I had mine too. heehee 

Nice 'ang kao' for dinner!!! 

Mr Chang's ray on jig!!! This fellow must be hungry... 

A decent dogtooth! 

This grouper was caught at 75m while the depth registered 120+m.... strange! 

A decent 26kg amberjack on bait. What a smile! 

David's big eye jack while the rest were hitting red ruby snapper. 

FishingKaki.com Gotham Penthouse Event 20050925

Initially, time was not on my side to attend this membership drive by FK at Gotham Penthouse in Clarke Quay. Somehow or rather on that day, things turned for the good and David and I made it.

Although we were pretty late but when we reached there, the FK's brothers were still around and the crowd just dispersed. Everyone were smiling and having fun. Especially those sitting at the beer counter playing 'games'. Laughter everywhere and bro here and bro there without fail.

It sure felt like a big family whose passion is fishing and conservation.

I had some beer too... kekeke...

Sega 16bit, anyone?

When we were back on land, I saw this old school Sega 16bit console lying on the river bed.

Maybe when I come back here the next time, I might see a PS2.

Till next time...

Shimano Calcutta 50, 20050922

Today, as usual, I was following David to work sites to help him out.

Since we were in Woodlands and after work, we were desperate for lunch. Somehow or rather, in the heavy downpour, I saw David was guiding his vehicle to Sembawang Shopping Center which is not too far away.

While we were still in the van, I accused him of bringing me to this place to tempt me with the Abu 5600 with red thumb bar. I had a crush on the reel and till today, I am tempted. At SGD450, I decided to wait. (Wait for what???) David just smiled and brushed it off lightly... but for me, this is SERIOUS!!!

When we entered the building from the carpark, I went straight to a pet supplies to get some goodies for my dog, Skippy. I was trying to waste some time there so that I could have enough time to clear my mind and think logically before going up to Good Fishing Store and harrass the shopkeeper for a better price for the Abu reel.

I wasted about 15mins in the store and when I came out of the it, I couldnt find David at all. Now, who is the desperator now....?

I took a lift up to the fourth level and gingerly, I walked to the tackle shop with much excitment. I am going to see my 'love' again. Hahaha. Dont laugh, pls... hahahaha...

Upon reaching the shop, I tried to avoid the display cabinets of fishing reels. I went straight to the rods section and 'fool and flirt' around but no 'beauties' caught my eyes. Soon, the temptation was so great that I cant resist anymore... I threw myself at the display and somethingelse caught my eyes...

I ditched my ex-lover and brought this new love home... at SGD340... Shimano Calcutta 50 2006/6 model. No more the o'biang (undesirable) gold anymore... the gold trim is beautiful and the gun metal finish is really cool...

I found my new love...

Cl^.^P

Eggs' joke

One day, there was 3 eggs in a refridgerator.

The first egg said to the second egg,"Why is it so that that egg over there in the corner has hair all over his body?"

The second egg replied with mischief, "Maybe his father is an Indian..."

Both eggs burst into laughter, "Hahahahahahahahaa... hahahahaha... haha."

The third egg could not keep his silent anymore and shouted back in hokkien (a Chinese dialect), "Diam lah! Lim peh si kiwi lah!!!"

("Shut up! Your father me, is a kiwi!!!")

;P

9kg dogtooth tuna broke Bro Mike's rod...

On the first day and night out in the reefs in Lucornia Shoal, brother Mike had a bad day. He lost a 500+ jig on the very first drop! Then he lost another jig and half a spool of line off his Shimano Stella on the third drop... I really felt sorry for him as who would want to be in his shoes when the jigging trip just only started...

To make thing even worse in the night, while we were all jigging like mad men, he hooked up a decent dogtooth and immediately these beast started peeling line off his reel. Suddenly, we all heard a 'crack' sound... his rod broke!!! He only had 2 rings left on the rod and the other piece was out in the water swimming around with the dogtooth tuna.

I could feel his frustration as if that was me... I would be frustrated too...

Fortunately, the doggy was landed without losing another jig and line out in the reefs. Consolation? Yeah, I guess he would agree too.

For me, I had lots of bites on my jigs as I could see paint peeling off and teeth marks all over the place but I didnt feel anything at all. What the hell were I doing man?!?!?!?! I blanked on the first day and night...

I blanked!!! Luckily, I still managed to fish up a sotong which aided Victor (an angler on the same vessel) to score the biggest fish of the trip, 26kg amber jack and the first ruby snapper of the trip.

I could only sit in a corner and cry... my tears were covered by my sweats...

I cried? NO WAY LAH!!!

Just *&$%ing desperate and frustrated as I blanked... on the first day and night out in the reefs...

My newest geek toys on the move...

On the 10th Sept, the official date of my release from RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) I went to a phone shop near my place and got myself a Sony Ericsson W800i without much hestitation. The bundle came with a bluetooth handsfree too and it almost cost me SGD1000. SGD958 to be exact. The lady boss was singing 958 as it is also a frequency of a local chinese radio station...

This phone comes with a 512Mb of Memory Stick Duo Pro and I think it is really more worthy that the sister's phone K750i which has only 32Mb to offer as external memory.

The camera quality is pretty decent at 2MP and the lcd screen is very clear and bright with 256k colors. To know more about this phone that I have, you can visit www.gsmarena.com for more details. I first saw it there as a preview and from the day onwards, I have been waiting for her launch and finally it came and I really bought it. The review of this phone is pretty good and Nokia N90 is totally way off the fight with this little beast.

I am enjoying the MP3 player very much, with or without the ear piece. It sounds like a gem with something this small and pretty loud as well. Just imagine you are out at the beach with someone dear, you play her favourite song with this phone and guess what - romantic right? No hassel of wires or ear piece, just listen up to her favourite song!!!

Someone suggested to me to make things even better, I should even bring along two old school lanterns to that someone 'dear' as today is the annual Mid-autumn mooncake festival. What perfect plans!!! Save it for your wife dude. Hahaha... Anyway, I think such a plan do work and what if the competitor came with electric powered lantern, he will be totally out of the game. Hahaha... so much for romanticism... Who is that someone 'dear' to me? I am still seeking...

Anyway, back to the phone. One function that this phone has is a pretty decent and whydidntIthinkaboutit one. The phone can operate as a MP3 player or camera on her own without even turning on the phone at all. This makes frequent flyer's obvious MP3player cum camera cum phone choice. The sister K750i does not behave in this way though which makes me want to buy the W800i even more. Next time when you see someone holding this phone in flight and listening to music, dont go and disturb him/her by saying, "Hey, I am sorry to disturb you but it is not allowed in flight to turn on your mobile here. You might just cause some interference with the radar and CRASH the kite we are in now. Pls.... " On shut up! Hahaha but sometimes, some people really do not know their toys well and they just might be playing the MP3 with the phone turns on too... Oh well... let's all leave it to fate then. Otherwise, flight warrant is a pretty decent idea for safety reasons. Of course we have to train them well enough too as they just might make a fool of themselves with geeks' toys onboard and the only stupid reason they could give is "For safety reasons.... blah blah blah....".

Back to my phone... ;P

Dolphins!

The day when I was stripped clean by a marlin, I saw dolphins. They didnt stay long with the vessel. I guess I probably saw around 12 of them at one time. This is the first time in my life that I saw wild dolphins and I was so excited about it. I managed to take two short clips of them when they were swimming away. The photos are shot by Mervyn. I could still remember clearly the moment when I saw them on the starboard side of the vessel... so many of them... what a sight!

Hot Joker? Hot Joker? HOT JOKER...

I was in my friend's house yesterday night and while I was digging through the 'piles' of lures I saw some good stuffs and especially the Yozuri Hot Jokers...

These lures were very popular back in the 1990s and especially it was a favourite in Pasir Ris Fishing Pond in those days.

Yozuri didnt produce them anymore and soon it became even hotter as it was really a good lure and many wondered why did Yozuri stop making them.

And this guy still have 3 of them...

Decompression!!!

During one of the drift jigging sesions, I caught this fish at a deapth of 120m. From the picture, we could all see that the fish wasnt anything spectacular in size. It took me less than a minute to bring it up to the surface and immediately when the fish was landed, the eyes and the bladder of the fish had some serious decompression problems., seriously.

Dogtooth Tuna Sashimi!!! POWER!!!

Lucornia Shoal cont'd...

Sometimes, it is always too early to be judging the food we eat in a Japanese sushi bar especially when we talk about sashimi. When the fish got frozen, then defroze... some oil and texture will be lost in such a process.

I tried quite a number of tuna sahimi and I didnt fall in love with any. I was really skeptical when my dear friend Mervyn started to play his fillet knife on the just-caught-dogtooth. While he was still preparing the dogtooth sashimi, I actually saw him putting a slice of the fish into his mouth. I could see his satisfactory smile and my heart was tempted.

When the dish was served... I was still jigging in the diver's cage and still skeptical. Every now and then, I would steal a look at the dish and seeing people enjoying it and praising it! Oh gosh... my pants almost got wet!

I couldnt stand the temptation anymore and I wanted to rush to the table and.....

Hey, I couldnt be spoiling my image man, just for some fish... (still skeptical).

I tried to keep my cool and stowed by gear away and walked to the dish of 'doggy flesh'. My eyes didnt leave the plate for more than 5sec. I sat down, took a drink and continue to act cool... I said I was tired and need a break. I picked up a slice of the sashimi and dipped into the light soya sauce with lots of wasabi... slowly I put the slice into my already watering mouth.

For a moment, I felt as if time had stopped... I thought I was eating salmon... I remembered Seattle. I had lots of salmon sashimi in Seattle and the salmon's flesh is translucent... so is the doggy's.

IT IS SO GOOD!!!!!

I dont have to write anymore but I am sure you guys could imagine what happened next...

I do eat fish... most of the time I would prefer them to be raw.

I could still remember how I tasted the fish and how the flesh melted in my mouth... ARGH... I WANT MORE!!!




I wish I could be on another boat trip soon...

Sotong Sashimi, Itchiban!!!

The first night out in the bluewater, I didnt catch anything and didnt even feel any tug on my line but my jigs got defaced. Teeth marks were visible and paint even started feeling... What's wrong with me or what's wrong with my senses...?

I got pretty discouraged and the pressure was on me. My pals and other fellow anglers were getting hits and misses... Me? Nothing...

When the night was still young, we saw some squids swimming around. Since I had some squid jigs with me and I hestitated not. The squid was caught before the fishing action got hot.

Only one fell for the jig and 'hook up!'. For a moment, I told myself that I caught something before many others here. But what the heck... a SQUID!

Later on, a fellow angler asked me if I could let the squid be his bait.

"Why not?" I answered.

Mervyn took up the job to slice up the squid. The head was used as bait and 1/4 of the body was sliced nicely as sashimi.

Never in my life did I ever eat sotong (squid) sashimi. The sotong smell from the sotong sushi in local sushi restaurant kept me off them. I didnt want to try and I was pretty sure that I wouldnt.

Mervyn kept pestering me saying that the sotong is good stuff! I relented and ate a slice...

I AM ADDICTED!!! FOR A MOMENT, I AM THE SOTONG MONSTER... HAHAHA

Somehow, back home in Singapore, I still wouldnt dare to try as those served are already white in color. The ones I ate onboard of Barum were so fresh and the flesh was clear. Excellent texture and very sweet!!!

I WANT MORE. If only it is served fresh from the tank, otherwise, dont bother me.

CR 20050906, Freshwater

Today, I had a little time and thus gone fishing again. This time, I was with David (nymph) and Nick (tarponboi).

Nothing fantastic today for me. Only two peacock basses registered with me plus a bonus, luohan. David was worse, only one peacock bass. Both of us were using lures.

For Nick, he is the lucky one today. I guess God must have taken care of him as today Nick just blew his paper in the morning. He needs to de-stress!!!

Nick landed two peacock basses and missed a beautiful tarpon. A tarpon!!! The tarpon took line and did 5 aerial displays and gone with the wind.

Take a look at Nick's prize catch of the day!!! I thought I saw a testicle on the fish's head... pardon my language...

Later on, we moved off to another fish hole. The weather was affecting the bite rate everywhere. It seemed to get worst into the evening. No fish registered in the next two fish hole. A herring checked out my lure and that was it.

While David and Nick were threshing away, I stole 30mins of power nap under some trees. Suddenly I heard someone shouting for me, "Edward! Edward! Star tortoise! Star tortoise! In the WATER!!!"

I opened my weary eyes and stood up from my 'bed' (bench) and checked out what was in the water. A STAR TORTOISE INDEED!!! What the hell with the people here??? Someone actually left his pet star tortoise (a protected animal which is not allowed in Singapore at all) in the park and someone A**H*** dumped it into the water!!!

I rescued it and had it sent to the 'right' place... I think I did a good deed today...

I am tired... it is time to sleep...

Good night!

Birds and insects onboard of Barum.

Where do they come from and where do they go???

Out in the reefs, Lucornia Shoal which is at least 14hrs from land, I saw sparrows, dragonflies and stink bugs. It is really strange to me and when I asked around, the people onboard could only guess how did they get there and not have a definite answer.

In the day, I saw many more birds out in the reefs but where do they take a break? In Lucornia Shoal, I was told that during the lowest tide, the reefs do not expose at all. Where? I only discover lots of birds resting onboard at night but during the day, I see them flying around out there.

The only conclusion that I thought of is when we made our way out to the reefs, the birds followed the vessel out into the open sea. Same for the insects. They could be probably seeking shelther in the vessel when we left.

5 nights and 4 days out in the bluewater, some of the birds died. I guess it is probably because of starvation and exhaustion. They must had been flying very hard to find land so that they could find food but their little bodies got exhausted as lands were all too far away...

I thought the death of the birds were sad already but when we got back on land, we were told by the locals that when the night we left the river for the reefs, a vessel right behind us had an unforunate incident. Someone onboard fell into the sea in the rough weather. The body was not discovered even when we were back... this is really sad.

Durian fish???

On the last day of my fishing trip in Lucornia Shoal, I managed only a fish. At first, everyone taught that I caught a red snapper and when the fish got onboard, the dive master onboard told me that this is a 'durian fish'. Every scales on its body has a spike and we must not handle it with bare hands. Even with my gloves, I could feel the spikes sinking into the leather without much trouble.

I caught this fellow at depth 120m. It didnt put up much a fight at all with my setup. The dive master, Mervyn told me that this fish is excellent eating quality and he would get the cook to get it steamed for me for breakfast the next day. I didnt think so at all.

When morning came, I went to the dining area to take a look.

Gosh! The 'durian fish'!

Perhaps Mervyn was right. I took a piece of its cheek and while I was trying to cut out more from the back of the fish, I could tell that the fish meat is soft and tender!!!

When the meat got into my mouth... it just melted away... 'durian fish'... I want more.....

(Stay tuned for more stories from my Lucornia Shoal fishing trip.)

o.o

CR 20050904, Freshwater

I almost slept my day away until evening, nymph gave me a wakeup call and there we went to chiong again.With our zeros in hands, we landed 3 decent kaluis and two kois.

The koi that I caught was really strange, upon hookup, it didnt 'run' at all. It just stayed there and didnt move. As if it knows that I would release him for sure... It took me almost a minute trying to make it 'run' and it still remain on the same spot... Finally, the hook came off too and there the fish sped away. It left me wondering what the heck actually happened...

I only managed a shot.

I got stripped by a marlin!

Yesterday, around evening time, I reached home back in Singapore from Lucornia Shoal, E.M'sia. I have taken almost 300 photos and I really need some time to sort them out before posting it out for you all.

Exhausted? Yes, I am. Tired? Bet double!

Bluewater jigging is not child's play. Bluewater angling requires the best outfit you could afford to tame those wild and powerful fish out there. I was trying my luck using my Ryobi Safari for trolling when we were moving on to another reef hoping for some yellowfin tuna action. Instead of hitting a yellowfin tuna, I got a MARLIN instead!

Marlin!!! Hookup!!! My fellow angler, Mr Chan, ran to press the bell to stop the vessel.

The whole incident (not even a battle) last almost a minute only. 300m of YGK's PE4 50lbs just disappeared from the spool leaving behind a smoking reel. The spool was HOT to touch and during switching spool, I could smell 'chao da' (burnt scent) from the drag assembly within.

At least we get to see what fish was it. A marlin. It came out of the surface and did the shake-it-off thing to dislodge the skirt. We saw only the bill and the head and my jaws dropped. It is a huge one! Huge to me. The captain of the boat saw it too. "Ikan besar! Ikan besar!"

At 150m (my line is color coded, I saw the yellow section with half a spool of line left.), we saw the beast. I could even see the inner jaws of this beast at this distance!The marlin is estimated around 200kg-300kg. The 7kg drag went off screaming and never stop for even a split second. We locked up the drag to the fullest but it just didnt work at all. The last 50m of 50lbs left the spool and burst like thread. Suddenly everything went quiet after the line burst. It left me in awe of the power of the beast that stole my line... my fingers were trembling when I was switching spools. My fingers were trembling for at least 5mins or even more as I was getting my rig ready, I couldnt tie a proper knot to the swivel at all. My fingers havent trembled in a long time...

Stay tuned for more stories. (When I feel better and could write more.)