10kg Chao Phraya? What was I thinking?

After that Chao Phraya it seemed that I had gotten in onto a bit of a dry spot, with rather unfruitful trips to Rompin (twice) and Sarawak. Well, I finally got my revenge thanks to John aka Bkkguy.

The famous Bung Sam Ran fishing park in Bangkok!

Fishing fanatics may recognize this as the place Robson Green came to in his Extreme Fishing World Tour. Here's the clip of his little excursion to BSR, starting at the 5:45 mark.

Its a real tranquil place, an oasis in the concrete madness of Bangkok and possible the only place in Bangkok that doesn't sell clothes.

the Weapons Dealer

the Weapons dealt

so many Weapons, so little Thai Bhat

Those sheet like things in the shop aren't clothes, they are equipment for you to catch fish in.

So Bkkguy suggested we share 3 rods between 5 persons, and to leave the pond at 2.30pm in order to return to central Bangkok by 5pm. The conversation went something like this:

Bkkguy - "3 rods between 5 persons, confirm non stop actions!"
Me - "o_O"
Bkkguy - "We'll leave at 2.30pm to get back before 5pm."
Me - "O_o"
Bkkguy - "Confirm! DOUBLE CONFIRM!"

I was skeptical. Back home, 1 person to 3 rods and you'd still be waiting out all day for a tiny snapper. Well, we didn't have long to wait...

Ta dah! 40 - 50kg. Really! The fish, I mean.

And before you compliment me on my wonderful photoshop skills, take a look at these videos. Apparently they blow the horn (aka saxaphone) when someone reels in a biggie!

The Mekong Giant Catfish are amongst the largest freshwater fish in the world and listed as critically endangered. This is a strictly catch and release pond, so +1 to conservation and +1 to sport fishing =). You don't have to be greedy and kill everything you catch.

Another 50kg monster. The fish, I mean.

Many thanks to Leo

I wasn't the only one who had a smashing good time as you can see from the above pics.

Remember the thing I said at the start when I said the thing about 3 rods between 5 persons and how I was totally like, o_O? Turns out he was right I was wrong and we were telling him to for goodness sake please stop baiting the lines we want to have our lunch! Oh damnit there's another bite. WHOSE TURN IS IT NOW!

We even managed a couple of triple hookups. I'm quite certain we would have an x-ple hookup, where x (being a positive integer greater than zero), is the number of baited rods set up.

Triple hookup yo!

10 kg CPC at FW3? These Mekong would have you for breakfast except that they are vegetarian.

Many thanks to John aka Bkkguy who throws in a youtube video with every expedition.

You the man, John. Till we meet again for WILD TOMAN fishing!

Here's a picture of him NOT helping...

Because the rule is you never help another man fight his fish unless he asks you to.

New Year firsts

Made my way down to Farmway 3 over the weekend. Sigh Farmway 3 why do you play with my heart so? Twice I've been there, twice returned as a zero fighter, two round splotches of red marring my cheeks. This time, I will not be mocked!

So I wore my lucky red shirt and lucky red sunglasses. A 10kg Chao Phraya Catfish was my prize! Huat ar! Another one got away... Naturally, the one that got away was at least 5 meters long and weighed half a ton.

Some videos too...

And a video of Mimi's CPC that got away... He had his revenge later!

Tragedy at the Kelong

By now, most local and Malaysian anglers would have heard about the capsizing of the ferry at Tg Leman, claiming the lives of 5 Singaporean anglers. The body of the 5th has just been found, 4 days after the sinking.

Commentary by the local community on this incident has been varied, with some stating emphatically that safety is one's own responsibility and that they knew the risks associated with going to these places. Caveat emptor, applied to angling I reckon. But nonetheless cold comfort to the families. Gone is gone.
 
Other seasoned anglers who have been in harm's way on the seas repeat their exhortation that safety at sea is number one priority at all times. Wise words we should all heed. Respect nature. Respect her power and might. Respect her whims and fancies. Respect her magnificence and beauty. And always live to fish another day.

To the bereaved families, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. It could have been anyone of us. Myself, I have been to these kelongs before, in Sibu, and elsewhere. Its a beautiful place. Its a place we would like to come home from and share with our loved ones pictures of the beautiful sunrise and the delicious seafood.

I suppose there really are no words to describe the searing sting of loss, and unfairness.

Types of fishing

There are so many methods and types of fishing around that it's impossible to get your head around them all.

Surfcasting, fly fishing, popping, luring, deep sea fishing, live baiting, kayak fishing, pond fishing, kite fishing, spear fishing, bottom fishing, using floats / markers, trawling. I doubt I've got them all.

Right now I'm into baiting (i.e. using fish / prawn meat or live scads / prawns) and I usually fish in ponds or out at sea. Somewhere down the road, I intend to pick up luring (with a baitcasting reel) and popping. Hopefully one day, fly fishing as well.

The monsoon season is a good time to look through your tackle box and decide what's needed and what's not.

Here's to a wonderful 2011, in search of brighter skies and bigger fish!

JB Pay Pond directions

Someone asked about the location of the JB pay pond described in my earlier post. Here's the Google Map directions. I assume you will know how to get to Jalan Tebrau. From there, its a short drive to Permas Jaya, and a right turn at the major intersection (under the half constructed bridge). Then go straight until the road ends. By then you will see a sign leading to the pond.

Happy fishing!


View JB Pay pond (Permas Jaya) in a larger map

JB - akan datang

My regular tackleshop in JB - Fishing Line

FISHINGLINE TACKLE (M) SDN. BHD.
Tel: 07-3861500
Fax: 07-3862500
Address: No.36,Jln Permas 10/5,
Bandar Baru Permas Jaya,
81750 Johor Bahru,Johor

Also found 2 pay ponds in JB... =) upcoming trip soon!

Saigon Fish Market

Fishing unrelated, but related to fish. On my last trip to Ho Chih Minh (Saigon) I took a walk down backalleys and found myself at a local market, with all sorts of fresh produce. The seafood in particular, was so fresh that most of it was still moving.

All sorts of shellfish...

All sort of fish without shells. You see those in the bottom left hand corner? Turns out they're really tasty, although I have no idea what they are called.

These I know. Soft shelled crab, or Cua Lot.

Pails of snappers, breams, flowercrabs, freshwater prawns and some catfish.

I'm always humbled by the people who make their living off the seas and the rivers and lakes that make up our planet. We city boys and girls go out to fish for a couple of hours, spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on this new shiny reel and that awesome rod. These people probably make do with old equipment, spending hours on the water, day after day, night after night, to bring us all this beautiful produce. Respect. For the people, and the product. This is how its done in Saigon!



Cholon Market, District 6, Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam. You don't know man! You weren't there!


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Pepper Crab win, Fishing fail

The long weekend getaway to Chia Soon Kelong, off Pengarang, Johor started out with rain when we boarded the bumboat at Changi Village. Here's the rest of the day in summary:

1pm: Arrive at CS Kelong. Welcome party included 4 dogs. We are the only ones here! All 13 of us.

2pm: Low tide. Very hot. No fish. Here's a picture of the cute dog relac-ing one corner.

3pm: Damnit, rain starting again. Malaysia boleh!

4pm: Nevermind, rain now, good. Later when the rain stops and the tide comes in all the fishy fishies will be hungry hungry and biting biting =D.

4.30pm: Still raining. High tide at 10pm. There is hope yet.

5pm: So far, a few catches, some catfish and one crab. Crab? WTH how did a crab get stuck on the line? It was very angry.

5.30pm: Awesome dinner by the CS Kelong crew. The black pepper crab (not the one that was caught) was super! One of the best I've ever had, no kidding.

Suddenly, one of the kids who ran off came back with a large golden snapper! Joy! There are fish here! We quickly finished dinner and headed back out to fish in the setting sun.

Well, apparently that snapper was a fluke, coz all we had the rest of the evening were tiny tiny catfish. Not even the dogs could keep away the catfish. My bait left in the water emerged untouched after 2 hours T_T There are absolutely no fish here at all! =( There was however, a crab we managed to snag with a sabiki rig =D

Still, it wasn't a completely wasted trip. Good food, good company, nice sunset / sunrise. Wouldn't come here again anytime soon though. Or any time at all. Maybe CS Kelong is actually a restaurant kelong and not a fishing kelong.

Our catches: