By Edgar Pereira 
After a day at work, I once again visited Quarteira main pier, in Algarve, on the South Coast of Portugal, with the aim to catch horse mackerel using Ajing techniques. Like the days before, the north westerly wind was strong and the incoming tidal current and swell weren’t the ideal conditions for ultra light fishing.

With this kind of weather, horse mackerel and other species tend to go into deeper waters and feed near the bottom. I was using a rod that brings me pure joy and fun, the Yamaga Blanks BlueCurrent III 510. I coupled that with the Daiwa Airity LT 2000S and the braid spool, with one of my favourites, the Major Craft Dangan Lightgame Special PE#0.3.

I choose braid when I know that some bigger specimen or species are around, and I knew that some small “tuna” were present the days before. I quickly caught some horse mackerel on the bottom, using the OTD (on the drop) method that is usual in Ajing. I decided to increase the silhouette to a 3 inch soft plastic, hoping to trigger another kind of attack.

One more cast up to 50-60 metre and I let it sink down to 8-10 metres. Near the bottom I got the hit I was looking for, a strong powerful one, but no hook up. I tried again and clearly the fish continued to chase the lure with a series of fast twitching and pause. Another big hit and this time a powerful hook up!

A long and strong fight had just started and the incredible bend in my Ajing rod showed it could be the one. Hooked in deep water, the powerful nature of the fish, plus the current made my drag scream hard several times, the fish hugging the bottom and reminding me was only using 3lb leader. I just couldn’t push too much or it wouldn’t hold the incredible pressure the fish was putting on the line.

After a crazy and intense 7-8 minutes, and other anglers removing the lines in order to avoid tangles, I started to feel that now was my time to take control of the beast, and finally I could see the beautiful rocket-like shape and colours. The fish’s name comes from the Spanish “bonito” that means pretty, related with mackerel and tuna but normally caught offshore, only occurring inshore a couple of times in summer.

But there it was, an Atlantic Bonito caught on Ajing tackle from the shore, my very first one on this technique. I can’t describe what I was feeling after landing the fish. Aside from a sore arm and wrist, I was running on pure adrenaline. I had accomplished a huge personal goal that i had been missing … What a feeling!

I want to thank Ben Bassett, Rich Salter and Joe Mole, for all they do for the LRF community. I learned a lot reading their amazing articles, and I’m grateful for the invitation to write something down about the hobby that is my passion.