Zerorh+ Sunglasses

I have discovered that there isn't a limit to the things one can buy when one has a hobby like fishing. In the deep of my heart, I know that some things are essential and some aren't but somehow, the definitions of need and want get blurred when colored by passion. I have bought the essentials like Mr Brad and Ms G-Loomis, and I have held back getting the waterproof camera (Project Camera) but after my last fishing trip, I decided that a pair of 100% UV protection and polarised sunglasses is a must and not a mere want. Nevermind the 2 Coach sunglasses and 1 Gucci sunglasses all bought within the last year sitting at home unused and unworn.

Well anyway, after shopping around at various sunglasses stores (I discovered that the price of a polarised Rayban sunglasses model differs by SGD 40 between Sunglasses Hut (SGD160) and Capital Optical at Raffles City (SGD202) which means that price comparison is a must!), I finally decided on a pair of Zerorh+ sunglasses at Sunglasses Hut.

The Slog Reviews: I hadn't heard of the brand Zerorh+ before the day I got the sunglasses but I was totally sold by the fact that it had ZEISS polarised lens. And Zeiss as we all know, is legendary for the quality of its lens. The price (SGD220), the fact that is is comfortable and light-weight as well as the way it fits the shape of my face had me and good hard-earned money parting company. I'm going to use this for the fishing trip coming up in a couple of days and based on the website reviews of the sunglasses, I don't think I'll be disappointed. If you are into sports, do consider Zerorh+ (click here to go totheir website) as an alternative to Oakley.

As good-looking as Brad...

Last year, my Fishing Shifu had recommended this spinning reel to me as a value for money spinning reel - he who owns S@ltigas and Stell@rs. *sniffs. And since Feb this year, there had been a sale on this model at 1 of the tackle shops ((15% discount) but I put off going down because I was reluctant to spend $ on a spinning reel when I already had a Made In USA 2500 Penn Spinning Reel, courtesy of my father.

However, after due consideration of the age of the Penn reel (more than 10 years) and my skills with my Shimano Calais Baitcasting Reel, I decided to shell out the few hundred bucks and buy my first spinning reel. I had my mind fixed on the 2500 model which would be perfect for luring but that model was sold out by the time (2 months after the sale started) so I bought the 3000 model instead which is bigger and heavier.

And here it is, the beauty from Japan loaded with 30lbs Berkeley Crystal Translucent Braided Line...

Oh, and did I mention I bought the perfect companion for Mr Brad? She didn't come cheap - about SGD 10 more than Mr Brad in fact but she's as important as he is and he cannot co-exist without her so tada...presenting Ms G-Loomis!

I think the rod is a she because it requires so much more maintenance and storage space than Mr Brad! Let's see how the two work together given their cross cultures - he is made in Japan while she is made in America.

Me, Mr Brad and Ms G-Loomis are going to have some bashing good times ahead! Watch out, fishes of the deep! :D

Afternote: Click here to read what the Bradmis (combination of Mr Brad and Ms G-Loomis) has conquered.

Prawn Fishing at Bishan again (2nd time)

Due to an opportunity to be in the North area, I decided to bring a colleague located in the North side, prawn fishing at Sin Ming Prawn Fishing during lunch-time. At about 12.30pm, there weren't too many people prawn fishing (about 5-6 groups per pond) and with the good weather and "beginner's luck" that she had, we had a great time catching these 7 prawns in the short one hour! And yes, the large blue big-head prawn was a most welcome surprise (her second prawn), large claws and all. All the prawns in our net are missing their claws because I used the plier to remove them before unhooking the prawns.

Having purchased the 3hrs package which cost SGD30 instead of 1hr SGD 15, I returned later in the night about 11pm to complete the balance 2 hours by myself. Apparently if you return after 24 hours, you would have to purchase 1 more hr to make 3 hrs. Anyway, even at 11pm on a weekday night, the place was crowded. I got a seat at the same spot where we sat in the afternoon next to an uncle who was using live fish as bait. From the prawns in his net, it was evident that fish makes a better bait than worms and chicken liver for prawns. We got to talking and he offered me a fish for bait. There was a take less than 8mins later but given the trouble of transporting live fishes, I'll be sticking to worms for now which can be purchased at SGD 4 and are easy to saw or just tear apart for bait.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Now, I did something absolutely stupid this time when prawn fishing. Instead of threading the net through the vertical part of the pole holder, because of the size of the loop,I threaded the net through the horizontal part instead and after half an hour of prawn fishing when I had caught about 4 prawns, the entire net slipped off and fell into the pond. I didn't realise what had happened until I caught the 5th prawn and could not find my net. The white-haired uncle behind the counter was sympathetic to my plight and used a bamboo pole to hook up my net. All my 4 prawns were gone of course...he said he would give me more so I continued to prawn fish until the 2 hours were up (the lady at the counter was very precise about the time which is the 1 thing I don't like about Bishan Prawn Fishing). True to his word, he got the Chinese lady to give me some prawns and she gave me about 7 small prawns. Added to my catch, I took home 14 prawns from the 2 hours. Now how's that for decency and good service - the prawn fishing place wasn't obliged to give me any prawns, much less when I had been careless in placing my net. Hence, as I said before and would stress again, human r/s are most impt when it comes to prawn fishing too! :D That being said, based on my previous experience, I would estimate that the average catch rate at Sin Ming Prawn Fishing is 7 prawns an hour per rod which brings the cost of each prawn to SGD1.50.

Eging / Squid Fishing - my squid jig is ruined!

I have come to the realisation that squid fishing / egining ranks way below fish fishing and prawn fishing. Like the previous experience that I had, it was difficult to find any takers for the squids and my haul back home was met with even more resistance by my mum than if I had brought back fish (the scaling!) and prawns (the snipping of the feelers). Remembering the nasty experience I had the first time washing the squids in the kitchen bathroom, I decided to wash the squids at my pool area instead. Here is a pic of the 5 squids that we caught with most of the squid ink washed away.

The one on the extreme right of the pic above looks to be the one which destroyed my favourite/lucky squid jig! It was a nightmare getting the jig out (I had to use pliers) and I think one of the eyes got twisted around. Ugh! When I got the squid (after 1 hour of casting and retrieving), I was over the moon with delight. I thought the squid had squirted out most of its ink when I brought it close to shore as it was squirting ink in the water, but when I landed it, it squirted out even more ink and stained my squid jig!

The jig was supposed to be luminous, with a blue back and pink sides (see a close up of it by clicking here)! But look at how it has been stained irreparably in the pic above! Argh! My shifu said that the jig could still be used but given how hard it is to land a squid (after 1 hour, 1 squid but maybe that's because my shifu wiped most of them out over the past week) I think I have got to go out and buy more of these jigs! Argh!

Prawn Fishing at Jurong Hill (2nd time)

A friend of mine who had never tried out prawn fishing before was game to try out my favourite time-killer and given my first positive experience there, we decided to go all the way to Jurong Hill Prawn Fishing. We rented one rod for 3hrs and then another rod for 3 hrs (but we used the second rod for 1 and a 1/2 hrs each) and although the bite-rate was pathetic at first (4 in the first hour), it got better as the rain let up. The pp working there told us that when the weather is cold, the prawns do not feed as often. Everyone else there had really bad bite-rates too (one couple didn't catch anything for an entire hour even) but there were certain more areas which were far more productive than others (the center of the pond is best).

At the end of the 4 hours odd, we had these prawns (22) and we actually lost 2 prawns which slipped out of the net from a hole at the side (where the side of the net meets the bottom). We both were flummoxed when despite our catches, there were only 3 prawns in the net each time we checked until my sharp-eyed friend spotted the hole at the side. I also suggested bbq-ing the prawns (which I'd never done before) and so we skewered the prawns (some were alive!) and put them on the tray.

Well, because neither of us had ever bbq-ed prawns before, we had to ask for help from the pp there who were most helpful in helping us start the fire and build the charcoal. However, bbq-ing was such a dismal affair because we burnt about 3 prawns, failed to get a roaring fire (the fire was limited to a small part of the grill), that we gave up after a terrible half an hour. We brought the prawns to the restaurant next to the prawn fishing area and they charged us an exorbitant SGD 13 to cook the prawns! However, at that time, it seemed like a really good idea to just pay and eat our catch compared to the bbqing - I think both of us swore that we would never bbq prawns again! :D The restaurant didn't do a half bad job of cooking the prawns in butter and my friend ate most of it with great relish. :D

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Jurong Prawn Fishing is a great place to chill. However, it can get very crowded after 7pm, esp on a Sat evening. Lots of uncles and aunties there and some of them can be really friendly - they offer their catch or prawn fishing tips to the pp they perceive as newbies. The staff aren't as strict as Sin Ming Prawn Fishing about returning the rods on time but the catch rates while decent fall short of Sin Ming's (click here to read my experience prawn fishing there).

Eging / squid fishing with a squid jig

I was introduced to eging (Squid fishing with a squid jig) by my fishing shifu. The first time I tried eging was at an island off Mersing where we stood waist deep in the water casting and retrieving the squid jigs for about 4 hours. I didn't catch anything (erm, which was quite depressing) while my shifu caught about 8-9 pieces in all. So, one night this month where we were fishing at our secret spot and he had suggested baiting (to my surprise but he being the expert would know what fishes take lures) and a sotong took my bait TWICE. Despite my best efforts to bring in the sotong (the second attempt we saw the white body of the sotong rise to the surface), because I was using a single hook (with a prawn attached), there was no way to set hook deep enough to bring the sotong in. My shifu told me not to waste time trying to get sotong with the setup.

So, the next weekend when we went there, we brought some squid jigs. My shifu landed 6 pieces in succession after his first fish (he caught that using another method (not using a net of course)) and I, as usual, came up empty. My shifu taught me how to work the squid jig (the triangle method) and although after about an hour where I alternated between despair and hopelessness, I just kept at it, remembering the 10,000 hour rule. AND, then on my Xth no of cast and retrieve, I felt the jig get stuck at the buttom on the way back. For a moment I thought that my jig had sungkot again (stuck in/on the rocks at the bottom). I pulled harder and the "stuck feeling" disappeared but my rod (soft tip) was still bent with the weight of...something.

Totally excited, everything I knew about fishing left me and I was yanking upwards on my rod like a fool as if that would bring the sotong to surface - can you believe it, I forgot to work the reel! It was only like a full minute later that I realised what I should have been doing and reeled the sotong in and landed it! Here's a pic of my first sotong caught on a squid jig.

The squid jig that landed me this beauty is a yo-zuri squid jig size 3.5. It cost RM 20 (about SGD 8) - well worth every cent! I had learnt from previous fishing trips and all that one should always change jigs and I had changed between 3-4 cheaper (exori and surecatch brands) and smaller (size 2.5 to 3) jigs before opening up this yo-zuri one. My shifu told me that even the SGD 2 squid jigs work well enough to catch these sotongs but I guess he must have forgotten I don't have the level of skill that he has! In the hands of a master, miracles happen. In my hands, I need the best I can afford to get unfortunately. Here is a close up picture of the beauty, note the green eyes (why do squids have green large eyes - scary!) and the tentacles which are used to grasp its prey and pull it towards the mouth ( a beak which can give you a v painful peck so I read.)
My shifu returned after that from where he had gone to and we went to another area to fish. He hooked a todak but because of the shape of the mouth, it was impossible to land the todak (we were more than 4ms above the water level). My shifu gave me all the catch of the night which I swear, was a nightmare in all sense of the word. The squids/sotongs had so much black ink that the pail I put them in was stained black and when I put them in the kitchen toilet to wash them before I could put them in the sink, all the squid ink made such a mess of the walls and floor! I had to clean the walls and floors after that! Here is a picture of the catch for the night! My shifu told me the next night he returned and wiped out even more of the sotong clan - more than half a kilo worth of sotongs!

6 straight hours at Bishan Prawn Fishing at Sin Ming Avenue

After a "fishless" lure session (the grouper in the pic was given to me by 1 of my fishing friends who caught it on lure) which ended in the wee hours of the morning, I couldn't sleep and decided to go prawning / prawn fishing at Bishan Prawn Fishing Center by myself. It was about5am when I started and there were quite a number of fellow prawn fishing folks there to my surprise. Most were in groups or in pairs, and I was the only one alone but somehow that felt fine. I guess I've reached the unenviable stage where solitude and I are bosom buddies. No company beats bad company any time! Besides, look at my haul after prawn fishing with 1 rod for 6 straight hours - there was even one prawn almost as big as the grouper! The nokia phone is in the pic to give one an idea of the size of the super large prawn!


So, after I parked, I got out my fishing pliers (which are very useful in taking the hook out of the prawn), rented a rod, bought worms (on top of the chicken heart bait) and found a spot to sit down at pond 1 which the uncle at the counter told me had more and bigger prawns. Unfortunately, there was this plumpish ah soh who had a mouth turned down at the corners with an old man there and she gave me a long dirty look for reasons I can only speculate at. So I moved to an empty spot at pond 2 instead. Within 5 mins of dropping line, I had a bite. I'd forgotten to take the net to put the prawns so I left the first victim on the ground, re-baited (remember - always have the hook in the water as often as possible to maximise time) and went to the counter to get the net. When I got back, the rod was bent and I had another prawn. The group next to me wasn't catching anything for some strange reason (maybe I had the right spot) so I got dirty looks from them too - that's the thing about prawn fishing I dislike most - one must be able to endure dirty looks from luckless chaps at the pond if one is lucky and one must learn to quell one's feeling of envy, exasperation and helplessness when one is luckless and the people around are reeling in prawns one after another. The pic below is a close up pic of my haul in 6 straight hours (I didn't go toilet once from 5am to 12noon) which cost SGD 60. I counted about 40 prawns in all which means I averaged about 6 prawns an hour. The last hour was really bad though (11am to 12 noon) and I was tired and too insensitive to the float movement or just plain unlucky for I only caught 1 prawn. If you ask me when the best hour to go prawn fishing is or when the bite rate is highest based on my this one-time 6 hours experience from 5am, I would say that would be between 7am to 9am.

In my earlier review of Bishan Prawn Fishing (click here to read) where I had observed the bite rate and catch rate in the afternoon (about 5pm), the place scored 8/10 in my books. This time, where I had actually gone prawn fishing there for 6 straight hours in the wee hours of the morning to 12 noon, I would still rate this place a 8/10 in terms of catch rate and bite rate. The operators/employees there, in particular the Indian dude who helps out around the place, are very friendly, or should I say, can be very friendly. Like everywhere else, if you are friendly, chances are high that people will be friendly back to u...and all the more so, if u are alone, female, not over the hill, appear relatively ignorant at prawn fishing and possess a face that not just your mother would love. I noticed 1 of the employees there giving 1/4 net of prawns to the group next to me who hadn't caught much - it was really decent I thought, given that the group were planning to bbq their catch and they really hadn't caught too many prawns.

For myself, per the earlier pics, I brought all my prawns back home. My mum cooked some of them in soup for dinner the next day. The pic above shows the cooked super large prawn, an average sized prawn and a small prawn out of the haul. And the pic below shows how large the super large prawn was - after I peeled it, I put it back in the saucepan used to cook the prawns. I wasn't the only one who had a super large prawn though - the ah soh with the mouth that turned down at the corners also caught one from pond 1. My super large prawn was from pond 2. So, I guess there is an even distribution of prawns in both ponds.

If you have gotten this far in my post, you probably like prawn fishing or you would like to try prawn fishing so I'll share what was taught to me by 1 of the employees there when it appeared that I was a newbie at prawn fishing (well, as I said, one should always appear ignorant instead of a know-it-all).

1. Measure the depth of the pond using either a small sinker attached to the hook or using the rod itself by sticking the rod into the pond. Move the float to the level such that the hook will just touch the bottom of the pond.
2. Watch the float. As in, really watch it for movement. When a prawn starts to take the bait, the float will go down.
3. After the float goes down, extend / retract your rod so that the tip of the rod is directly above the float which has gone down in the water. The line from the end of the rod, and the rod should be at a 90 degrees angle.
4. Wait and count ten seconds
5. Flick your wrist (not arm or elbow) hard to set the hook in the prawn

If you want other prawn fishing tips which I have gathered from my own experiences and from the more friendly prawn fishing fellows around:
1. Bring a pair of pliers - it is easier to get the hook out of the prawn
2. Always position your float near the center of the pond (for Bishan prawn fishing center esp)
3. Sometimes, it helps to trawl ie drag the setup along the pond instead of waiting at one spot for prawns. Prawns aren't like fishes - they don't hunt for food actively.
4. Prawn fish at a time where there aren't many people so you can do number 3. above and there is less competition.
5. Always always be friendly with the operators as far as possible. Remember, they can tell you which pond is best for prawn fishing, give you some prawns if you have a luckless day and best of all, give you extra time for prawn fishing (though this wasn't the case at Bishan Prawn Fishing where they made sure you returned the rods on the dot. If not for this fact (that is, they wouldn't give an extra 10-15 mins), I would have rated this place a 9/10.

Jurong Hill Prawn Fishing

I haven't been prawn fishing since Ebi Culture closed early Dec last year. As I was in the West, it was either Jurong Hill or Westlake's prawn fishing venues. I decided on Jurong Hill primarily as it was nearer to where I was and I could fill my tummy there as well.

This is a picture of the prawn fishing venue located off the side of the restaurants at The Village (the prawn fishing venue shares the same carpark as the restaurants). There are 4 ponds, 3 of which are operational (2 small ones,1 larger deeper ones). Do note that the depths of each pond varies so you will have to measure first and then adjust your float accordingly. The rates are pretty standard: SGD 15 for 1 hr, 25 for 2 hrs and 30 for 3hrs. Take my advice and buy the 3hrs package if you are not sure whether you really want to stay for the whole 3 hrs. Firstly, you can come back and "finish" the unused mins. Secondly, you don't want to end up like me where I bought 1 hour first to try, and when I wanted to extend another hour, I was asked to pay another SGD 15 for that extra hour instead of SGD 25 for 2 hours. Apparently, or according to the guy operating the counter, he isn't allowed to amend what is keyed into the system. There are bbq facilities at the prawning venue as well as fridges with soft drinks cans for sale (rather pricy at SGD 1.80). Chicken liver is provided FOC and earthworms sold at SGD 4 (a bit pricy but if you are paying so much to go prawn fishing anyway, you might as well take the "better" bait).

The Slog Reviews: Again, using Ebi Culture as a basis for comparison, I would rate this place a 8.5/10. The pp prawn fishing as well as the server where I had lunch (Su Korean Cuisine), spoke well of Jurong Hill Prawn Fishing. I got my first prawn within the first 5 mins and another one in the next 10 mins. The bite rate (about 8-10 an hour) and catch rate (6 to 10 on average) was excellent but then again it was probably because there were few rods out when I went. I heard from a regular there that the place can get very crowded in the evenings and esp on weekends. The rods are decent although you should specifically request for an extendable rod or a long one (I wasn't given either) if you intend to go prawn fishing in the larger pond in the middle. Be warned though that there are many little fishes in the water which eat one's bait and I even hooked up a tiny fish at one point.

AND, LOOK AT MY HAUL! Okay, about 1/3 was mine only and the other 2/3 was given to me by one of the regulars, a nice old man who prawn fished like a pro (a prawn every 5-10mins). He had his own gear box, rod, hook and even bait! He said he had already so many prawns at home (and I should think so watching him prawn fish) and insisted on pouring his netful of prawns into my plastic bag. Oh yes, and one thing about the prawns, they are of fairly decent size but not really impressively big-big although I did note one pair of very large orange claws left on the ground. Maybe there are monster-sized prawns there, I don't know. I pulled off all the claws of each prawn before I unhooked each prawn (bring a pair of pliers/nailclippers if you don't wanna use fingers) which is why the prawns poured out in my kitchen sink look the way they do.

And here is a close up of the prawns which I put in a kitchen basket (note the depth) - I do think they weigh in total about a kilo and there was one with egg (orange) even! I can't wait to eat them tonight! :D I really can't see why anyone wouldn't love prawn fishing at all - one gets to meet new friends, test one's patience and have the thrill of catching edible fresh seafood.

Here are some of the prawns that my mum cooked for dinner. My mum is a really good cook and the prawns were great! :D I'm going prawning again soon! Time to check out new places :D

Day 3 in Langkawi on 7 Feb 2010 (Fishing for trevally, first time catching a fish on lure and dinner again at GLK restaurant)

Due to our feasting the night before, my friend Z could barely get out of bed and we ended up going fishing at 10am instead of 8am. We had the same deckie and the same boat as the day before but this time, we headed for Datai Bay instead to target Trevallys, usually called GTs or "Airbags" because of the wheezing sound they make when they are caught. Datai Bay is beautiful and dotted with these low clifflike structures which provide shade and shelter for the fishes.

This time, we did not use any live baits at all (in fact, the day before only the deckie used live bait for the handline which yield just one coral trout) but concentrated on pure luring - Casting and retrieving artificial baits. Now, a lot of people think fishing is a passive boring hobby (at least that is the feedback I get) but it isn't. I will write an entry later about why I love fishing but suffice it to say for now that fishing can be very physically and mentally stimulating and tiring. Imagine having to cast (arm power!) your line and fake bait as far as possible to the exact spot you are aiming for. As far as possible so that when you retrieve back the artifical bait by winding the spool (as if you caught a fish), you are able to cover as much ground as possible and increase the possibility of a fish taking your lure. And when I say exact spot, it's no use at all casting to areas where the isn't likely any to be any fishes - it is a fine technique I tell you - having to cast near the rocks and NOT get your lure stuck on the branches or rocks.

That aside, imagine having to do all the above many times repeatedly without stopping under the broiling hot sun standing up on a rocking boat. Cast, retrieve, cast, retrieve. And knowing that during and after more than 100 casts, one is guaranteed of nothing. I have been luring since June last year (will write about my first offshore luring trip) about once a month with two months break...total less than ten times and each time I have ended up empty handed. While I have caught fishes, I hadn't caught anything from the sea before on lure until this trip.

So, given the extremely dismal performance yesterday and past few months where I was "fishless"fishing in the wild using lures, I wasn't expecting very much out of today either but I still go up and did my thing. It's sheer madness I tell you, caking on the sunblock, donning the UV protection shirt, the fishing hat and mask, and then casting the line out and retrieving the lure again and again and again and again. Anyway, after my 20-30th cast, I felt a take, a pull on my line while I was retrieving the lure, and I waited a bit and then struck. The fish at the end didn't put up too much of a fight ( I had a 30lb leader) but hey who cares! I got my FIRST FISH ON LURE after all those fishless luring expeditions! And my first fish on lure was a Garfish. Now, I don't care if Garfishes eat anything, but the point is, it decided to take my lure! And I managed to hook it up!

I almost wept with joy when I finally caught the garfish and no, I'm not kidding. Imagine the money I've spent on fishing trips, tackle and lures, driving 3-6 hours through rocky roads, the knots I've had to practice, squatting in the hot sun untangling the "beehoon"/"bird nest" from using my baitcasting reel, and having my faith in myself and my ability thoroughly shaken at some times. There were times when I was tempted to give up this whole business of luring and just bait where I almost always never end up "fisheless". And not having anyone who was supportive of my hobby made it all the more harder. My friends don't fish and are not keen to. So when I decided to take up this hobby, it meant having to make new friends again. What gets me most frustrated though is the absolutely discouraging remarks that I have to listen and endure from the people around me such as "Face it, you have no luck. Face it, you have not enough skill. Give up lar. You are not going to catch any fish". It got to a point where I just simply decided I wouldn't be around these ignorant fools anymore, especially not for fishing trips. I say ignorant because they aren't anglers and therefore have no right to criticize or make disparaging remarks of the aforementioned kind. Throughout all my fishing in Thailand, Malaysia and SG, I have found one thing in common - fellow anglers NEVER criticize or tell you to give up on fishing even if you end up fishless at the end of the day. Never ever. For any angler would have had a bad day fishing and knows that "fishless" days are part of the parcel. And they know how awful it feels to be "fishless", or how you could get a fish at the very last minute, so they never make such comments at all.

After getting the garfish and unhooking it from the lure, flush with success and glee, I decided to change lure and go for groupers. The first time I went luring with my shifu in Singapore, I almost got a grouper from the wild, it snapped at my lure but missed. Since then, I've been determined to get a grouper on lure by hook or by crook. So, I went back to casting and retrieving over this spot in Datai Bay. Groupers are always hiding in holes in and under rocks like the kind you see in the picture which I took below, as are green-eyed squids.

After about another 20 casts or so, and when I was quite resigned to the gar fish being my only fish for the day, as I was retrieving the lure slowly, I felt the lure getting "stuck". I thought that it was "sungkot" which is the malay term for the lure being stuck at the bottom between rocks. That happens very often when using diving lures because you need the lures to bump the rocks where the groupers are (no point having the lures above the groupers' heads) . Anyway, I gave a little jerk, and the "stuck" feeling went aware and I found I had a fish on my line. Again, because it was a 30pnd leader I was using, and the fish was not very large, there wasn't much of a fight if any and I brought in my first grouper on lure! I would have released it, given its size but as it was my long-awaited fish, I'm sorry to say that I thought it should be eaten.

Into the icebox that grouper above went, and I went back to luring over the same spot. We didn't get any more bites after that so I switched to eging/squiding by using an artificial prawn lure to get some sotongs but there were no takers. So, we switched spots and casted along the sides of each mossy island/rock thingy in the sea. And that is where I got my third fish on another lure (that lure was meant to target GTs) which was yet another grouper and an even smaller one than the first so I released it.

While we were circling about the fishing spots, we came across this scene. 4 women engaging in extremely dangerous work. According to Z, they were lookning for oysters/clams which are stuck at the side of each mossy island. A wrong slip and they would end up in the waters below and lord knows what lies under the waters - rocks with sharp ages? Jellyfishes (we saw a few in the bay)? Predator fishes (we saw a baby shark at one of the fishing spots!)? It's amazing how some of us have it so comfortable in life, while there are others eking out a living like this.

In the afternoon about 2pm, Z, who hadn't caught anything until now, and was luring for GTs, caught a barracuda. It was a larger barracuda than yesterday's. Apparently, barras are attracted to fast moving lures too like GT, but that shouldn't be a surprise since both are predator fishes.

From 2 to about 6pm when the waters started to get so choppy that we could barely stand up on deck (the waves made the boat go up and down like a rocking horse), much less lure (need both hands - one to hold the rod, the other to wind the reel), Z managed to get 3 GTs! 1 of them was about 2kilos (the top one in the pic below) while the other two were about 1.1kg each. The size 11 sandal is placed there to give one an idea of how large the fishes are. For myself, despite changing lures thrice and retrieving at a fast speed with Z (which was extra tiring cos it meant that I had to cast more often given how fast the lures came back), I didn't manage to any GTs! BUT...BUT, I had a GT chase my lure all the way up to the boat! Z and I could see the flash of silver and the fish itself as it followed my lure all the way to the surface but unfortunately, it didn't take the lure. I cast out again but the GT apparently had lost interest and I didn't get any strikes or chasers. Ah well. Now with the grouper under my belt, guess what fish I'm going to go for next....the GT! I know, I know, I keep thinking if only too...if only that GT had taken the lure

As the sea was far too choppy, we went back to the mangrove/estuary area after 6pm and did some light trolling and casting. However, it was all quiet and there were no takers at all. This is a picture of the sunset over the mangrove area which I took from the boat.

I asked Z to join us for dinner about 8pm when we finally got back but he declined because he had other commitments. So we went back to GLK restaurant again where they cooked the fishes for us. Z offered me his barra to eat but I wasn't too keen on eating a barra because I wanted to eat the fishes I had caught - the garfish and the grouper. However, as from the pictures above, they were tiny things so I took one of Z's GTs too (the medium-sized one although he wanted us to have the largest one).

This is a picture of the Garfish I caught chopped and fried. Without its long mouth, the portions look rather pathetic. Heh. But guess what, I'm not complaining. The meat (yeah, there was meat to the fish) was white, soft and delicious. If you had clicked the abovelink to read about garfish (click here if you haven't), it is known to be a delicious-tasting fish! No wonder Z was trying to get some garfishes for himself too! The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Hey, I caught it - of course it's a perfect 10! :D

The picture below is of the GT steamed in sauce WITH the grouper I caught next to it. Without the head ( I wonder what happens to the heads of all the fishes - the threadfin we ate last night was missing its head too), the grouper looks even smaller. Well, still, I ate whatever meat there was on my grouper - a good thing there wasn't too much meat anyway because I was grinning with my mouth fit to split that I'd broken my "dry" spell and finally landed fishes on lures. :D I now believe more firmly than ever in the 10-000 hour theory. Go read Outliers if you haven't a clue what that is about. The premise behind the theory is that no one who is good at what he does spends less than 10000hours prefecting his craft while those who suck at what they do are shown to spend less than 10000hours on it. This, and only this thought is what keeps me going when I feel like giving up on something.

We also ordered butter prawns from the restaurant. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10. The prawns weren't live prawns but from the freezer. The restaurant doesn't do a bad job of cooking the prawns this style but it isn't anything to rave about either. The cost of this dish was really cheap about RM 20+ if I remember rightly.

What was expensive however was the mantis shrimp which I had steamed. THIS, was caught live from the restaurant's tanks. It was such an hideous color of purple (from its original grey shade) after being steamed with the eyes being cooked white. Yikes, truely a nightmarish creature. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. Although I am of the opinion that fresh live seafood should always be steamed, I think that for the mantis shrimp, it would be wise to have it fried like I had the same done in KK (click here) or whatever other way as suggested by the restaurant. The cost of the mantis shrimp is RM 12/100gm.

The cost of the meal above was about RM70...I think the boss forgot to charge us for the cost of cooking the three fishes. While GLK restaurant was relatively empty while Wonderland next door was packed, I would recommend GLK restaurant still for its excellent service. Maybe the food at Wonderland is really much nicer (given the crowd) but if one cannot wait to try out the food there, GLK is just 4 steps away.

Day 2 in Langkawi on 6 Feb 2010 (Fishing for Threadfin, GLK Seafood Restaurant)

The main purpose of this Langkawi trip was to go fishing with a fishing kaki, Z, who is a Malay Malaysian running a tour agency on the island. Z offered me a great rate of RM1000 for two eight hour boat trips which is about SGD 50 more than what I pay for an offshore trip here on a cost-sharing basis with other anglers. Sometimes, I amaze myself with how far I am prepared to go for fishing - like waking up on a holiday at 6am. Z was punctual picking me up from the hotel at 8am and off we went to where his 4 boats were docked at Tanjong Rhu.

I didn't want to risk losing my own fishing gear and the hassle of watching over the same so I asked Z to provide all the gear, lures and bait. Thankfully all his reels were spinning reels - I really need far more practice using the baitcasting reels :(. We started off fishing near the nearby islands using lures. The picture below is of the shallower waters near one of the islands (Langkawi is made up of 99 islands). The beauty of the different colors of water, green in this case, never fail to astound me.

Here is another picture which I took to share the beauty of the sea. If you look carefully at the picture (which of course has not been edited in anyway), you can see the two distinct different colors - the deep darker blue and the lighter blue-green hue of the sea closer to shore. On the Pekan fishing trip, I saw three different colors meld into each other- brown, light blue and dark blue and that was what made me determined to get a waterproof camera.

And below, is another picture which I took when we were further out on the open sea. As I said, one of the reasons why I love offshore fishing trips is because of sights like this that one could never otherwise see except in pictures.

Our target for today was threadfin so we did light jigging. I had a couple of pulls on my jig but nothing. Z also had 4 strikes but nothing. It was only about 3.45pm (before that, all that we caught was one medium coral trout on handline using squid as bait) that the deckie who was also jigging caught the first threadfin! That's the picture of him and his first threadfin. In the next half an hour, he caught two more threadfins about the same size. Z and I continued pumping and jigging madly away but alas, we did not catch any threadfins at all :( Most disappointed.

About 6pm when it was clear that we weren't going to get any threadfins (the deckie didn't catch any more threadfins after the third), we turned back to the mangrove area. The sea was getting really choppy besides. We switched from casting to jigging. Z managed to get a small barracuda on lure about 7+pm.

Here's a close-up picture of the barra caught on a rapala lure - frankly, I'm scared of barras - I've heard that the large ones can take a man's arm off and from the picture below, I don't think that story is a myth - unlike other fishes (say, peacock bass), the sharp teeth of the barra are located at the front of its mouth (as opposed to the back of the mouth behind the lips).

One of Z's "bros" (they call each other bro and sis here) suggested that we take one of the threadfins caught by the deckie to Wonderland Restaurant. However, when we got there about 9pm, the place was packed. As in, all the tables were taken. Appears to be wildly popular even amongst the caucasians. As I was tired and stinky (try standing under the broiling hot sun luring (cast the lure as far as possible (or rather, to the desired position) and then retrieve and then repeat like a million times), I didn't want to wait for a table so we decided to try the restaurant just next door.

The boss is a large "fattish" chappy who speaks English, Malay and Chinese. He is also very sociable, circulating from table to table and interacting with his customers. He was agreeable to cleaning and cooking the large threadfin for us too (weight was 2.4kg) so we decided to have dinner. The threadfin was so large (there were 3 of us) that he suggested cooking it in two different styles. This is the first half of the fish steamed the way I like it best - in sourish soup. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Come on, freshly caught fish from the sea! How can that rate lesser than a ten? And the restaurant's efforts - ahhhh, what can I say about the bitingly sourish hot soup that lends its own flavour to the fish (which was cooked so well it didn't have any fishy taste) ?A Must try if you go to the restaurant...although, you'd better bring ur own freshly caught fish as the restaurant does not have any live fishes in tanks waiting to be cooked.

As for the other half of the fish, this was also steamed but in black sauce. Equally delicious. The picture below shows the thickness of the flesh of the threadfin. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Heh, it goes without saying the fish was fresh (we caught it!), the sauce was fine, nothing wrong. But I guess my tastebuds were spoilt by the way the other half of the fish was cooked so I didn't really like this dish as much (this dish can be a bit too salty too).

The cost of cleaning, cutting and cooking the fish was RM 20. We also ordered crabs. The restaurant has live mantis prawns, live crabs and some other smaller live prawns. The cost of the three crabs below was about RM 70. The owner was so sure 3 of us wouldn't be able to finish so much food but hey, we did! Every single morsel too.

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. The crab was fresh of course, freshly slaughtered but it was cooked so well that its flesh (see pic below) was firm quivering white and sweet despite the dish being a "crab fried in egg yolk dish" I would usually recommend against having fresh seafood fried but I'll tell you that this restaurant did such a fabulous job of cooking the crab in egg yolk that the meat in the crab tasted so good as if it had been steamed. And the egg yolk batter fried with the egg added a tasty melt in your mouth crust on top of the tender white meat. Definitely a must-eat!
The total cost of the meal below (together with about 6 cups of lime juice/lychee juice) was just RM119 (SGD 40-50). A satisfying end indeed to a "fishless" day.

The Marmalade Pantry at Ion Orchard and Peacock Bass at a secret spot

I had lunch with my galfriends at The Marmalade Pantry located at Unit 03-22 Ion Orchard 2. Determined to find a place with some really good risotto since my experience at Al Borgo last week, I ordered the Truffled Field Mushroom Risotto (SGD 22).

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. THIS, is really good stuff. The grains are cooked just right - not too mushy or too hard and the truffled field mushrooms mixed with the risotto and some sort of cream results in a flavorful combination. I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this dish. Excuse the quality of the picture but I had to take the photo discreetly with my camera phone (99% of the other food pics on this blog are brought to you courtesy of my Sony Ericsson W995). And, I took the pic after I had a couple of bites when no one was looking because I didn't want my friends and the other guests looking at me funny. This place isn't the "take-photos-of-one's food-as if-one-has-never-eaten-such-good-stuff" kinda place if you know what I mean. Even for lunch (1-2pm), there was a queue so it is most advisable to make reservations in advance.

In the evening, I went fishing at someone's secret spot with that someone and his friend. This was our only catch the whole evening. It was exciting to watch the peacock bass (pb) take the bait so close to the shore, I could see the pb swimming up to the bait and then swallowing it. Count to 10, strike. I have never fought a PB before Sat and man, it does put up a good fight, esp on light tackle (6pnds line). The fighting style is very similar to that of the pacu with the head tossing to try to rid itself of the hook and because the fight took place so close to the shore, I could see the PB diving and going for a run. I was terrified of losing the fish since losing my prize-winning patin so close to shore at sabah in the fishing competition early this month but as usual, when it didn't matter (like there being no competition), I managed to land the fish. Here is a pic of me holding the lucky chap (catch and release of course because this isn't exactly a table-food fish).