My Sixteenth Fishing Trip - 24 Nov - Changi Waters

Today be a HORRRRR - REEEEE - GEEEE - BLEEEEE day!!!!

Today's trip was planned mainly for my personal friends, Melvin and Ethan. This is Melvin's first offshore trip and Ethan's second. As I start full time work soon, we reckoned that this trip was a must. Which is why although I'm still new to all this, I still tried my best to organize it.

Two more kaki's joined us, Roy and Bruce.

Boatman for today was Uncle Soh.

Today's trip wasn't good at all. The wind was ridiculously strong, that it made the usually docile Changi Waters seem like the South China Sea. No, I'm not exaggerating, ask anyone who went out today! We had no bites at all today, and caught only one fish. But please do continue to read on as it was still a fun and interesting trip due to the company.

In the morning, Melvin, Ethan, Bruce and I met up and made our way down to Bedok. Since we were late, we took a cab from Kallang. We had to go to Sheng Shiong at Bedok to buy prawns. Unfortunately, the live prawns hadn't arrived yet and we were kinda lagging behind in time. When they finally came, I picked up 2kg.

I have to say this about Sheng Shiong. The service really sucked and they were really rude. Also, being inexperienced, I didn't know they had no air pump to balloon up the prawns, so they were all squashed with very little water into a small plastic bag. By the time we arrived, more than half were dead. This really sucked. Also, Sheng Shiong prawns while dirt cheap, are mixed with some chemicals and freshwater. This makes the prawns die in natural saltwater!!! WORST STILL, god damn Singapore fishes can smell the chemicals and WON'T BITE.

Soon we gathered at SAF Yacht Club.

Note: Guys, please stop saying Y-a-u-t-c-h, it's Yacht, pronounced Y-a-u-g-h-t. No "ch" sound okie? lol.





Wow, to me, this place was beautiful. Looks alot more "up class" than the norm I was used to! Uncle Soh's boat was really cosy and looked great. I couldn't resist but to snap a few more shots before leaving.





Roy looking pissed off again at my clicking... Why do you always look so pissed Roy!?! No curry puff today?! Hahahahaha.



After a few changing of spots, here was our problem. In some areas, the current was ridiculously strong, size 10 sinker flew like a butterfly. In some areas, the wind was crazy strong, creating very very choppy waters, but no current at all below. This was terrible. And due to this, we had no bites at all.

All this time, Melvin's face was green, and eventually white. He didn't know he had sea sickness as it's his first trip, plus the water was very unforgiving today. Poor Melvin, even with his very very fierce eagle tattoos had to cower into a corner with his head pinned to the railing. I knew he was feeling terrible but he didn't want us to turn back for him. I didn't wanna take a candid shot of him in case it made him feel worse. Luckily Bruce passed him a few pills to pop.

We concluded that maybe the prawns were fucked, so we decided to get some live bait of our own. And since the normal Changi kelongs were too far away to get to for prawns, we proceeded to some productive buoys to jig for Tamban and friends.

Roy threw his Tamban line down, and immediately hit full house!

Roy trying to juggle Tamban and Kunnings.


After a few casts (everyone had their turn for a cheap thrill) we were overfilled with bait fish.

Live well was full.


So the remainder spilled over here.




Not long into our next spot, Melvin pull this up attached to his prawn.



Uncle Soh looked at it and said, "Oh, snail la!"

Really? I peeked inside and saw a pair of eyes looking back at me. It's head was round. Then it started to crawl out of the shell. WTF!!!! I quickly put it down and guess what crawled out?

AN OCTOPUS!!! Baby Octtie :)

It was sooo cute but before I could whip my camera out, Uncle Soh threw it into the live well. Grrr...

Oh yes, I need to specially dedicate a paragraph to Uncle Soh. So here it goes please read!

Although this was my first trip with Uncle Soh, I've read many kind comments on his companionship and service. Guys, Uncle Soh is the most awesome boatman ever. Why? First, he brought a watermelon along. And in the crazy burning sun today, he fed us with the cool, sweet, mouth watering fruit. Then, he proceeded to make coffee for all of us. And my god, his coffee was REALLY good! Also, everytime a spot was unproductive and I requested to move, he never complained and was very willing to help us get something. Excellent excellent boatman. Which boatman gives you free food and drinks?!?! He even bought kelong sotong for us!! The boatmen that I'm used to, TAKE OUR FRUIT, TAKE OUR DRINKS AND TAKE OUR BAIT.

Melvin, who was feeling better, was getting bored. So he hooked his rod up onto the stand and proclaimed, "Sian, I'm going to watch movie on my pee... esss..." Before he could say "pee" again, ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT~~~~~~~!

His rod flew and smacked against the boat, and the fish was so strong that he couldn't even take the rod out of it's stand!

Here's the man in action!

Melvin Aza Aza Fighting with serious face lol. I'VE NEVER SEEN HIS SERIOUS FACE.

Fighting Man 1


Fighting Man 2



Ask him shoot he say too heavy cannot shoot, this is all he could do lol.

Fighting Man 3



Roy tried to net it but missed a few times, and said, "Wah so clever, see net only shoot straight down". No dude, the fishy didn't run when he saw the net, HE SAW YOU! LOL.

The fish was really heavy and was giving Melvin a run for his money lol. It also entangled all our lines together. This was kinda dangerous cos the fish might escape. But with a Aza Aza Fighting face like Melvin's, no way IN HELL this fish was going to win!

Slowly but surely, Roy netted this big bugger up, and it was a Threadfin!! Wow!! Rare, delicious and expensive, what more can you ask for Melvin?? It weighed in close to 3kg too!

Melvin with his prize.

Taxi fare= $15
Bait cost= $26
Boat cost= $76

Melvin's expression? Take a look!

Just finished fighting, too shocked and dazed to realise what was happening!


It's coming... It's coming....


HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BIG SMILES ALL AROUND!!!


GOOD JOB MELVIN!

The next few spots Uncle Soh brought us too were too ridiculous to fish. The waves crashed at us, slapped us, and even spat on us. Not a good sign when waves spit on you. Everyone else had no bites at all. We decided to call it a day soon.

Roy said that he and I, have no karma, cannot fish together. Everytime I'm around he ends up with nothing, which never happens apparently. Well Roy, I guess this is our long goodbye. :( Goodbye Roy.

Hahahahhaa!

NO! I will go for all your trips to annoy you!




In the end, it's not about the fish. It's all about the feeling of friendship that is irreplaceable. Just the simple joy of best friends hanging out and doing something we enjoy together. In many years to come, we will all look back on this first trip out at sea together, smile and feel all fuzzy in our hearts :)








While Melvin was the Champion today, we all left as Winners :)


Awwwww, so sweet right? It was a great trip and a moment to remember.




ETHAN WU SHAO WEI TODAY IS THE 24TH, ON THE 30TH, I BETTER SEE SOME NICE DIGITS IN MY BANK ACCOUNT, DON'T THINK NOW I TALK SO SWEET MEANS I WILL FORGET OK? F U!

My Fifteenth Fishing Trip - 21 Nov - Changi Waters

Today be the day I be emo!

Truth be told, I wasn't really planning to go for this trip, mainly due to the fact that I didn't know anyone. But the organizer, Ben, told me that he lived very near to me and would pick me up in the morning and send me back! Wooohoo, good offer! So off I went.

Monsoon, everyday rain rain rain. All I could do was keep my fingers crossed for some decent weather.

Ah... Yes... I was very excited about one thing this trip. I had bought myself a new set-up! It would be my first overhead set-up too. For my reel, I bought a Shimano Charter Special which apparently is an awesome newbie reel. I paid $110 for this reel. It was only used once, warranty just barely expired and the condition was flawless, not to mention the previous owner was a very nice dude, plus he gave me a free power handle. For my rod, I bought a Penn Power Stick 15-30LBs for $30. Little bit of rust here and there but for $30 I wasn't really expecting anything better lol. Here's a quick look at my new set-up!

Shimano Charter Special


Penn Power Stick


Before heading down, we had to make our way to Toa Payoh's tackle shop (Fishing Buddy) to pick up some live prawns, as this boatman doesn't go to the kelong to buy them like Ah Fong. More importantly, I had to buy some line for my new reel. After finishing up here, we made our way down. But Ben made a wrong turn from PIE to ECP and we ended up at Changi Airport. Then he missed another U-Turn and we ended up at the arrival hall lol.

Our boat was leaving at 8. And by the time we got out of Changi Airport, is was 0810 lol.

Roy, a nice gent that I met on my last trip would be joining me today. Just the night before, Ben called me and told me someone pulled out and if I could find a replacement. Called Roy and he was on!

By the time we bought ice, food and drinks from Changi and proceeded to board Ah Chai's boat, it was like 0840.

As the boat moved off, I looked up into the sky and saw this...


Ahhh hopefully a sign of good weather!

As usual, after setting up gear and rigs, everyone took a break to relax or power up on some food as the boat cruised gently to our first location. Here are some pics of the dudes relaxing.





Roy enjoying a well deserved curry puff lol. (He almost looks oblivious to my furious clicking)


After we reached our first spot, lines down quicker than you can say "lines down". And within 3 mins, I heard a HUGE splash in the waters. I looked up and Zac had a fish on! We were all amused and shocked to see this. Just then, no one knew what fish it was as it kept doing acrobatic jumps. It leaped out of the water countless times, swam around the boat 50 times, and was ridiculously strong. Best of all, it was seemingly not ever going to give up! As it swam the near boat, I managed to snap a shot of it.




Boatman Ah Chai was standing by with his net. This fish was huge! And after a huge struggle and tug of war, Zac finally managed to land the fish.




Zac and his prize.


The minute I saw it, I knew what it was! Just the other day in the forums, someone posted a CR (Catch Report) regarding this fish. It was a Giant Herring. I have never seen this fish before and so did some others. It was obviously the season for them now.

The day was very uneventful after that. We changed locations several times with no fish. Ah Chai sat and chatted with me. He told me that due to the rain, the water condition was "yellow", I think he meant murky. He said that when the water is murky, fishes can't see the bait and therefore, no fishes. I don't know if what he says is accurate cos I was under the impression fishes use more of smell rather than sight to look for food. Ah Chai also said we won't be going out far as the waters outside were extremely murky and only the area near the Naval Base was clear as it's blocked.

Short drizzle and lack of bite left everyone in snooze mode. Then Ah Chai decided to take us back nearer to Changi side to try again. I don't know if it's just today, but Ah Chai's spots seem to all be ridiculously shallow. Some areas he brought us were only like 2 meters deep. Oh and his boat, while I must admit is very spacious, comfortable and very steady, is FRIGGIN' SLOW. The ride back to Changi area felt more like a friggin' boat cruise and took FOREVER. So bored I decided to take some photos.



After we arrived back at Changi side, everyone was getting hook up's on the Giant Herring once again. While they say it doesn't taste good, the fight is priceless for Singapore waters. I kept moving around the boat as I didn't get to choose a good spot that I would have liked due to our lateness. Also, I didn't get a single bite. While everyone onboard was having the time of their lives, I was kinda bored.

Edmund with his catch.


So I put my rod on the stand to have a quick bite. Suddenly..... PIAK! I saw my rod bend and snap! I was shocked so I reeled up to take a look. W o W, my whole hook was gone. I reckoned it was that herring.

Ah Chai extended our time by an hour or so. During this time, I actually had 2 hook-ups but I lost both. This was due to my inexperience and unfamiliarity with the reel i was using. Only have myself to blame.

However, I must say, the fight was incredible. I have never ever fought a fish with this power. When they bite, you'd have no clue at all, no feeling. But suddenly, you'd see the fish shoot straight up in the air twisting and turning trying to get the hook out of it's mouth. During the whole fight, your drag must be set less than 1/2 so the fish can pull, otherwise, your line will snap. Both times, I lost the fish when it darted under the boat and I couldn't pull it back out.

On Tuesday, I have a trip with Uncle Soh (first time trying). This trip will be with 2 of my personal friends who are new to boat fishing, Roy, and Bruce. So 5 of us in all. I will take Uncle Soh to this location (saved on my GPS, new phone hehe) to try for my herrings. And this time, I'll work harder and do better! Looking forward to it very much.

In conclusion, I didn't land a single fish this round and missed 3. It was still a very enjoyable trip and the weather was fair. Some of our other catches include, Ang Kuey, Groupers and even a Flounder. Here's a pic of our total catch.

These herrings are really huge. I took two home but I'm not sure how we're gonna cook them as they have loads of bones. My fillipino maid was very happy though, according to her, fillipino's love these fish so I guess we'll just leave it to her :)




That's all for today folks, tomorrow is Tuesday already so look our for my report in the next few days!

My Fourteenth Fishing Trip - 14 Nov - Changi Waters

TODAY BE THE DAY OF THE ARRRRGGGGGHHH-AMUGUN!

But before we get to the Aramugums, as any good story should be, it needs to start off with the build up! For those who are thinking, "What the hell is an Aramugum", all the more you should read on!

For starters, my Birthday was on the 11th of Nov, and it was one of my best Bdays ever! Awesome dinner with loved ones and friends, new beautiful watch, new wallet, new BlackBerry Storm, and best of all.... A job offer from the company that I was reaaaally hoping to get into! Looks like this fisherman is ready to take on the world today ya?! After such an awesome bday this week, I was keeping my fingers crossed that end-week would still reap good luck. If you've noticed, I have this realllly weird trend of, being the first to get a decent hook-up, getting the 2nd decent hook-up not long after, then BAM no more fishy till the end. Every trip is the same and always just two fishes. I wanted to break this curse!

And waddaya know...

I was kinda late today, train stopped halfway for no reason, and I had a taxi driver from hell. He was so damn dumb and his taxi was FULL of artificial flowers, really weird asshole. It usually costs me $5+ from Pasir Ris MRT station and this guy's bill came to friggin' $8. He had no change too, I had to wait for him to buy a coffee to get change. And instead of just taking my $10 bill to pay for his coffee, he took his whole change bucket along, I really don't understand. Bucket is kinda an understatement, more like a friggin' PAIL. At least he offered to buy me some watermelon. BUT DOOD, I'M LATE LETS GO!

After meeting some Kaki's for breakfast, we gathered at the pier (some people were actually later than me!). Today's boatman is Ah Fong again. I like this guy, very funny, talks alot of crap.



Then, as usual we proceeded to purchase some cute lil prawns to torture for the day.



Everyone worked at lightning speed while the boat was moving towards the first fishing spot.



Those who finished setting up too early just sat and stoned, too early in the morning :(



It has been raining all week as the monsoon period is arriving here in Singapore. I prayed and prayed for good weather today. And this morning, it was scorching hawt! Although I really detest the heat here in Singapore, I'd very much rather big heat and many fishes than sitting cold and miserable under cover while fishing.

Soon after reaching our first spot, I stared at the prawnies trying to search for the lucky one calling out to me, then I picked a nice spot and let my line down. "Ahhhh, nice weather, abit too hot but it's okie. Wonder if I'll get the first hook up again today?"

Guess what?

BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FISH ON!!!!!




Having some experience now, I KNEW it was a Grouper! No nibble, no warning, just... BOOMZ! This time, I also knew it was a big one! I was sure this was bigger than any other I had ever gotten before. The initial pull was huge and my rod's tip touched the water's surface. Woahhhh... Dammit.... Although it stopped fighting me after like 10 secs, it was heavy and I had alot of line out. It felt like forever reeling it in and it was tiring........ But that 10 secs is all it takes to send your adrenaline pumping. Actually, it sets everyone's adrenaline pumping too! The first catch always makes everyone wake up and start getting that hopeful glimmer in their eyes lol!


Mr Grouper!
This nasty little bugger weighed in at 1.1kg which is the biggest and heaviest for me!




After some quick photo taking sessions with that hottie, i quickly set my line back down. Remember that hopeful glimmer in their eyes I was talking about? Eric, who was sitting beside me wasn't shy to show me that glow in his eyes haha. Thirsty, turned around to get a drink...

Suddenly... I heard the sound of a plastic chair being pushed and scraping against the wooden boat's floor! I turned and saw Eric having the fight of his life! Check out these cool pics!

Steady... Steady...


Wah! Rod starting to bend aloooooot! Time to get serious Eric!


Everyone was getting excited and started to crowd around Eric. But Apollo and I had special passes cos we're from the Photography cum Super-Kaypo-Club. That being said, Apollo and I still had to squeeze our way to the front with cameras on standby. Wow, this was taking way longer than I expected! I could see the fish had stopped fighting. But... It was really, really, really heavy! I was thinking HUGE GROUPER! After a 5min tug of war plus another 7-8mins of pumping and reeling, this HUUUUUGE fella emerged!

OMG....


Oh... My... Gawd... Although it was an Ah Seng (Catfish) that most of us hate and treat as pests, ARE YOU SEEING THE SIZE OF THIS?! This is/was and most probably will be the biggest Catfish I have ever seen! We Chinese may not really like to eat Catfish, but the fight and photoworthiness is more than enough!!

Check out this HUGE ASS Mama that weighed in at 5.5kg!!




Can you imagine the adrenaline Eric had? Hahaha. Good stuff bro!

Eric's fight was probably very moving. So moving that someone up there decided to shed some tears too.

:(



It's kinda a weird feeling this... One minute the sun is blazing, trying to dehydrate every cell in your skin, the next a blanket suddenly stretching itself across the sky and it was so dark, it was like night time. Errr, maybe it's cos I was wearing sunnies. Whatever...

Drops of rain started to fall, and all of us cuddled under the shelter for about 20-30mins before it stopped. Before the rain came to a complete stop, those of us who had raincoats or ponchos decided to brave the drizzle for some action! I recently bought the BOOMZ shirt at New Urban Male as a birthday present and they gave me a free poncho, so I used it.

Wahhhh, I had so much space. Most were still hiding under the shelter, I had the whole back area to myself! Waiting... Waiting...

Then.... I felt two nibbles. I knew this was something catchable! Because sometimes, we have our baits attacked my small fishes that are too small to get hooked. And in my experience, their bites are like a machine guns. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. So if something bites like that, I know it's a small fish and I don't bother striking. But when something takes only 2-3 nibbles moderately at a slower rate than the small fishes, I knew this was something I could get!

Patience.... Wait for it... Wait for it...


BAM!
FISH ON!!


Hmmmmmmm!!! This doesn't feel big at all... It was making some left and rights but it was not much of a fight for my overkill PE2-4 rod... Hmmm.. What is this? Pump reel, pump reel. Shoooot! My line was once again very very far out as the current today was really strong, so I had a TON of line to reel back and my arms were killing me... Argghhhhhh! THE SUSPENSE! GOODNESS!!!

Haha ok I'll stop trying to prolong this shit lol.

oooo what's that emerging?



Why hello Mr My-First-Ang-Zho-ever! (Snapper)



Well I've seen Ang Zhos being upped almost every trip I have been to, but I haven't gotten one before! It's an awesome eating fish I know, and finally my time had come. Yup, it's kinda small so not much fun in the fight for me. Nonetheless, my first Ang Zho ever.

:)

Ah... Eric got an Ang Zho too. But I was walking around the boat so by the time I got there I was only in time to take a pic. I had no idea of what happened for the story build up so I ain't got one to tell. (It's not because I'm totally too lazy to write someone else's build up and just giving an elaborate excuse). lol

Eric's Ang-Zho-that-is-smaller-than-mine-lol


Oh right!!!!!!!

A R A M U G U M S !!!!


Actually, all this while, the people fishing at the front of the boat were getting Aramugums very regularly, much more than they'd like I presume :P Aramugums are a type of Grouper. However, they don't grow very large, definitely not table size. They're like a pesky Grouper and just one of the many pests people get on Singapore offshore trips. Personally though, I've never got one, my beginners luck only brings in the hot mamas lol.

A R A M U G U M Z
They came in hard and were persistent as hell. They also came in all shapes and sizes including one the size of a 50cents coin that was INSIDE and another Aramugum's mouth. What the hell right?






Ah yes, one last thing before I end. I actually did manage to break my cursed 2-fish-per-trip thingy. I had a total of 4 fishes upped today, I also managed to keep my stupid & lame 1 strike 1 fish record (just a personal challenge). I eventually got a small Ah Seng, less than 1kg. Ah Fong took my rod, swung it in a rotating manner, slapping the Ah Seng onto the water's surface with every rotation. I was kinda worried he'd spoil my cheap rod >.<

After that, I had another hook up. This time, it was a Tor Sat (Catfish). Although Tor Sat's fall under the Catfish family, they're different from Ah Seng's and apparently cost $15 a kilo which apparently is quite expensive. So I took it home to try. I didn't take an individual picture of it, but it's in the group photo you will see later. When I brought fish up, Apollo screamed at me to stay FAR away from it. Ah Fong returned with a metal pipe (wtf right) and smashed it 5 times on the head lol. Apparently, Tor Sat's venom is way more potent than Ah Seng's so we all gotta be real careful. OH YA. This stupid Ah Fong kept disturbing me lol. Everytime I got a fish on, he'd stand right beside me and shout, "PUMP AH! PUMP AH!" non-stop into my ear lol.

Apparently, apparently seems to be my favourite word when it comes to Catfishes.

Okok! Too many words! Need to sign off! After a very enjoyable trip here are our total catches! Jesus, Eric's Ah Seng is a F R I G G I N monsta!!!!!!!!



Thanks to Apollo, Sean, Brandy, Eric, Roy and gang for a wonderful trip. See you guys next Saturday for our overnight fishing session!!!