Nostalgic Sportfishing

Southern Islands: 12th May 2006

2006-05-25T22:47:00.000+08:00

Essential Data For The Day
Buddies Present: Liang Chuan & Wei Boon
Weather: Scorching from morning all the way till approximately 4.30pm
Results: Only a Todak landed by me.

Morning Sun
The digital clock of my cellphone showed 09 00 hrs when we plunged our footsteps on and into the fine sinking sand of the tropical island. The sun was playing it's full role positioning herself high up in the brilliant blue sky speckled with small patches of dispersed clouds. We all agreed that we were all gonna be so freaking toasted. The highly-intensified sun rays were already making it's presence felt as we felt some burning sensation on our exposed skin while making our way to the desired place.

Inspiration
Before reaching our final destination, we came across a group of people who appeared to be luring also. And there were at least 7 of them, and all of them were standing on the rocky platforms, fishing off the rocks. Coincidentally, one of the guys hooked on something sizeable, and the fish was doing everything it could to get itself off the menacing hooks. Leaping and thrashing around one moment, going deep and wide the other. Absolutely fascinating to watch. And there we were drooling, with our adrenaline rush pumping right through our veins. We looked at each other and concluded, 'lets go and get our own fishes!' Off we went, increasing our trekking pace with the highest morale.

Determined Todak
We loaded our reels swiftly onto our rods, put the lines through the guides and attached our favourite lures onto the end of the line and started bombarding our lures into the deep blue waters with impressive clarity. Liang Chuan took the initiative to 'look' for the fish rather than the other way round and off he went on covering more grounds. Soon after, I decided to explore and cover some new grounds also when my effort paid off. After about 4 to 5 cranks from a cast, I felt a strong 'tug' and I set my hooks hard immediately. What followed through was a series of acrobatic leaps from a slick and long figure. Instantly, I knew it had to be a Todak. This bugger was really making himself some positive reputation when it gave me stubborn runs and some rigourous pulls. Soon after, I tamed him and I shouted for Wei Boon. 'Dude, get the boga (a fish-handling equipment)!'

Keeping The Todak In The Water
It is essential for me to do my best and keep the fish in the water for as long as I could while waiting for the camera that was with Liang Chuan. One of the many things that I really like while fishing with my buddies is that they're very swift and efficient. They always act quickly and wisely, making every situation goes smoothly. That is what I call professionalism. I only lifted the Todak out of the water once the camera was ready. By doing this, the fish looked very lively with water still dripping off it's body, and also having a glittering effect when water comes in contact with sunlight, which further enhance the pictures taken.

Moment Of Genuine Happiness
After unhooking the Todak in the water, I released the fish from the boga, and 'supported' the fish for a while before releasing it. As I opened my fingers, the Todak slowly swimmed out from my grip, sliding itself through and off my palms as we all watched the bugger swimming to freedom, and gradually disappeared into the deep. That is always the one of the finest moments in sportfishing.

Acknowledgements: Credits for fine photography from Liang Chuan & assistance from Wei Boon. Cheers mates~

Northern Waters: 1st May 2006

2006-05-06T20:56:00.000+08:00

Mangrove waters shall we?
It was a long time since we've been fishing in mangrove waters and my buddy Wei Boon and I thought, 'Ok, let's do it!' We set off to one of our usual spots starting fishing. It was a great looking day with the scorching sun right above us, and we had no doubt in applying sun lotion.

Change of Weather
Just before applying the lotion, I jokingly commented 'Hey dude, what if it rains after we apply?' Both of our reactions were like 'Oh no, better not happen man... Or it's gonna suck donkey balls.' Massive cumulonimbus clouds hovered through the air space and covered every ray of sunlight. Strong gusts of wind blew right across our faces as we were looking at each other's facial expression that somewhat have got imaginary words written on our faces reading - Holy Shit.

Water-proof Our Stuff
Anticipating rainfall, we water-proofed our back swiftly and continued casting for good. 'Can you feel it dude?' I asked Wei Boon. 'Feel what?' My buddy answered with a puzzled look. Surprised that he had not fell it yet, I replied 'Rain drops buddy. I felt two drops already mate. Haven't you?' Just before he said no, one drop of rain landed on his shoulder. 'Here it comes mate.' I said confidently, having known that we have water-proofed our bags. Large drops of rain fell randomly yet sparsely onto the surrounding. It stopped after a short while and slight drizzle took over, after which there was no rain but the sky packed with heavy clouds remained dark.

Receding Tide
We started casting from the time when the tide was rising and almost full, till it's fullest. No hits since then. Then we noticed that the tide was slowly receding. Usually, fishes will be more active and more willing to feed on outgoing tide, and we thought this 'active' period would be the best chance to get any strikes. Still no signs of barramundi, jacks, or groupers. The strong wind blew consistently as we continued casting hard, in searching for any hungry fishes.

Fish On!
There were a few small schools of mullets swimming around us, creating some spalshing. Other than that, there were no positive sightings of other fishes. Suddenly Wei Boon's rod took an awkward bend and the vibrating tensions said it all. Fish on! His line went out while the drag of the reel provided some good resistance. Soon the fish surfaced and it turned out to be a marine catfish. Because of the hard pulls and some sheer defiance, my buddy thought it would be a good-size grouper. Out of all the lures, it was taildancer that proved to be the lure for his catch of the day. It was a lure bought for the intention of catching sebaraus on it, and yet it has proven to be a good saltwater lure as well. 'Good job mate!' I congratulated him. We took some pictures, and released the bugger after that. Immediately after the release, I changed to a lure (that I bought from my road trip to malaysia) called 'Black Boy'. I gave this lure the name because the whole lure is black and it looks deadly to me. We had a few good laughs when I gave this name to this lure. Proving me right, I had a strong take from a fish while 'Black Boy' worked his way 'digging' and 'knocking' on and through the seabed. Out comes the boga grip and I landed my first fish of the day, also a marine catfish (pictured above). The fish was released right after we took some shots.

Calling It A Day
It was soon low tide and the depth of water decreased tremendously. There were lightnings and thunders all over, and we thought we should call it a day. We were prone to lightning strikes because our rods are made of carbon, which is a electricity-inducing material. We packed up and slowly made our way out with a smile on our faces, knowing that it wasn't the best of days but at least we managed to land something.

Acknowledgement: Credits to Wei Boon for having taken some good shots.

The wonders of Artificial Lures...

2006-04-26T15:45:00.000+08:00

It was a rather unusual day with cloudy skies that made the entire setting dull and melancholic, as I sat in front of my squarish window looking up into the sky filled with different shades of grey. Flashes of memorable fishing expeditions skipped past my mind. They were flashes of brilliance. The brilliance of the predatory instincts of carnivorous species of fishes. And the sparkling intelligence of human creation - The Artificial Lures.

Artificial Lures, as the name implies, are made of various materials (certain plastics, wood of different kinds, etc) into shapes that resemble any kind of food/bait that most fishes feed on. They can resemble a frog, a fish, an insect, or any other possible candidates, just to name a few. Done with what you want to mimic, you can choose the depth you desire to work on. There are surface lures, sub-surface lures, shallow diver, deep diver, etc. Then again, you can choose how you want to work your lures. Fast retrieve, normal retrieve, slow retrieve, dead-slow retrieve, stop-and-go, twitch with long pauses, etc. Also, choosing the right colours for the right conditions will be crucial in determining your results for the day.

It's all about fooling and enticing the fish. Challenging? Exciting? Dead boring? You decide. For me, it's mind-blowing. Those adrenaline-pumping experiences between the dead-silence moment before the fish strike hard on your lure and the point when you set your hooks deep into its jaw. What happens next? All hell break loose! Your reel starts screaming and your rod bends violently, with the frantic fish peeling off your line with great velocity. Breath-taking stuff.

These unforgetable moments were within the frame of my mind throughout the lazy afternoon, with laid-back chillout tracks flowing through my ears while I continue to stare into the calm greyish sky in daze.

Acknowledgements: Courtesy of Wendy & Weiboon (my team members), for using their pictures. Cheers mates!

Nostalgia

2006-04-26T01:35:00.000+08:00

Hiyaz!