Hey y'all. This is totally random, but I can't find much info online, so I thought I'd try here.
I'm going to the Philippines in September. Renting a car, and driving around Luzon for a month. Unfortunately I probably won't be treasure hunting, but I will bring my travel rod, as there are tons of lakes, rivers, streams, and of course the ocean. Light tackle, probably 6lb line.
For freshwater, I'll bring spinners, plastics, and maybe some topwater poppers. I have very little saltwater experience. What lures should I bring for just fishing from shore? Some areas will be sandy, some will be rocky. Any advice is appreciated!
If I do decide to bring the AT Pro, any advice for traveling with it? Do they make some kind of hard case for checking it on my flight?
I took my AT Pro to Florida recently, broke it down and it fit in my regular suitcase (checked bag--larger than carry on). You should be fine with it in your suitcase.
My wife is Filipino from Cebu. I spent 7 years traveling to the Philippines to visit her before I married her. I've been all over from north to south. Before that I spent years traveling to Thailand.
One thing you really do not want to do is drive. Really, do not do this. Far too much risk. It is sooooooooo much more comfortable hiring a driver and it is cheap to do----a no-brainer. You will thank yourself for it after you get there and realize what driving there entails. Heed the warnings from other posters, they know of what they speak.
On Luzon a drive north from Manila to Bagio is a good visit as is the drive southeast from Manila to the Taal Volcano. Corregidor is a must see IMHO and I spent one trip visiting every WW2 monument on the Bataan peninsula. Went all the way down to the zero marker at the start of the Death March. One of the monuments on Bataan is a giant cross, Mt Samat National Monument you can take an elevator 54 stories up and view both sides of the peninsula.
Interesting history there, the fighting was so intense that no vegetation survived, everything blasted to bare rock.
I know nothing of fishing fresh or salt around Luzon. I know Manila bay is polluted badly and supposedly if you fall into the Pasig river in Manila your body will dissolve so be mindful of pollution when fishing.
We usually fly straight to Cebu nowadays and try to take a side trip somewhere every time we go. Last April we took our side trip to Surigao City on Mindanao and from there went to Siargao to see the Cloud 9 surfing spot and do some island hopping by pump boat. It was great!
I'm not sure but I think the best offshore fishing in the Philippines may be off of Mindanao. Very deep water, they do alot of tuna fishing there.
One of my go to websites for Philippine info is the "LivinginCebu" forums. Incredible amount of info there. Best of luck to you.
Edit to add: I almost forgot I got into metal detecting because my sister in law in Cebu asked us to send her a AT Pro. They are all hunting for a Japanese gold hoard over there. Yamashitas gold or something like that. So we bought one and sent it to her and then I bought one and became hooked.
