One And Only

Caught one in a short session this morning.

A loner giant snakehead which had missed on the first strike but came for the second one aggressively which connected well:

Hope it'll survive the increasing amount of baiters there...

A Change...

I was offered a position in another company late last year. 

A different position but in the same trade.

More of an outdoor kind. 

After some intel gathering from friends in the same line of work, the reviews I received about the new company were positive. 

Good boss with a few main accounts namely Uniqlo, 鼎泰峰, FOX, JEM Mall, Paragon, Clementi Mall, Ikea, etc. 

Mainly Wing Tai's group of brands from the looks of it...

And so, I went for an interview during December last year and it all went very well. 

Environment is good, boss has no airs, much better salary package. 

Downside is, I'm stuck with a stupid assistant...

Yes. Stupid. Literally.  

Not an insult but the 'got-brains-but-don't-use' kind of stupid. 

Been starting to scold him these past few days whenever he makes stupid mistakes.  

Feels kinda weird and arrogant when I'm just a newbie...

Moreover, he is my new boss' cousin. 

Been tolerating until my new boss gave me absolute authority over all installation matters. 

That's when the scolding starts.

I will never allow anyone to spoil my works.

When it comes to work, I'm an absolute perfectionist. 

And so, the scoldings shall continue to stimulate his rotting brain cells until the day when he decides to utilise them. 

Anyway, I resigned from my previous company and joined the new one commencing on 10th February 2014. 

Previous boss counter-offered in a bid to retain my employment but I declined.

Sometimes, it isn't all about the money...

Mainly but not all...

Been working late most days. 

Clocked almost 40 hours of overtime in less than a fortnight...

Good thing is, boss is paying me overtime with double pay on weekends. 

The thing about doing projects for retail accounts is that most works are only allowed to commence after 10pm when the mall is closed. 

I have no qualms about this as I'm paid overtime accordingly from 6pm to 10pm while waiting at office for the mall's closing. 

A totally different working schedule compared to my previous company. 

Much more busier as well with hardly any time to slack. 

Still getting used to the late nights. 

Not just physically exhausting, I miss my furry boy and girl at times too. 

Used to go home punctually at 6pm, dinner and watch TV with them...

As for my fishing, nothing's changed. 

Still wetting my lines on every Sunday morning provided that there's no work on Saturday nights. 

All in all, this change of environment is good. 

Fatter paycheck, better benefits, more exposure. 

Most importantly, my works and talents are better appreciated...

They seemed impressed by the quality of my workmanship. 

Projects which are sub-contracted out previously are passed to me instead. 

Downside is the increased risks. 

More prone to accidents if not careful enough. 

But sometimes when speed and deadline is a concern, one couldn't care much for safety...

And did I mention smoking is allowed everywhere in my new air-conditioned workplace?

It's going to be much more difficult to quit those cancer sticks...

Twice The Fun

Shawn planned a session for 2 spots this morning.
2 different spots for 2 different species.

We headed off for Spot Mars before daybreak for some first light action.

Once in, we went different ways hunting for giant snakeheads.
Far away but within sight of each other.

A friend of mine gave me a Megabass Zonk Gataride Hi-Pitch to try it out.

Was casting it repeatedly towards the edge of some vegetation at the tributary.

Got a take after some time :

A small giant snakehead attacked my lure which is almost half it's length.

After I released the young one, I continued casting in all directions but to no avail.

Suddenly, Shawn shouted for me from where he was pretty far away.

I saw his rod bending and he was franctically gesturing something to me.

He caught one and was fighting it.

I immediately retrieved my line and ran to him amidst the thick undergrowth.

Reached him and proceeded to help him land his catch while still catching my breath.

A nice 7.5lb specimen.

Shawn's first decently sized snakehead successfully landed at this spot.

He was elated. 

Took a short release video for him as well:

Like I said, he was elated.  lol

In fact, after that fish, Shawn went on a roll and caught 2 more in a short time span:

On the other hand, things didn't turn out as good for me.

Seems like my angling luck ran out after my New Year Day's monster...

We then headed to Spot Roxy for some temensis fun.

This time round, we trekked much deeper inside to another tributary.

Shawn caught one shortly after we started casting:

I caught one as well.

Till next time...

Delicious Meat Sauce!

Bak Tiong, a long time buddy of mine posted this awesome clip to my facebook wall.

A must-watch:

He knows me long and well enough that I like all things morbid and gruesome.

I can practically eat my dinner heartily while watching an autopsy in progress at the same time.


Or, maybe he's giving me a heads up of what to expect on my fishing sessions?
He knows that I have a few fishing spots in the military's live-firing areas.




Fishing has gotten more exciting...
lol

Saturday Reconnaissance Ops

Went for a solo recon mission this morning.

Advantages about fishing alone:
Own time, own target, fire at will.
No worries about crossing lines.
Free to run when the authorities are hot on tail.
Comforting peace in my extremely troubled mind.

Disadvantages of fishing alone:
Left to die alone if kena poisonous snake bite.
No one to help watch out for authorities.
No one to stop me from doing stupid potentially life-threatening stunts.
Lonely with no one to talk to, no one else to share first hand excitement.

These are just some of the few points...

Anyway, back to my morning adventure.

Reached and started trekking in, making random casts along the wide tributary.
Terrain was extremely uneven.

Eventually, I reached the end of the trail along the shoreline.

Made some random casts and got a small juvenile peacock bass on topwater pencil.
A lucky take as the wind was blowing strong which made the water quite choppy.

Continued casting after releasing the fish and saw a yellow boat in the far distance:

It was heading towards my direction but I don't think they can see me unless they're armed with binoculars.

I back trekked and found a path through the tall vegetation.

Took it and discovered an entirely new world just behind where I was fishing.

Explored the place and found a small stream:

No action after numerous casts.

There's another water body just beside this stream.

Seemed like a pond.

I trekked back out from the stream and bashed my way into the vegetation heading towards the direction of that pond.

After some smart thinking and luck, I reached the pond.

Although it's pretty big for a pond, the depth is rather shallow with thick algae lining it's bed.

I estimated only about a meter deep in most areas.

Found a thick slab of styrofoam hidden in the thick vegetation:

Most probably hidden and forgotten by some foreign workers using to plant their nets in the open waters.

Suddenly, I have this crazy idea...  

Decided to use it and 'boat' my way to the other side of the pond where it's not possible to access on foot.

Launched the styrofoam slab into the water and boarded it:

The moment I shifted my entire body weight onto it, the slab broke into half!

I quickly jumped back on land and was damn lucky not to get myself wet.

Maybe it turned brittle from all the weathering?

Sianzzz......

Should have adopted a sitting stance instead of standing on it.

Stupid......

Helplessly watched the broken half drifting away slowly while I cursed and sweared:

No use crying over spilled milk...

I resumed casting on land.

Every now and then, groups of fries can be seen swimming out from underneath those floating mimosa momentarily.

They will come out for awhile and retreat back to cover.

During one such sighting, I casted a minnow over the ball of fries and got a huge take while retrieving through them.

Rod bent and line was peeling out fast.

It's the mama snakehead!

I held on and was unable to set hook while she made her mad initial dash.

If I were to set my hook now, something will definitely fail as my drag were already tuned tight.

It's either the mainline, egg snap, treble hook or the split ring.

Anyway, her mad dash lasted only for a short while.

The line suddenly went slack...

I retrieved back my line and nothing was broken.

The hook had not penetrated deep enough into the mama's jaws.

It was shaken loose by the angry mama...

She won...

For now......

Continued making blind casts and saw a long light colored thick rope swimming in the water close to the other end of the pond:

It's a python!

And a huge one it is!

Slithering through the water to the opposite bank!

It's a good sign actually.

Proved that this spot is relatively remote and undisturbed.

After some time of no action, I retreated back to where I came from and sat in the shade resting my tired feet.

Took out my phone and discovered a shorter route out from where I was.

GPS has gotta be the greatest invention of mankind!

lol

Trekked for some time and found this:

Who on earth built this shrine here in the middle of nowhere??

It seemed well maintained though. 

A short distance away from the shrine, I found a creepy, ancient looking red-bricked well.

Also in the middle of nowhere...

A tree beside it had it's roots wrapped around the well making it even creepier:

Reminded me of Sadako.

lol

At that very moment, I developed an uneasy but familiar feeling...

In broad daylight somemore...

Hard to describe but it's not a good sensation.

Not joking here...

Something must have happened either to this well or the surrounding area before.

Maybe something terrible?

It's rare for me to feel such things.

But when I do, be absolutely certain that something is definitely 'not right' in the vicinity.

Perhaps the shrine I saw earlier was there to curb and contain whatever was lingering near the well?

Or at the dark bottom of it's depth?

Obviously, only the person who erected the shrine knows...

Being the curious kitten I always am, I looked down into the well:

It seemed rather deep with roots clinging on it's walls stretching deep into the darkness.

There's a faint rancid smell too.

Probably some small animals rotting inside?

At this point, I have this thought of lowering my camera into the creepy well with it's video mode and flashlight turned on.

After all, I have my rod and reel with me.

Can use it as a winch to do just that.

Decided against it as the feeling of uneasiness grew stronger...

Trekked away from the well without looking back.

When I got back out, found a love-note left for me on the wiper:

The price to pay for a new Giant Snakehead spot...

Well worth it.

Shall christen this spot as I foresee myself coming back for the mama toman and visiting the well again.

It's pretty obvious what code-name to use.

.........Sadako

Boring Evening

Took some random photos.

Short Itch Scratching Session

Shawn went back to his Malaysia hometown for CNY.
Came back late on Sunday.

Monday developed this crazy urge for fishing that he took half day leave and we went to Spot Roxy for a very short 90 minutes afternoon session.

1 each.

Cured itch.