Life is Fishing

Exaggeration

2009-07-21T11:54:00.001+08:00

Exaggeration, originally uploaded by HenryKoh.

A common phenomenon among fishos.

Kota Kinabalu June 23-27 2009

2009-07-04T14:16:00.011+08:00

7 of us started off the trip with great expectation but the result is disappointing. The sea was mirror calm on the first day but really choppy for the remaining days with waves of 2 to 3 meters. All but me was sea-sick at some point in the trip. The only saving grace for me was a 10 over kg amberjack which happened to be the largest fish of the trip. Well I finally caught my amberjack!

Trolling on way produced no result

Mirror calm on the first day:

At last an amberjack

The total catch:

The gang of 7:

My Reels are Packed & I'm Ready to Go

2009-06-18T19:14:00.003+08:00

I am ready for Kota Kinabalu on 23-27 June 2009. In addition to the above reels I borrowed Steven's Commander H5 electric reel. What is needed now is fine weather and plenty of fishes, particularly the mutated giant gold fish.

Changi by Night

2009-06-07T19:00:00.005+08:00

Friday 5th June 2009. I invited Francis to the trip and he was skeptical since Changi is not known to produce any good catch at night, maybe with the exception of catfish. I told him we needed to get ready for the impending Sabah trip and that somehow persuaded him

Setting off under the golden light of the sun:

The night was indeed slow - only a few snappers and quite a number of catfishes (some in the region of 3-4 kgs). Probably unbelievable but Francis somehow broke his rod pulling up a catfish.

Caught napping:

The morning was much better. Francis caught the biggest fish of the trip - a 6.5 kg queen fish:

This is me with his fish, showing him how to hold the fish to make it look bigger:

For me it was 4 diamond trevally (chermin) in a row.

The total catch (catfishes not shown) - not too bad for Singapore water:

Photos by Francis & edited by me.

Something to Lust For

2009-06-03T11:30:00.008+08:00

Just when you think fishing is simple and relaxing, new great looking reels like these are launched. It is no longer just about the fish; it is now also about the reel. When the fishes are not biting we now have something beautiful to look at.

Introducing a new range of Daiwa Saltist lever drag reels:

and some limited edition Accurates:

May 16, 2009

2009-05-18T09:32:00.005+08:00

Place: Changi Area
Boatman: Ah Soon
Anglers: Daryl, Tony, Francis, Alex & I

Overall it is a rather average catch compared to the previous trip with the same boatman. I had only 3 fishes - a chocolate hind (not in pic), a table size snapper and a grunter (maybe the biggest catch of the day). Francis and Tony had the best catch rate.

Making A Small Return

2009-05-07T12:23:00.002+08:00

I have decided to make a small come back to the fishing fraternity. The lure (pun not intended) is still irresistible. Do come back for some catch reports ...

New Hobby

2008-05-05T17:40:00.001+08:00

DSC02712, originally uploaded by HenryKoh.

I am now photographing butterflies. I rarely fish these days.

Sabah, KK June 18 - 21

2007-06-26T09:45:00.002+08:00

The boat that we were supposed to be on broke down the day before the trip and so had to change to a bigger, more comfortable boat but with a relatively new and inexperience captain. The weather was kind of choppy initially but in the last 2 days was almost mirror calm.

The catch is not fantastic at all. The photo may show alot of fishes but believe me the catch rate was poor; 3 of the 6 anglers caught very few fishes. The biggest scale fish (not inclusive of tenggiris) was a 6 over kg red emperor by me. I also caught 4 of the 7 tenggiris landed.

Lengthy

2007-05-25T11:55:00.000+08:00

Found this picture at a webby. I am not the jigging type and so this jig is just mind-blowing.

Changi 19th May

2007-05-21T12:35:00.000+08:00

Five of us, Frank, Daryl, Preston, Robert and I went on Ah Chong's boat. We had a lot of laughters with a hosts of original and creative humor and fun making but the catch is one of the poorest I ever have on Boat 681.

Catch:
1 snapper of about 800 gm
1 small grouper
3 other not to mention kind of tiny whinny fishes

Sabah June 18

2007-05-11T12:25:00.000+08:00

I just managed to confirm a Sabah trip after much searching for anglers and boatman. I sure hope that all the effort will pay off. I am not asking much, just 10 fishes above 10 kg and a 'one drop one bite' experience for all and off course mirror calm sea. A repeat of my first trip experience would suffice. But as they say first love is irreplaceable. Now what is left is to pray and wait for the magic moments to come. I love Sabah .... if the fishes are biting that is ....

A Long Local Offshore Trip

2007-05-07T09:00:00.000+08:00

I had an interesting trip with Adrian, Mark and Alvin. We were on board Osman boat and fishing around the Southern Island area. It was the longest local offshore trip I had - we started at 6.30 pm on Saturday and came back to shore on Sunday at about 3 pm. It was also a heavy sinker trip, I was fishing 2 size 18 sinkers at one stage and 1 size 18 sinker for a good part of the trip. The catch was not good for the amount of time we spent but I must say that I had the best catch rate .....I guess I am pretty blessed when it comes to fishing. Good baits were apparently important, we had very few squids, the jew fish was caught on a life mullet and the queen fish on a dead but fresh 'kelong chi'. The fishes:

1. 3 golden snappers about a kg plus - 2 were by me
2. 2 grunters - 1 by me
3. 1 jew fish of about 4-5 kg by Adrian
4. 1 queen fish of about 4-5 kg by me
5. 1 ray of about 1kg
6. 1 huge malong eel
7. 3 sweetlips of about a kg each (1 by me)

Photo by Mark.

No Sea Pond Will Do

2007-04-25T13:29:00.000+08:00

I was at Kranji Pond last saturday again ..... There were five guys and at the end of the 3 hours I caught 5 fishes and the rest zero. Francis was so fed-up that he left after 2 hours.

Kranji Pond Again

2007-04-13T12:50:00.000+08:00

Nothing to shout about. Only 9 fishes in 3 hours and broke my previous record of 8.

Pond Again

2007-04-10T12:55:00.000+08:00

I went early in the morning to the Kranji Pond. I was the only one and had the pond all to myself. For the first 45 minutes or so there was not a single bite, then I caught a GT (Sagai) of about 2 kg, it put up an impressive fight and took me a while to subdue it. I decided to let it go as it is not a nice eating fish. Then up came a 4 over kg barramundi and followed by 3 snappers and a grouper. It is a good morning indeed but I still long for the sea.

Grunters & Grunters

2007-03-30T19:57:00.000+08:00

Francis & I took leave today and went fishing at the Changi area with Ah Chong. We fished mostly at the ship channels. Nothing fantastics but I caught most of the fishes. Francis fishing quota ran out and he managed to catch only one grunter.

The Missing Boatman

2007-03-06T12:42:00.000+08:00

Last saturday (4/03/07), Daryl, Frank, Adrain, Seng Chee and I were supposed to board Zainol's boat to fish the Tekong and Naval Base areas but guess what? The boatman Zainol did not turn up, I called him close to 50 times and he did not pick up his phone and later on the phone was switched off.

Nevertheless, we found a small boat that was willing to bring us fishing behind Tekong (Seng Chee dropped out) and we caught about 25 small fishes, the biggest being a flat-head of about a kg.

The next day the boatman, Zainol sent me a message giving a dubious and quite unbelievable excuse. I guess this is one boatman that I will not patronize again.

Interesting Bait Rigging

2007-02-28T14:22:00.002+08:00

I understand that this is effective for big snapper. Will it work with Singapore snapper?

Sewing

2007-02-28T13:58:00.001+08:00

Found this from some webby, I think in this part of the world we don't do enough sewing of our baits. Now where am I going to get a chance to try this out? At the pond with a tamban?

Catch With A Prize

2007-02-27T19:06:00.000+08:00

After work, I went to punggol pond with the intention of fishing for an hour or so before heading home and I caught a 2.5 kg grouper that was tagged (a chinese new year promotion) that came with a $58 prize money (see the red packet in my pocket). In addition, I caught 4 'drum-fish' of about a kg each and all that in less than 2 hours. I am happy!

Lost and Found

2007-02-24T14:42:00.000+08:00

I had a dismay trip with Ricky on the eve of the Lunar New Year and so decided to seek some satisfaction at the pond. I was early, in fact the only one at the pond at that time. I spinned at the usual spots but my labor was not rewarded at all. I then decided to try out the unpredictable spot at the central cage and again there was no result after two spins. I decided to cast and park and take a break. As I was putting the rod into the rod-holder there was a violent pull and as I was totally unprepared the whole rod flew into the water and disappeared.

To cut the story short, a friend came along and I borrowed his rod and landed one snapper and to my amazement at the next cast I managed to retrieve my rod, the line had burst but the rod and reel was in working condition. The rest of the fishes were caught with my lost but found rod. I caught a total of six fishes; one was given away (not in the picture). I lost 3 barramundi on the fight but I will be back ……..

Changi With Ah Chong 9/2/2007

2007-02-10T22:55:00.000+08:00

Took leave and went with Frank and another 3 guys to bottom-bash Changi. We caught 28 fishes but alas they are really small. The biggest is a sweet-lip of about 1kg not counting the almost almost 2 kg catfish I caught. Anway the campany is great.

Another 3 Hours At The Pond

2007-02-03T12:53:00.000+08:00

Nothing much but quite satisfying.

Good Time & Good Buddies

2007-02-02T15:16:00.000+08:00

A Late Catch Report

2007-01-30T13:15:00.001+08:00

SSL10272, originally uploaded by HenryKoh.

This was a Sabah trip in September 2005. It was a very disappointing trip for me, given the hype and anticipation of 'one drop one bite' fishing in Sabah. The weather is the culprit; it was too rough and makes it impossible to fish at the trench. The fishes for some reason were not biting at the shallower water. 6 out of 8, not including were suffering from seasickness. Infact one guy slept for at least 90% of the trip. I was sleeping much more than my usual; just too depress to get up and fish. Will I go back again? Likely, but next time it will be with less expectation and longing.

Not Bad For 3 Hours

2007-01-27T14:14:00.000+08:00

No chance to fish the sea and thus decided to try the pond instead. Eight fishes for 3 hour is not bad I guess. The secret I guess is to work hard - spin here and spin there!

Changi By Night

2007-01-24T10:38:00.000+08:00

Last Friday (19/1/07), Daryl, 2 other guys and I went on a night boat trip to the changi and tekong area hoping to catch the remnants of the red snappers that escaped from the fish farm. Ours was the only fishing boat in sight and the reason became obvious over time – the fishes were not there or were not biting.

The result of one sleepless night:

8 red snappers (500 gram or smaller)
2 sub kg golden snapper
1 x 500 gram grouper
A few small eels and catfishes

Mekong Catfish

2007-01-22T11:19:00.000+08:00

I have not posted here for a long while basically because I have not been fishing and that's another story altogether. Anyway I was at the latest catch and release pond in Singapore to try out the infamous mekong catfish. I managed to hook one that is about 20kg on a short rod of about 4.5 feet and a small 1000 equivalent reel loaded with 15lb fireline. It put up an impressive tug of war.

category: catch report

Will It Happen Again

2006-08-29T07:46:00.000+08:00

We had a lousy trip on Ah Chai's boat last saturday, 6 of us and we landed 3 diamond trevallies and a table size snapper. Francis and I lost a trevally each. Well, at least I caught the snapper. Francis is having a period of draught in fishing lately. Francis if you are reading this, my offer of Sabah still holds.

Frank's recent trip to Sabah had me dreaming impatiently of our impending trip and I hope that this trip will be as good as previous trips. These pictures sure bring back sweet memories:

tag: fishy feelings

Things I learnt From Pond Fishing

2006-08-22T11:57:00.000+08:00

Recently I have been aggressively fishing the ponds. I have caught countless fishes, memorable among them were a 5 kg barramundi, a 4 plus kg snapper and a 3 plus kg GT. I did learn a couple of things about fishes particularly from a particular pond that had crystal clear water on one of the day. I observed the following:

The fishes may be there but if they are not in the mood to bite nothing will seduce them, you can lure quickly or slowly or throw a bait right in front of them or switch from live prawn to dead prawn to fish meat and they will just ignore it or scuttle away.
If they are in the mood to bite they will dash from some inconspicuous cover and take your bait as if their life is dependent on it.
Some fishes will come and inspect the bait and will teasing use their tail to knock the bait and then scuttle away, giving you false bite detection.
Fishes like snappers and barramundi in contrast to expectation will take the bait and stay still and not dash as expected.
Fishes, at least in the pond, bite less when water is crystal clear and when the day is hot.

What do think? Comments? Observations?

tag: fishy feelings, techniques

Eventful Event Pond Session

2006-08-17T12:54:00.000+08:00

I saw the posting on fishingkaki that a bunch of people were gathering at the event pond at Ponggol on Wednesday 16/8 and so I went down to make up the necessary number. There were 11 of us and all had high hope of catching something big.

My first rig was a 2-hook rig with split shot and tamban bait. On spinning back on my second cast there was a violent pull, I paused a second to allow the fish to swallow the whole bait and strike. The fish dived for the nearest structure, I tried to pump it away, my reel was peeling line and the drag on my cheap shimano spinning reel was rough and jerky. I was fearful of tightening the sticky drag but fortunately my pumping actions managed to steer it away from the net and the fish performed a series of aerial display - it was a huge barramundi. I had a tug of war with the fish for the next 10 minutes or so and a kind soul helped me land it with the net. The barramundi was about 5 kg. Unfortunately while he was helping me with the net, his rod which was on the floor was pulled into the pond. The rod was retrieved ultimately but the fish on it was lost.

All hopes sky-rocketed. About 5 minutes later someone landed another barramundi of about the same size, I like to think that it is slightly smaller. Then it quiet down, only a few golden promfets were landed.

About an hour later, I was spinning live prawn, and there was a huge take and I fought the fish for about 30 seconds and lost it. I spinned live prawn again and was rewarded with a 4-5 kg GT which took me at least 15 minutes to tame. Two other GTs was landed by others shortly and it quiet down again.

The rest of the 3 hours was rather uneventful and a few of the anglers finished the session with zero catch.

I gave the barramundi away and release the GT back to the pond.

I enjoyed it because I was using 10 pound line and it is a novelty for someone like me who is used to clanking heavy weight from the deep using 65 pound outfit.

tag: catch report

My First Fish On Popper

2006-08-12T15:10:00.000+08:00

I went with 4 other guys to a private luring and catch and release only blue water pond somewhere in Neo Tiew. It was 2 hours of hard work! The fishes are plenty but they just refuse to take lures. Well, I did manage to catch my first fish on a 40 gm popper, a giant trevally and another on a berkley glup.

tag: catch report

Long Time No Sea

2006-08-08T16:36:00.000+08:00

Have not been fishing for a while, at sea that is, but have been doing a lot of pond fishing. It is regressive for me but it is kind of fun and a good quick fix for the addiction.

Recently went out with 5 other guys on Raju's boat. The catch was not that fantastic but I did catch the biggest snapper and the only diamond trevally.

tag: catch report

Impressive Snapper

2006-06-17T10:42:00.000+08:00

Could not go on a long range trip over the weekend and so decided to go drifting with Ricky (aka Ah Eng). The catch rate was poor, only 5 fishes were caught:

two 3kg plus snappers by me
one 500 gm snapper by me
one star gazer catch and release by me
one 1.5kg grouper by Ricky

Well, the snappers fight were impressive and I am glad I ou-fished Ricky and so overall it was a good trip for me.

tag: catch report

Sedili Malaysia 19-21 May 2006

2006-05-22T11:34:00.000+08:00

Nine of us set out for this much awaited trip on Friday evening and reached the first spot in Sedili at about 1 am on Saturday morning. For the next 2 hours or so we had fast and furious actions but with very few fishes landed. A rod was broken, line burst, hook straightened, wire trace burst and 2 fishes (a cobia and a tenggiri) was lost at boat-side. It was fun but frustrating - we were just mentally not ready for it.

The second night was rather quiet with 2 snappers and a couple of cat fishes caught.

We had a mini grouper fenzy at one spot in the day and some fun with parrots at another spot.

tag: catch report

Another Southern Island Catch

2006-05-13T17:37:00.000+08:00

Anglers: Frank, Francis, Daryl, Preston and me.

Catch: Rather poor, only significant catch a 2kg parrot by me an a kg plus grouper by Francis

tag: catch report

Parrots & Parrots

2006-05-03T15:54:00.000+08:00

Have not seriously fished for a while and hence have not posted on this blog but was handsomely rewarded on this trip to Rompin. Frank, Francis, Louis and I had a great time with the parrots on 29-30 April 2006. Parrots are just awesomely powerful.

tag: catch report

Nothing But Snappers

2006-03-13T12:19:00.000+08:00

11/03/2006: Five of us tried out this bum-boat off Changi and we basically fished around the Tekong area. In total we had 14 snappers, the biggest was about 600 grams and the rest about 300 to 400 grams. My catch rate was good - I caught 7 or 8 of the snappers.

tag: catch report

Plenty But Lonely - 28/2/2006

2006-02-28T17:45:00.000+08:00

My usual fishing buddies don't do weekday local fishing trips. Francis, the only buddy that is mad enough to take leave and fish on a weekday could not make it and so I went alone to fish with Ah Chong around the Tekong area. The catch was pretty good but I felt rather lonely and left for shore at about 3 pm - Ah Chong may be a good boatman but he is certainly not the best companion. Anyway the photos, not the best - taken using my handphone:

tag: catch report

CR: 31st Jan 2006

2006-02-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

Frank, Francis, Moo, 2 new young guys (sorry forgot their names) and I went fishing with Ah Chong in the Changi Area. The bite rate was poor but we did have 7 diamond trevallies. It was however a bad day for me, I lost a chermin and only managed to hook up a small snapper. My trevally quota has run out ......

tag: catch report

No Fish For Lunar New Year

2006-01-28T08:59:00.000+08:00

Frank, Daryl, Louis and I went fishing last night with a boatman at West Coast in attempt to get some fresh fishes for new year and we were totally disappointed. I caught a ray of about 5 kg, a small strip snapper and a lizard shark. Louis caught a sub-kg snapper and Frank a tiny 'kelong chi'. That's all folk and that is despite the fact that we bought $30 worth of kelong squid and $20 of some kind of live cuttle fish. The best part of it is that at 6 am the boatman told us to pack up and go back because he has a day trip coming up. I deleted his number from my mobile phone. The company was great nevertheless.

tag: catch report

A Surprise Catch

2006-01-25T20:55:00.000+08:00

I went fishing with Ah Eng around the Jurong Island area today. We drifted the whole day and I was rewarded with a surprise catch - a 2 kg plus golden travelly. It put on an impressive fight, much better than the infamous golden snapper. The rest of the catch, pretty good I must say:

tag: catch report

Watch It & Drool

2006-01-20T16:42:00.000+08:00

The following links to some great parrot fishing clips were sent to me by Chris and there is only one word for it - wow!

http://www.turitalo.jp/video/kandai3.wmv

http://www.turitalo.jp/video/kandai4.wmv

tag: fishy fun

Catch Report - 14 Jan 2006

2006-01-14T19:33:00.000+08:00

This is Frank with his grunter.

This is Francis with his queen fish.

The catch

Boatman: Zainal
Area: Tekong and Ubin

I bought a Shimano Cardiff 300A and matched it with a Berkley rod this morning and used it for the trip. I caught the most fishes today. I'm very happy with the set.

Guys you call download the original picture here.

tag: catch report

Happy Chinese New Year

2006-01-12T13:44:00.000+08:00

Not too early for new year greetings I think.

May you have plenty of fishes in the new year!

People's Favorite

2006-01-12T12:27:00.000+08:00

Originally uploaded by Private Choices

I have uploaded more than 600 of my photographs to my flickr site and for some strange reason this is so far the most viewed and most liked photo on my site. Personally I have never found this photo to be extra-ordinary. I guess taste is simply very subjective; such taste diversity results in a fairer world.

tag: others

A Wet Day

2006-01-07T23:01:00.000+08:00

Frank, Francis, Louis, Daryl, Vincent and I went fishing today at west coast with Ah Chong. There was nothing to shout about. It rained sporadically throughout the day.
This is Daryl with his blacktip shark.

tag: catch report

Fishy Pleasure

2006-01-06T00:09:00.000+08:00

May all my fishing trips this year result in such unadulterated pleasure.

tag: fishy feelings

Mountain And Water

2006-01-02T16:16:00.000+08:00

I spent the last week of December 2005 touring the beautiful and exotic land of Yunnan, China. It is a mountainous region with scenic spots and many mysterious and colorful tribal groups. I had a good time with my family, I was happy, amused and hilarious, I ate some great and sometimes strange food, I was in awe with the sceneries, I climbed mountains and rested well in comfortable hotels and I filled all three of my SD cards with memorable photos and yet wished I had more cards. Nevertheless, I do think of fishing every now and then …

Spratly Safari

2005-12-15T21:53:00.000+08:00

Wow, I hope that gets your attention. This is from a catch report on Spratly found in the Malaysian fishing forum. There are just so many places to fish but so little time and too much commitment in life. Click and drool here.

tag: fishy fun

World Record Freshwater Fish

2005-12-12T19:17:00.000+08:00

This is the world's record for largest freshwater fish, at 646 pounds (293 kg). It is a Mekong catfish. Giant fish researchers - led by Zeb Hogan of the WWF and University of Wisconson tried to save it so it could spawn yet again, but it died and was consumed by hungry villagers.

Wow, tom-yam fish head that is enough to feed a whole village. Aloh mak!

tag: fishy fun

Girl Power

2005-12-12T13:19:00.000+08:00

A 15 year old girl, Sara Hayward caught a record breaking wahoo off Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico. The fish weighs a whopping 184 pounds. That's not just 30 pounds more than the record, that's 50 pounds more than she herself weighs.

Read about it here

tag: fishy fun

Jellyfish Attack

2005-12-12T13:09:00.000+08:00

Multitentacled giant jellyfish of up to 200 kilograms and with diameters of up to 2 meters have returned with a vengeance this season. Fishermen in Japan say they are under siege.

Read about it here.

tag: fishy fun

Creatures From The Deep

2005-12-11T13:58:00.000+08:00

I was just looking through old photos on a unfettered Sunday and found this. The fishes here were caught on my first trip to Sabah from a depth of about 100 meters. I don't know what they are and never got around to ask or find out. It does look too weird and colorful to be eaten though! For now, for me at least, it remains as unknown creature from the deep. Any enlightenment out there?

tag: fishy fun

CR 10 December 2005

2005-12-10T18:25:00.000+08:00

This is Louis with his first ever chermin (diamond trevally), caught using his newly acquired fluorocarbon leader. He is now a fluoro convert and soon to be addict.

Anglers: Frank, Daryl, Francis, Louis and I
Boatman: Ah Chai
Location: Tekong & Naval Base area
Fishes: 3 chermins by Louis, Frank and I, 1 sweetlip, 1 sickle fish, 1 small snapper, 1 small ray and quite a few grunters.

I was supposed to give this trip a miss but after failing to get a replacement my family decided for me that I should go. What a wonderful family!

Tide Pattern
0645 2.7 H 1252 1.4 L 1845 2.5 H

tag: catch report

Calamari On line

2005-12-09T09:19:00.000+08:00

I came across this news, the squid is estimated to be between 30 to 50 pounds. It would make a lot of calamari or enough baits for a record breaking number of snappers and enough ink to last till the next generation. But I am sure the tug of war would be the most memorable - jet propelled opponent.

You will find other fishing news here.

Another squid post here.

tag: fishy fun

What I Want For Christmas

2005-12-08T15:20:00.000+08:00

A license to fish every Saturday
A license to spend $2,500 or so to have a time of my life in Maldives
A popping rod and reel for Maldives - Stella and Carpenter will do
A new Torsa reel so that for a change I can play with lever-drag

Now I'm not asking too much am I? I hope the right person will read this and do the right thing.

tag: fishy fun

A Necessary Miss

2005-12-07T14:10:00.000+08:00

It looks like I will have to give this coming Saturday's trip a miss. Family responsibility must precede fishing so that there will be more fishing and above all more nag-free fishing. As the Chinese says, "You need to let go a long line to catch big fishes". But having say all that I'm sure that I'm going to have a good time with my delightful son.

tag: fishy feelings

Thinking About Women

2005-12-07T00:31:00.000+08:00

Just when you think that fishing is largely exclusive to men, the fairer sex is making a quiet invasion into 'mansphere'. They are even into tuna fishing. Check the links below:

tag: fishy feelings

Heaven On Earth

2005-12-06T21:30:00.000+08:00

This is a photo of the famous west lake in Hangzhou, China. I was there last year and was told that there are plenty of fishes in the lake but you do need a special license to fish in certain part of it. I did not have the time in that trip but it would certainly be heaven on earth to be able to fish from a boat in the middle of the west lake. Perfect tranquility, beautiful scenery, cool weather and a fish pulling at the end of the line ... wow!

tag: fishy feelings

Fishing Tips

2005-12-05T23:48:00.000+08:00

These are some tips from FishSA.com that I think are worth remembering:

When playing with fish that jump out of the water, always dip your rod down to slacken the tension of the line and hook as they jump. Fish will use the tension of a tight line to try and dislodge the hook from their mouth. So it doesn't pay to always have "tight lines" !

When baiting a hook, try and use soft bait - if using squid, beat the squid to soften it prior to baiting the hook. Some fish like to "mouth" a bait prior to taking it. As it does this, you will feel a light pick on the line and nothing more. The bite you feel is in fact not a bite but caused by the fish's tail action as it swims away with the bait.

The best way to determine if your hook is sharp enough, test it on your finger nail. If the point holds on the nail, it is sharp enough.

Power and action are two different things. Action describes how the rod will bend under loading. Slow action rods bend evenly from the tip to the butt, while fast action rods bend mostly near the tip section. Power ratings are a measure of how much pull is required to bend the rod. The higher the rating, the stiffer the rod.

category: fishy techniques

Squid Attack

2005-12-05T19:25:00.000+08:00

Found this picture at the tackle tour forum. Every sotong has its day!

category: fishy fun

The Mighty Gust

2005-12-03T08:14:00.000+08:00

As indicated in an earlier posting, I'm hopelessly addicted to fishing. Now I find myself also hopelessly addicted to this fishing blog. I just, as in less than half an hour ago, came back from a fishing trip and I'm here posting this catch report. I like to think of it as passion and not addiction.

Anyway, last evening five of us took off from west coast and headed for a spot about 2 hours away. We arrived early to wait for the turning tide. And true enough when the tide turned a beautiful golden snapper of about one half kg was landed. Just when everybody was excited and waiting in anticipation of that characteristic snapper pull, the north east wind blew. It blew and blew itself into a fury, the anchor slipped, we were all wet and swells of one to three metres came. It was frightening for me, I never knew that this could happen in local water. We were forced to seek shelter near an island and the passage to the sheltered water was tedious, slow, rocky and grossly uncomfortable. It took more than an hour just to find calm water. The rest of the night saw light rain and lots of catfish, small rays and some eels.

This is for Francis - I did not take photos, no anti-shake will suffice in that situation, I was shaking too.

Now for that badly needed bath ...

category: catch report

2 Hours Away, Pleasure I Hope

2005-12-02T10:29:00.000+08:00

I will be off to a rather new spot 2 hours away from the west coast this evening. The last trip to that spot by some friends produced a mini harvest with fishes like snappers and groupers in the 2 kg range. So watch out for the catch report tomorrow.

category: fishy feelings

It Is In The Air

2005-12-01T10:45:00.000+08:00

This being the first day of December, I woke up feeling all sentimental about Christmas. It is the season for renewing family ties and friendship, buying gifts, attending parties and church activities. It is also for me a season of less fishing with the monsoon haunting the usual fishing grounds. In fact I will be going on a holiday with my family on Christmas day itself. It will be a holiday without fishing since I will be herded from place to place by some tour guide.

So here is wishing all my friends and visitors to this blog a blessed Christmas and a happy new year.

category: fishy feelings, others

The Holy Land Of Fishing

2005-11-30T20:39:00.000+08:00

For me the holy land of fishing has to be the Maldives. It is not just the bountiful fishes but also the variety of fishing styles available. Apparently, one can jig, pop, troll, cast, fly-fish, and off course bottom-fish. The species of game fishes are also peerless:

Trolling
Marlin, Sail fish, Yellow fin, Wahoo, Dog tooth, Barracuda, Dorado
Popping
Giant trevally, Blue fin trevally, Dog tooth, Snappers
Jigging
Dog tooth, Giant trevally, Bluefin trevally, Snapper, Job fish, Emperor, Grouper
Bottom Fishing
Snapper, Giant trevally, Bluefin trevally, Emperor, Job fish, Groupers, Ginimas

The fishing infrastructure is also well established providing comfortable or even luxurious fishing.

Anyone want to join me at the end of 2006?

category: fishy feelings

Coral Trout Versus Coral Cod

2005-11-29T12:39:00.000+08:00

Which is the cod and which is the trout?

Answer: Top pic is coral cod and bottom pic is coral trout

category: fishy fun

An All Purpose Rig

2005-11-29T11:34:00.000+08:00

category: fishy techniques

Categories Through RSS

2005-11-29T10:11:00.000+08:00

I have ingeniously used RSS to embed category search results into this blog. If you don't know what the heck I am talking about it is alright - you are likely to be an angler and we are not talking about hooks and lines. Anyway forgive my rambling, this is actually a test of this technical crap.

category: others

My Dream Fish

2005-11-29T02:06:00.000+08:00

Scientific name:
Thunnus maccoyii and Thunnus albacares

Size:
Both southern bluefin and yellowfin tuna grow to at least 2 m in length and reach weights of more than 150 kg, although fish of both species over 100 kg are relatively uncommon, especially in inshore waters. The much rarer central Pacific bluefin - a near identical fish to the giant Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus) of northern waters - grows to a weight of more than 350 kg, and any tuna over 200 kg taken in our waters are most likely to be representatives of this central Pacific species

Description:
The southern bluefin is a very heavily built tuna with a cylindrical body and short fins. It is blue-black on the back and bluish-silver on the belly, often with broken vertical white bars and dashes on the flanks and belly, especially when young. The fins and finlets are yellowish, but never as bright as those of the yellowfin tuna. However, the caudal keels on the tail wrist, ahead of the tail, are conspicuously yellow, especially in smaller fish.The yellowfin colouration is the most striking of all the tunas. Freshly caught or live specimens are blue to steel black on the back, silver to silvery-gold on the flanks, and silvery-white on the belly. A band of bright gold or iridescent blue (sometimes both colours, one above the other) runs along the upper flanks, separating the dark back from the lighter belly. The stomach area sometimes carries oval, colourless patches and vague, broken vertical bars of white or off-white. As its name implies, the yellowfin's fins are bright yellow, particularly the small finlets. However, the caudal keels, ahead of the tail, are dark or dusky. Larger yellowfin (over 30 or 40 kg) are characterised by extended, strap-like second dorsal and anal fins, sometimes called "sickles".

Fishing Techniques:
Southern bluefin and yellowfin tuna are taken using a range of angling techniques. These include trolling with lures - especially skirted, Konahead-style lures, pushers, jet-heads, rubber squid, feathers, jigs, minnows and flies - as well as live baiting, dead baiting, lure casting and even fly fishing. A favoured Australian technique for taking larger yellowfin tuna is to use un-weighted flesh-strip baits or whole and cut pilchards in conjunction with a berley trail of fish cubes. This is called cubing or strip baiting. Big tuna are extremely powerful and demand the best in tackle, rigs and gaffs. Most are taken on study overhead reels, short, strong rods and lines of 15 to 37 kg breaking strain.

Eating Qualities:
The southern bluefin tuna has dark, red meat with a relatively high oil content, and is highly regarded by the Japanese for use in raw fish sashimi or sushi dishes. The yellowfin's flesh is slightly lighter in colour and less oily, but also demands a high price on the sashimi market, as well as being rated just behind the albacore in terms of its cooked flavour. All tuna destined for the table should be killed by a solid blow to the head immediately after being brought aboard, and bled by severing one or more arteries. The carcass should then be cooled as quickly as possible using ice or an iced brine "slurry", before being eaten fresh or snap frozen for future consumption.

source: http://www.sportsfish.com.au

category: fishy feelings, fishy techniques

Boatmen Need Digital Skills

2005-11-26T21:03:00.000+08:00

In addition to GPS and echo-sounder, boatmen seriously need to learn how to take digital photos. This picture was taken by the boatman - my head was nearly chopped off, the picture was blurry and the composition left much to be desired. If the picture looks decent to you, it is attributable to my photo manipulation skills.

You should have seen the other photo taken by him. The fish heads were truncated.

But all are forgivable if the catch is good.

category: fishy feelings

Catch Report 26/11/2005

2005-11-26T18:12:00.000+08:00

Frank, Francis, Daryl, Louis and I went fishing today with Ah Chong around the Tekong area. It was pretty satisfying. Frank is the champion with the biggest catch, a almost 2 kg chermin. Let the pictures do the talking:

more .....

Tide pattern:
26/11 0728 2.4 H
26/11 1326 1.6 L

category: catch report

I Caught You!

2005-11-24T19:32:00.000+08:00

Notice the grin, the smack of satisfaction, a total contrast from the sullen look a minute ago. That's the magic of fishing. Again the pleasure is firmly re-embedded in the neurons of the brain and the waiting and disappointment relegated to the remotest region. Overtime the brain is addicted to the pleasure associated with fishing and it pines for the next experience and the next and the next ...

Now you know who is hooked!

category: fishy feelings

Dry Patch In The Sea

2005-11-23T15:28:00.000+08:00

The catch in the last few trips sucks big time. Maybe my expectations have gone sky high recently but whatever the reasons I'm both angry and disgusted - my ROI (particularly family time) has been way below par. I feel like a terrible investor.

Maybe, like the picture, there are wanted signs for me pasted all over the sea bed. Fistribution time for all the good catch in the past!

This Saturday will be different, a harvest of sort, I hope ....

category: fishy feelings

Another Local Hope Is Dashed

2005-11-19T17:45:00.000+08:00

November 18 evening, the six of us (Daryl, Seng Chee, Frank, Albert, Gary and I) set off with high hope for the Marine Parade wreck on Yew Seng's boat. We were dreaming of big groupers or at least some golden snappers. The baits were good and we even netted a good number of live squids. Despite the good weather, current and baits, most of us had our hope dashed. The result:

1 3kg plus golden snapper by Frank
1 3-4 kg barracuda by Daryl
1 puny shark by me
2 small fishes (use as baits) by Frank

And that's it folk!

Having said that I must say that the company was great and Yew Seng was very hardworking in netting the squids.

category: catch report

Another Occasion Of Hope

2005-11-15T10:30:00.000+08:00

I'm going fishing this Friday evening (18th Nov) on Yew Seng's boat. My last two encounters on his boat have been a dismay, a big fat zero on both occasions. This, I hope will be the trip that breaks the spell.

Hope, the magic that warms the heart,

When all things seem so bleak and dark.

category: fishy feelings

A Reluctant Catch Report

2005-11-13T12:58:00.000+08:00

I went fishing yesterday (12 November) with Frank and Vincent. We were fishing around the ubin and tekong area. The boat was very comfortable for the 3 of us but the catch was just plainly, simply, purely PATHETIC. To begin with, it was the boatman who called and told me that the current was pretty good and I enthusiastically invited my friends promising them good catch. The rain in the early morning could have been a factor but still it was embarrassing, I almost did not want to post this catch report. The only saving grace was understanding friends and great social bonding. Anyway the catch:

1 grouper, slightly more than palm size
4 palm size ACK (dotted snapper)
1 chocolate hind
1 puffer fish

Tide Pattern:
12/11 0833 2.6 H
12/11 1439 1.3 L

category: catch report

Your Meat May Be My Poison

2005-11-11T21:09:00.000+08:00

According to many, the Calstar 760L is the best all round bottom bashing rod that exists on the face of this universe. I hear that it is practically indestructible! One of my friend swears by it and has brought up 80 kg ray on this rod. I have resisted the calstar temptation for 2 years primarily because I am a 2-piece rod devotee. This year in September, I abandoned my faith and customized for myself a 760L cropped to 5' 6''. It looks good particularly with my name engraved on it. Excitedly, I took it to Tanjong Pinang for it's first flirt with the creatures of the deep. I did not catch anything huge but I was really disappointed with the performance of the rod; I don't like the way it bends, it is too 'parabolic'. It lacks the stiffness and possibly the lifting power that I am so accustomed to in Japanese jigging rods. I may be a lonely voice in the sea of calstar followers but it is my rod and I am giving it up to the second hand market. I don't keep that which I don't use.

category: tackle talk

Reel Lust

2005-11-10T13:10:00.000+08:00

I can think of a hundred reasons, I'm exaggerating, maybe 10 reasons why I should buy this reel. It is not the color, I hate gold. It is not the brand, I'm not the Shimano type. It is not because it is level-drag, my fishing style is simply to lock drag and crank. It is not the technology, I know next to nothing about things like washer, drag disc, alloy and ball-bearings. To be honest I don't know why. It is just unadulterated lust. Now I'll have to look for a trip to appease my conscience and justify the purchase. Man, I'm in heat!

category: fishy feelings, tackle talk

The Fish That Eluded Me

2005-11-08T23:10:00.000+08:00

This is a kingfish that was caught in my last trip to KK but it was caught by someone else. In fact quite a few were hooked up in that trip but it simply eluded me. I'll be looking out for you king in my next trip.

As a side note, this fish despite its power and fierce run is actually toothless .

category: fishy feelings

Most Important Lesson In Bottom Fishing

2005-11-08T13:07:00.000+08:00

I have fished intensively for 2 over years and the most important lesson I have learnt is how to react to a fish bite. The human tendency is to strike or pull in the opposing direction of the fish bite with the intent of setting the hook. I have now learnt that this is not the best reaction.

The best reaction is to go against human impulse and that is to dip the rod and slack the line for a second or two before striking. I found this to be extremely difficult to do initially, it is just so anti human nature. But building the right reflex action has paid off, I believe I have better hook-up rate resulting from the re-conditioning of this reflex action. Try it!

category: fishy techniques

Introducing A Friend

2005-11-08T00:26:00.000+08:00

A 10 kg chinaman fish caught in Tanjong Pinang by a friend of mine.

category: fishy fun

My Toes Are Laughing

2005-11-07T22:11:00.000+08:00

OK, roll on the floor and laugh! In a pervert sense I found this very humorous. I guess it is safer to go fishing relative to swimming and diving. The picture gives a new meaning to this quotation:

Humor is a reminder that no matter how high the throne one sits on, one sits on
one's bottom ~ Taki

category: fishy fun

Hosburg Lamentation

2005-11-07T20:30:00.000+08:00

What the heck happened to Hosburg? Where have all the fishes gone. It used to be a fun and productive fishing ground just hours away from our shore. The photos above was for a trip in April, 2004. The picture today is very different - the catch reports for Hosburg these days are pathetic. Given the fuel hike and hence higher charter prices and the poor catch, Hosburg is out for me .... unless the fishes return .... it would be a miracle ...

category: fishy feelings, catch report

Where Are The Snappers?

2005-11-05T18:49:00.000+08:00

The catch today is rather poor. The snappers are gone, the fun of fishing the Jurong island area is as such greatly diminished. The other fishes are reluctant to bite.

There were 4 groupers in total and Francis (pic on the left) who caught only 2 fishes today caught the 2 biggest groupers. The boatman who also caught 2 fishes only today caught the remaining 2 small groupers. I caught the rest. But in terms of size and quality, Francis is the indisputable champion. See picture below for total catch.

Boatman: Ah Eng
Area: Jurong Island
Method: Drifting

Tide Pattern:
05/11 0645 1.4 L
05/11 1216 3.1 H
05/11 1856 0.2 L

category: catch report

No Please

2005-11-04T11:36:00.000+08:00

Hurray, I'm going fishing tomorrow, on a rather small boat. May this never happen to me! Please visit this blog tomorrow for the catch report.

category: fishy fun, fishy feelings

Fly Fishing?

2005-11-04T11:12:00.000+08:00

category: fishy fun

Fishing Nostalgia

2005-11-04T00:26:00.000+08:00

I had no chance to go fishing during this block of holidays and as a result suffered an attack of fishing nostalgia.

This is the first ray (28 kg) that I caught on my first ever fishing trip in 2003. It was a memorable trip (2 days 1 night) to Tanjong Pinang - the ice box was full by midnight. It was full of bulats, 40 over ranging from 1 to 3 kg. I was the only one that caught a red fish on that trip - a red emperor.

I found the trip and kakis on http://www.fishingkaki.com. The wonderful anglers were: Melvin Lee (leader), Steven Hing, Albert Chin, Frank Cheong, Aldrin and me.

category: fishy feelings, catch report

Make Life Simple

2005-11-03T23:51:00.000+08:00

Blogger (host of this blog) is great but it lacks categories, I have found a way around it to provide categories for this blog. Hope it makes life simpler for you. Thank you for dropping by ..... again ... more often I hope .....

category: others

2005 October 1-3 Tanjong Pinang Trip

2005-11-03T20:23:00.000+08:00

Have not been to TP for over a year and decided to join this group (8 anglers) for 2 nights of fishing. I must say that the thing that I enjoyed most was the service. There is no place like TP when it comes to service.
The anglers wanted good eating fishes rather that just big fishes and told the boatman specifically not to target bulat. As a result, not a single bulat, my first trip to TP that has no bulat.
Anyway the fishes:

red snapper - 64, mostly table size, the biggest is about 4 kg
red emperor - 4, biggest about 2 kg
Ang chor - 1 only about 4 kg despite the fact the we
have plenty of fresh squids on the first night
Big grouper - 3, the biggest must be slightly more than 10 kg, maxed someone's bogger grip
Normal grouper - 3, between 1 to 2 kg
Chinaman fish - 8kg and 10 kg
Cobia - 4 - 3 about 2 kg, 1 about 10 kg
Parrot - 2 - about 1kg and 2 kg
Ray - 4 rays, the biggest about 30 kg
Emperor and sweetlips and other coral fishes - did not bother to count
Marine cat fish - whole of the first night, too many to count, mostly were the sharp nose type and some can pull 20 pounds drag on Ishida

category: catch report

No Chance To Test

2005-11-03T14:21:00.000+08:00

I bought this in September and matched it with a newly made calstar 30-80 in preparation for the Tanjong Pinang trip in early October.

There were plenty of fishes but mostly below a kg. The biggest fish I caught on the trip was a marine catfish that is about 5/6 kg. What a disappointment! The reel and rod remain untested.

Anyway, the Ishidai felt like a glorified saltiga z40 only, I should have bought the blue heaven instead. The biggest fish is the one that is lost and the best reel is the one that is not bought. The irony of fishing ....

category: tackle talk, fishy feelings

Explosive Peacock

2005-11-02T16:30:00.000+08:00

I used to do fly-spinning for peacock bass at Lower Pierce Reservior, the biggest I have caught is about a kg. It gives great fight and aerial display on light tackle. Now I can only imagine what a fellow like this (picture) would do. I am sure it would be one tenacious tug of war between beast and man.

I should put this on my post-work (retirement) fishing agenda but by then it would be beast against old man. As someone said, "age is matter of the mind, if you don't mind it doesn't matter". Wish I could believe that ....

category: fishy feelings

Watch The Watch

2005-10-31T16:28:00.000+08:00

I bought this watch a while ago. By setting the longitude and latitude it will predict the fish biting periods by calculating moon phase and tide pattern. It ranks the level of fish activities with a scale of between 1 to 4 fishes.

It even has a fish alarm that will buzz you during the biting period.

The accuracy is obviously affected by other factors such as temperature and pressure. But the most important factor is without doubt a productive spot.

I can tell you this, a watch like this will mean that at times it would be hard to concentrate on work.

The fishes are biting ....

category: fishy feelings

Catch Report - 29/10/05

2005-10-29T19:16:00.000+08:00

Louis, Vincent and I went fishing today. Alas, this is a trip that left me yearning more for fishing in KK, Sabah.

Boatman: Ah Eng
Area: around Jurong island
Fishing style: drifting

The water condition was great and we drifted from 9am to 5pm and for some strange reasons the fishes were not biting or absent. This is what we caught:

3 groupers, all below a kg
1 parrot, below a kg
12 chocolate hinds

I caught 2 of the groupers and 6 chocolate hinds. The 3 groupers were caught around 10am.

Tide pattern:
29/10 0928 2.4 H
29/10 1524 1.3 L

category: catch report

Dreaming In Anticipation

2005-10-28T23:30:00.000+08:00

I dream of non-stop fishing actions. I dream of parabolically bent rod. I dream of fishing in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

It's unbelievable, I have already booked a trip with the KK boatman for April 27-30, 2006. A whopping 6 months in advance. I have never in my life booked a family holiday 6 months in advance.

What is even more amazing is the fact that 7 other anglers have already indicated their commitment to this trip.

But it's 6 long months more ..... I guess I just have to keep on dreaming ... in the meantime!

Last KK trip's catch:

category: fishy feelings, catch report

I Need My Fix

2005-10-26T21:13:00.000+08:00

I'm addicted to fluorocarbon leader. Without doubt it has given me comparative success - in many instances when the fishes are easily spooked (seem very often these days), I out-fish the unbelieving anglers. Now I use it on all fishing trips, day or night.

I even experience withdrawal symptoms when I don't have it. In one particular trip, without my fluoro I felt terrible, depressed and lost. Needless to say, my fishing confidence waned.

Now I cannot imagine going on a fishing trip without my fluoro. I 'm so hopelessly addicted. Help me! I need a fluoro rehab centre.

I take comfort from the following review:

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewseaguar.html

category: fishy feelings, tackle talk

The Bee Stings Again

2005-10-26T21:04:00.000+08:00

I hate his artificially inflated ego, ceaseless chattering and disparaging & mocking remarks but I do miss fishing with him.

Damn, I read in fishingkaki that 2 anglers on his boat harvested 45 pei tiam. I don't care whether these fishes are wild or released, I just want the non-stop action.

Alas, the last non-stop action that I had was Ah Seng (catfish) on Ah Chong's boat.

category: fishy feelings

26/10/05 Fishing With Ah Chong

2005-10-26T19:36:00.000+08:00

Francis, Louis and I took leave today to go fishing. I think we are plain mad, spending our precious leaves just to catch a few miserable fishes. I have 42 days leave a year and that definitely makes the other 2 guys more mad than me.

The fishes were all caught between 12 to 5pm with the most happening time between 12 to 2pm. We spent the whole morning waiting in vain for chermin at the naval base area.

The highlight for me was when I was reeling in a 500gm snapper I saw a huge fish (I think it is a grouper) chasing after the snapper. It must be aleast 5 or 6 kg. Subsequently, I tried live-baiting with a ACK but ....... I will be back, I know where you are now!

My catch rate was pretty impressive today. It must be attributable to flurocarbon.

Tide pattern
26/10 0726 2.1 H
26/10 1054 1.9 L
26/10 1611 2.2 H

category: catch report

Gears Are Ego Extension

2005-10-25T10:51:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I wander why like many other anglers, I suffer from a compulsive obsession for gears and gears and gears. Do I really need an Ishida or a Blue Heavan?

I think it is an ego thingy. Just like cars, rods and reels are psychological extension of a man's penis. I'm sure Freudian believers would have a field day with this.

In contrast, nature's way seems functional and simplistic but it does have its own brand of beauty and elegance.

My new philosophy for this season - buy less and fish more!

category: fishy feelings, tackle talk