You bet they’re good eating especially on a grill as you stated. Yes, they are amberjacks. I’ve seen them being sold in many of the Korean fish markets also. I was skeptical at first like you about them being in the Korean waters but went out with a Korean friend and learned there is actually big fish that can be caught in Korea. I had been on many of the saltwater boat trips before and all we caught were fish big enough to be bait for a ten pound bass. If you guys are interested when the season starts I will make the call and hook up the trips. It cost about $100.00-S125.00 a person. They use a wierd rig with a float that sinks super slowly and keeps the bait where the fish are at. Last year Tony Rodriguez went and told me they actually showed up earlier than before.

Around the Oct-Nov time frame the amberjacks come into the Pusan area and that is the time to hit the salt water. They are definitely the strongest fish I have ever caught in Korea. There are many boats in Pusan that go after the fish and will take you out on about a 1 1/2 boat ride to get to the fish which run in schools. I missed them last year as I was deployed but the year before we went out twice and each time we (5 people a boat) averaged about 100-125 amberjacks weighing between 7-10 pounds. When you hook one it feels like you have a 40-50 pound fish on as they run and will peel all the line fron your reel if you let them. They are pretty much mini tuna (torpedoes).

Nomad, the green powder that you seen on the lake is pollen from the pine trees. I’m sure on the effect it has on fishing. In my experience, when that scums the water, the fishing tends to be off. Can’t explain why.

The pheasants are great stuff. This winter my spaniel and I flushed hundreds of them.

HunterDave– you’re Koreans treat archery as more of a martial art than tool for hunting. If I were you, I’d simply find an out of the way spot with a backstop/hill and practice there. I used to do that when I had my bow here–I left a target out in the woods where nobody would likely ever go.

As for the mentioning of garbage in the rivers, it is so true. You have to fish the Nakdong around filthy old Miryang: the trash is ankle deep as far as you can walk the shoreline.

In the last few years I’ve concentrated on flyfishing for trout up in the mountains and its much better on the soul to be on a clearwater creek than down in the brown water cesspool rivers fishing bass (but I still chase lots of bass–hard habit to shake).

I hope your wife enjoyed Tres Dias…my wife went up there Thursday as part of the welcoming comittee…she and a few other ladies go up every Tres Dias to help out in some way or other.

The river: Rob says it was just as nasty last year, but I could swear the area near the power pylons and up wasn’t as bad as it is now. The broader part of the river where it opens up into Pyeongtaek lake was stained last year, but this year it seems especially dirty/muddy. They’re doing some major dredging upstream, near the power pylons, which may be part of the problem.

Some parts of that river / lake are nasty as hell. Gar fishes a place that he calls “shit creek” because of the raw sewage running into it. LOL

A couple of scarecrows on the bank would probably keep the cranes out of the nets. I think I know exactly where you were at by the way.

I’ll definitely have to get into the Andong tournament. Do you know who is the representative that we have to pay? In the past it was Walt Cannon.

Nomad,

The water looked nasty in both the river and the lake with plenty of trash (real garbage) for the fish to hide in. The lake had a grudge type stain especially near the edge where all the crap gathers. It also appeared like muddy water from the edge to about 10 feet out in the small islands. Don’t know what the hell that was about as it hasn’t rained in a while. I am telling you I tried every type of plastic I had to include some crap I forgot I had in my tackle box that is from the seventies. It was frustrating not to mention the fact that my butt was a little hung over from the night before. Finally got a kitchen pass as the wife was gone for three days at “Tres Dias”. I paid the price for my pre-day fishing activity. I guess I never learn.