sitting near 29 to 30 degrees, warm but still good for early and late bites. Sunrise came in just before 5:30 a.m. across most of Luzon and the Visayas, with sunset around 6:20 p.m., giving a nice long low‑light window at both ends of the day. Those first two hours of light and the last hour before dark have been the most productive. Tides around major coastal areas like Manila Bay, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao are running a modest mid‑range cycle: a pre‑dawn low pushing into a strong incoming through the morning, then a high around mid‑day, easing into an outgoing late afternoon and early evening. That morning flood tide has been the prime time, especially along reef edges and mangrove mouths where the current concentrates bait. Inshore, anglers have been picking up decent numbers of **talakitok** (GT and bigeye trevally), **tulingan** (mackerel tuna), **tamban** and **sardinas** schools, plus the usual **lapu‑lapu** (groupers) and **maya‑maya** (snappers) off the reefs and drop‑offs. Reports from local bangus and reef boats suggest mixed bags of 5–15 fish per trip when the tide and current line up, with the better crews tallying more than 20 smaller reef fish plus a few quality trevally or tuna. Offshore, where boats were able to run in the calmer windows, there have been scattered **yellowfin tuna**, smaller **skipjack**, and the occasional **dorado/mahi** along current lines and FADs. Most action has been on the early morning troll or fast‑jig sessions when the sun is still low. Best lures today: - For trevally, small tuna, and mackerel: 20–40 g metal jigs in blue/silver, white, or pink, worked fast through bait schools. - For reef species: 3–4 inch soft plastics on 10–20 g jigheads, in natural baitfish and shrimp colors, hopped along rocky bottom or reef edges. - For surface action at dawn and dusk: small stickbaits and poppers, 10–14 cm, in bone, sardine, or flying‑fish patterns. - Around FADs and deeper edges: 60–120 g vertical jigs in luminous or blue‑silver worked through the bait layer. Best bait: - Live **tamban**, **galunggong**, or small squid slow‑trolled or drifted around reef edges and FADs. - Fresh cut sardine or squid strips on simple bottom rigs for snapper and grouper. - For shore anglers, small live shrimp and worms fished under a float near mangroves and rock walls have been very consistent. A couple of hot spots to keep on your radar: - **Batangas Bay / Verde Island Passage** – Strong morning currents have been pushing bait onto the drop‑offs; trevally, small tunas, and good reef mixes have been taken on metals and soft plastics during the incoming tide. - **Cebu Strait / Olango side** – Around the reef edges and channel markers, boats working jigs and live bait in 20–60 meters have found steady lapu‑lapu and snapper, with bonus mackerel tuna when birds and surface bust‑ups show. Overall fish activity has been best on the moving tide, especially the first half of the flood. Midday, with bright sun and slack water, the bite slows, so that’s the time to rest, retie leaders, and wait for the afternoon push. That’s it from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a tide, a bite, or a hot tip. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn