New Spot: MARS

Went scouting for a new spot this morning.
It's been a long time since I last did some exploring.

Shall code name this new spot as: MARS,
after the model of my new reel since this is the spot where it will first land a giant snakehead successfully if you were to read on.

Armed with my fully charged iPhone's GPS, covered from head to toe, I ventured into the mosquito infested jungle.

Climbed over many fallen trees and ran into many spider webs.
There were times when I stepped into knee deep holes unknowingly due to the thick undergrowth.

After some time, I finally neared my destination as shown on my GPS.

However, there's a slight problem...

A river was running across my way.
It cannot be seen from the GPS as the entire area was obscured by the treetops.

I scouted the area around the river bank and found a fallen tree a distance away which had luckily, fell across the river to the other side.

One catch though...
The rather thin trunk was covered with slippery damp moss.

I could either choose to wade across the thigh deep river with muddy bed on foot,
or take my chance with the fallen tree with a circus balancing act with my one piece 6'8" rod.

Since I absolutely hates getting my feet wet, I chose the latter.

Long story short, I managed to get to the other side.
With a very wet lower body...

I had slipped and fallen off the uber slippery tree trunk into the water just a few steps away from the end!
Luckily, I somewhat maintained my balance and landed in an upright posture, feet first into the water.

Since I'm already wet, might as well wade across.
Not as if I have another option...

Anyway, after I reached my destination on the GPS, everything was worth it.

Scenery was excellent!
There's absolutely no other place in Stinkapore where one can have such beautiful sight laid right in front of my very eyes.

Light morning mist hanging over the vast water surface.
Greens everywhere.

Water was still, weather was cooling with cloudy skies blocking out the hot sun.

Unknown fishes were popping the surface every now and then.
Once in a while, there will be feeding splashes.

Thick vegetation lining the banks providing natural cover for predatory fishes.
3 groups of snakehead fries were seen surfacing for air every now and then.

I started casting at the top of a high vantage point and very soon, I got a fish from one of the fries.

Took a few photos, released it and got another giant snakehead shortly after.

These days, I don't even bother to weigh and measure my catches anymore although I do carry a digital scale and fish ruler in my bag at all times whenever I go fishing.

Unless they're huge ones, no point measuring them.
Besides, one can tell roughly how heavy (or light) it weighs by looking at the photos.

Since I am not one who will deliberately push out my fish during photo taking (making it seem deceivingly much bigger), I can accurately estimate the size of my past catches should I look back at them in future.



2 snakeheads were landed,
1 struggled itself away when I was trying to lip grip it to land,
1 managed to throw hook with it's violent headshake on my minnow's size 6s,
2 top water explosions which didn't connect to my treble hooks, likely to be snakeheads as well I think.




A very good morning indeed!

I'll be back for more after I figure out a better way to cross that damn river.
The drier way of course...

Saturday's Morning Quickie

Sprained my neck quite badly last Sunday...

Went to an almost forgotten spot for first light action this morning.

Spotted a group of juveniles and proceeded to disturb them with my minnow.
A rare sight at this overfished ground...

Fished up a few of those teens.

After some time, I feel something slightly stronger tugging at my line.
Thinking that it was another larger juvenile, I proceeded to reel in m line quickly.

This was when the 'juvenile' started it's resistance.

It actually managed to pull out a good distance of line under my tight drag setting.

I realised that I had hooked up it's parent.
There're not orphans after all!

I fought the snakehead for a short while when it decided to make another mad dash for freedom.

This time, it peeled my line out at lightning fast speed and then, my line went slack...
It had managed to throw off my hook...

That's how life is.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

To Each His Own

Was busy at office at this late night trying to finish up some work when Zong Han decided that it will be a good time to start a lengthy argument.

Spammed long messages to me when I'm busy in the midst of more important work.

He's unhappy that I compared him to Derek in my post on last Sunday.

He's extremely worried that I will bring others to Mozzy.

Insisted that I'm wrong to accused him of 'being the same as Derek' in that post.

Tried to explain to me that those friends that he brought to Spot Mozzy last Sunday are his long time friends who went there before I did.

So? 

Makes them rightful owners of Mozzy? 

Restricted to all others?
Must get permit from them to bring friends to fish at Mozzy ar?

Must I obtain a permit to fish there as well?

What about the other holes in that vicinity.

I explored there long before I met ZH.

Must they get my permission should one day they decide to venture there instead?

My dad started fishing at Mozzy decades ago when it was still a kampung.

Does it mean that everyone should get his approval to enter that area in future?

Ridiculous...

Was pissed that he texted as though Mozzy belongs to him and his friends.

That I cannot bring my own friends there regardless of any circumstances.

It's like telling the author of a novel that he doesn't agree with the story's ending and insisted that his own version be adopted instead.

At one point, I even called him up and we have a very heated argument over the phone.

What I posted in MY BLOG are my views based on what I saw that morning with my very own eyes.

The identities of those friends you brought along?
None of my fucking business.

Not happy with the way I think?

Don't agree with what was written? 

Don't like what I think of your character?

Then jolly well fuck off. Shoo.

I'm not forcing you to read this blog anyway.

Is it really that difficult for you to do so?

Besides, I don't think anyone has the right to tell me how or what I should think.

Right or wrong is how you look at it, which by the way, is practically worthless in my blog.

My thoughts and views are here to stay.

Like I said, as at the time of my previous post, that's my first thought when I saw ZH with his 2 friends at Mozzy's entry point.

That's my first impression at that point of time. 

You have your views and I'm entitled to mine as well.

You can have your arguments but to be frank, I don't really care much about them.

Not a single bit.

Even if the fact turns out to be untrue, so what?

You mean it's wrong for me to pen my genuine thoughts in my own blog?


And about your points:
1) I did not share similarities with Derek by bringing the whole world to Mozzy.
This, I do not know and don't really care. It's not such a big deal to me like it is to you.

2) I did not once say Mozzy belongs to me nor ask you to keep out.
Ya, you didn't say it out literally. But read back at your texts. Sounds like Mozzy belongs to you and your 2 friends only. 

3) I only ask you to remember your words of not bringing others there.
Of course I do remember saying that before. But do you seriously think that I will give a damn after you hung up on me hours ago and after all those remarks you made in your texts?

4) Don't make ridiculous accusations just to justify your future actions of no integrity.
Firstly, I'm not accusing anyone. It's a fact that I saw you bringing 2 friends there last Sunday as clearly written in my Sunday's post. No more, no less. Who they are? I don't give a damn about you or your friends and am entitled to my opinions. You talked as if I'm looking for an excuse to bring my friends there. Come on lar. Who are you to restrict me on where I wanna fish, who I wanna bring along anyway? You're like those kid anglers out there claiming spots as their own. To be frank, it's this point of yours that really pissed me off. Since you belittle my integrity to nothingness, then don't expect me to keep my words. You're not worth it.

I can also remember you told me before not to 'tag' you should I post photos of my catches on facebook.
Don't want your friend to know that you brought others to Mozzy behind his back.

So what does that make you?
A smarter version of Derek who knows how to cover his tracks?

Why should you care so much about what I think of you anyway?

Get this straight.

This blog serves mainly to compile my memories and for my own reading pleasure.
There might come a day when I decide to publicise it but I believe that is none of your business.

This blog is not to make anyone else feel good about themselves or to start a childish debate in the middle of the night over what's right or wrong.

Period.

To each his own.

'Carbon Fiber' Skin - Ryoga 1016

Sometime back, Shawn asked me to design a Carbon Fiber skin for his Ryoga 1016.

And so, I did.
Using printer and cutting machine from my place of work.

With carbon fiber textured vinyl stickers:

Tested it on my old Ryoga and it looks good!

I uploaded the pics onto my facebook and got a few interested buyers.

Actually, I'm only doing this for fun, not to make money...

Most of them are from Malaysia which I am unable to sell/install for them.

I asked Shawn how much he thinks I should charge if I were to sell them.

That crazy fella proposed SGD 60!!

Not joking here.

We settled to sell it for $35 after some debate.

My first customer:

Made Rong a set as well:

As usual, free-of-charge for my friends...

Roxy's Smart Residents

Headed for Spot Mozzy for today's first light.
Upon arrival, ZH's car was already there.

He and his friends were preparing to trek in.

And I was told that this spot was not to be disclosed to others?

Turns out he shares some similarities with Derek after all.   lol

It's a good thing actually.
I will have no qualms bringing my friends there from now onwards as well.

No point going in and squeezing with them.

Left Mozzy and headed for Spot Roxy.

##################################################

Has been frequenting Spot Roxy.

I've been trying to crack the 'fish code' there lately.

Those temensis at Roxy are a smart bunch.
They will react only to the finesse approach.

Too fast and hard on the rod, they will ignore whatever lure that is even right in front of their faces.

Lures of unnatural colors like blue or candy failed miserably here too.

Strangely, topwater lures also seemed to have no results there.
All my previous trips yielded nothing with topwater lures.

I had great success there with rubbers and flies though.
Some on minnows as well.

That is until this morning.

Not only I managed to catch one, I've actually lost 3 other strikes with topwater lures as well.

See.

That's a topwater lure right there in it's mouth.

It's not that those temensis there do not fancy topwater lures.

I discovered that those surface lures which produces splashes will actually spook them instead.

Lures like Luckycraft Sammy and Showerblows will not work as their cupped mouths are meant to have a slight popping effect.

No matter what kind of lures are used, they must be retrieved slowly to trigger bites from those timid fishes.

Even so, some will just simply follow the lure back, checking it out cautiously without initiating any attack.

Caught another one with a large minnow:

This one is a fighter.
Look at those bent hooks!

Not a bad morning.

Or so I thought...

Shortly after I landed these 2 specimens, a yellow boat came.

There were 5 PUB officers on board.

Heading towards me at full speed.

I quickly ran into the vegetation and found a spot beside a fallen tree covered with vegetation to hide.

Lowered my body profile and switched my phone to silent mode.

Damn...

I'm really getting good at this.

lol

I laid low, listening to faint sounds of shuffling leaves made by those officers.

They had actually berthed their boat and trekked in to hunt for me.

Heard some faint conversations as well.

After about 30 minutes, when all is quiet except for sounds of passing monkeys on the treetops, occasional falling leaves and mosquitoes' buzzing, I emerged and started trekking out.

Just another day at fishing.

In Stinkapore no less...

Rong's Obsession

Went and bought this reel on behalf of Rong.
It's a Megabass LIN Black Jungle.

He's been bugging me for days to help him buy it.

Rong has been deeply poisoned with the expensive Megabass bug lately.

Thanks to my influence.   lol

Unfortunately, I too, am unable to resist the goodies there and succumbed to the evil temptation...

Bought these 2 lures for myself:

What a sinful night...

Megabass Singapore

Was invited to Singapore's very own Megabass official dealer's house last night.

He has gotten the dealership and is working hard to get things up and running.

Unfortunately, Shawn was unable to come along due to some commitments.

It's actually an online tackleshop and all the stocks are kept at his place of residence.

Just imagine the amount of Megabass goodies stacking high up to the ceiling!

Do not be deceived.

These are just 2 small sections of the house.

There are more!

Rods, reels, accessories, lures. 

I was almost drooling...  

He has 3 very cute kitties.

Megabass Kitties...  lol

Walked around us curiously and appearing suddenly on boxes and everywhere.

This one with white socks is the cutest.

Rong bought himself a new rod:

Megabass Destroyer X7 F6-68

Got a 2013 catalog as a gift as well:

His website is currently in the midst of migration and updates.
Stocks are still arriving in the meantime.


My gut feeling tells me that this is going to be BIG!

Ang Mohs @ Roxy

From past experiences, Roxy is only productive only during late afternoons.

This morning however, I decided to give it a try (again) in the morning hours with Rong.

As usual, fishes there seemed to be avoiding surface lures for some reasons...

We tried a variety of lures in different colors and found out that only white/pearl colored ones works.

In the middle of the session, we heard faint voices far ahead in the forest.
It's strange as the spot is extremely secluded and so far, I have not encountered any other humans there.

I signaled Rong to stay quiet as I listened hard for more sounds.

Leaves rustling, voices... In the far distant...

Then suddenly, I saw a lure flying out from the forest into the waters.

Anglers...
2 of them.

Weird...
How the heck did they manage to find this spot?

Rong and I continued casting and some time later, those anglers finally reached us as they were casting along the shoreline.

2 Ang Mohs...   lol

One of them initiated conversation with me.
Rong being English illiterate, just listened and continued casting.

Ang Moh asked me how did I trek in.
I lied to him saying that I took the long way there just like he did but much earlier then them.
Seemed like it's their first time at Roxy.

During our conversation, Rong got a hit.

Took a pic for Rong with Ang Moh photo bombing in the background.    lol

Those Ang Mohs are really crazy...

By my estimate, it's at least an hour's trek through rough terrain and thick vegetation if they took the shoreline route.

Their larger physique makes jungle bashing even more difficult.

My route is already tough enough with countless fallen trees, near vertical slopes, thick undergrowth and many thorny plants.

The shoreline route is even tougher with thicker vegetation and a much much longer trek.

And I thought I was the crazy one...

They continued deeper into the area.

That's when I caught 3:

My newly acquired DRESS Grasper is a breeze to use.

Much easier than the Boga  not to mention much lighter as well.

Even it's bright red color accent matches my reel.    lol

I'm turning into a vain angler...

Mars Fan Video

Compiled a short video clip last night.

Mars Meets Zirconia Meteor

Went Spot Banana with yet another long time friend, Shawn.
Knew him during my Mandai days years back.

Missed first light due to the rain.

Bumped into ZH who was exiting the spot while trekking in.

Very shortly after we started casting, something huge attacked my topwater lure the moment it hits the water.
There was a violent and spectacular splash.

Rod bent, drag screaming.

Fought the huge fish for awhile, reeled it halfway in when suddenly my line turned slack.

I lost the fish...
My size 6 treble hooks on my lure had straightened...

After that, Shawn lost 2 takes on his solf-bodied lure, I lost another one on my fly.

Took some photos of our tackle before parting ways:

Mine: Megabass LIN10 MARS

Shawn's: Megabass LIN10 C