Three gap sessions in late autumn, three species: pompano-type jack (瓜瓜), Spanish mackerel (午仔), hairtail. All on micro-jig. Each one had its own logic.
瓜瓜: Overcast, mid-column hold
The 瓜瓜 came off a concrete pier — deep-bodied, bright silver, forked tail, the unmistakable build of a carangid. Micro-jigging: small metal jigs, worked light and fast. Flat overcast conditions with no surface action, so the fish were somewhere in the column. That’s where micro-jigging earns its keep — you cover depth without locking into a single level from the start.
The bite came on the drop, as it usually does with carangids. Jig flutters down on slack line, the fish that’s been tracking it commits. Overcast light cuts glare and gives fish less time to inspect a fast-falling piece of metal — the reaction bite comes before they can talk themselves out of it. Flat light, flutter drop, bite on the fall: that was the sequence.
午仔: Location undisclosed, but they’re out there
The Spanish mackerel was the surprise. Same method, same late autumn — but at a spot you wouldn’t expect to find 午仔. Not disclosing the location. What that fish being there proves is straightforward: Spanish mackerel have a wider distribution than most anglers give them credit for.
Hairtail: The late-autumn version is different
The hairtail came from shore, after the cold front moved through. Noticeably larger than summer fish, fat throughout. You know it when you cut into one. Late-autumn hairtail is worth a dedicated session — it’s a different fish from what you pull in July.