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

Feeding Frenzy!

Went Banana with Rong this morning.
Once there, 2 young anglers were already casting in the darkness.

I let Rong take the remaining space beside them and went into the vegetation to another hole alone.

Shortly after daybreak, I caught a decent sized one:

Cichla Temensis 6lb @ 58cm
Lure: Duel Hardcore Lipless Minnow 120F

After measurements, I released the fish and continued casting.

Got another 3 at the same hole:

Left: Showerblows Shorty
Centre: Duel Hardcore Lipless Minnow 120F
Right: Fly on 1/6oz TT jighead

When the kids left after a while of no action, I rejoined Rong outside and that's when the feeding frenzy starts!

Cichla Temensis 4.5lb & 50cm
Lure: Self-tied Fly on 1/6oz jighead given by ZH

These are just some of the catches.

A total of over 50 fishes were caught by Rong and me this morning!

The fishes there took everything that was presented.

Until I got lazy to take anymore photos...   lol

Sky was very cloudy which blocked out the sun.

Cooling morning with crazy fishes.

Ample supply of Marlboros and drinking water.

What more can I ask for?

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My right thumb has been suffering from abrasion for some time now.

Whenever I go fishing and my hands get wet, the skin gets softer.

Every cast I made, it will feel sore when I'm thumbing my spool.

Even lighting up my ciggy with a lighter will feel sore.

Hope it gets well soon.

I want my thumbprint back!

Banana is Good?

Was downed with flu.

Despite feeling unwell, went Spot Banana this morning.
Missed the golden first light due to some unexpected delays...

Using a smaller lure to target those temensis, I set my drag looser than usual.

This is because if heavier/stronger trebles were used on such smaller lures, it will severely hinder or totally eliminate it's swimming action as well as buoyancy.

After some time of casting without any results, I went deeper into the vegetation and resume casting at the exact same spot where I caught a monitor lizard some time back.

Suddenly, I felt a violent take and set my hook immediately.

At one point, I almost lost the fish as it pulled easily under my light drag setting.
It dashed for cover on my far right.

When I lost sight of the fish which is blocked by vegetation on my right, I kept the line tight without retrieving for fear of breaking my main line due to abrasion from the branches.

Luckily, the toman got pissed by the constant tension and struggled itself out of the bush.

I immediately thumbed my spool hard and steered the fish away from those snags.

Can't worry about straightening those thin treble hooks at that time.
It's a do or die situation.

The toman was subdued after many wild dashes.

67cm Giant Snakehead aka Toman

Lure: Duel Hardcore Lipless Minnow 120F

Leech!
I absolutely hate these suckers!

Almost 8lbs

Healthy coloration and perfect undamaged fins

Going back to where it rightfully belongs

After releasing the toman, spent abit of time replacing the bent trebles on the lure.

Resumed casting and got myself two other temensis:

Duel Hardcore Lipless Minnow 120F

Ima Sasuke 140F

Went home after the short but fruitful session...


Decided to watermark my photos after some friends discovered my photos being hijacked by someone else in a closed facebook group of Malaysian anglers.
Even though my blog is currently only known to a handful, it is not locked.

I have absolutely no idea where that thief got my photos from.
Facebook? Whatsapp? Line? Forum?

That fella cropped or mosaic away my rod/reel and claimed those snakeheads as his own catches.

Became mute and disappeared into thin air after my friends exposed his shameful act.
Friends whom I have never even met before, almost all of them residing in Malaysia.

Thanks guys!




Flu got worse...

Sunday's Banana

Went to Mozzy early in the morning and encountered an SAF convoy:

Aborted Mozzy and went to Banana instead.

Missed the first light golden timing...

Met Derek and his friend by chance while walking in.

That guy sure likes that spot...

Upon arrival, glad to see that the water was running.

First few casts landed me these:

Both by my newly acquired Duo Tide Minnow in dark color.

After awhile, water stopped and action slowed...

Left for home...

Speaking of which, I had replaced almost all my minnows and topwaters recently:

That's it for this month!

No more spending money on fishing stuff again!

I'll try......

A Usual Weekend

ZH went Gina Tackle Shop last friday...

IMA Popkey 120 in a discontinued color

Got him to help me buy a lure.

Feels so guilty now...

Anyway, my company held it's Seventh Month Prayers last friday.

Stayed and drank with the guys.

Ling came after she knocked off.

Went home and fell asleep close to midnight...

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Went fishing at Spot Banana on Saturday's dawn.
Still felt the effects of alcohol whilst on my way there...

Upon reaching, we were delighted to see that the water outlet was turned on.
This means most temensis in the vicinity will flock there to enjoy the influx of rich oxygen and small bait fishes.

Doesn't apply to snakeheads though...
Snakeheads have secondary primitive lungs which enable them to suck in atmospheric air even when the water gets really low in oxygen.

Very soon, I got this temensis on my newly acquired IMA Popkey:

There were many bites indeed...

Felt sick and nauseous from the after-effects of last night's drinking...

Went to the outlet's mouth and toyed around with my lure:

Captured this awesome video by chance:



It shows a temensis executing a lightning fast strike against a top-water lure.

This is a fine example of why top-water strikes are always exciting.
The splash will be much more explosive if it is coming from a large fish.

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Sunday's dawn, went to Spot Mozzy and met 2 regular baiters there whom I happen to know a few months back when we joined hands to removed a net planted by Thai workers.

Me: Nothing
ZH: 1

Baiters: 6 when we left.

Left the place and went to Pierce Reservoir where I caught this 3lb speckled peacock bass:

And by the way, the Berkley Whiplash crystal seems strong and after some dips in the water, it turned softer (which is a good thing).

Only minus point about this line when compared to Sufix 832 is that it is not as smooth.

Reason being that The Whiplash Crystal is weaved from 4 strands whereas the Sufix 832 has 8 stands.

No big deal, I can live with that...

Chlorine & Quarry

Saturday morning, we went Spot Banana.
Reached just before dawn and was surprisingly pleased to see no one there but us.

Water was abnormally clear with patches of bubbles floating on surface. (?)

Adjusted my drag setting and clipped on my Scouter.

First cast into the far distant.

Man, this lure can really fly!
If loaded properly, it can easily outcast Surface Cruisers.

Lure landed on water and I walked it slowly on the surface pausing every now and then.

A huge splash and strong tug.

I pulled my rod and fight lasted for a short while. 

Suddenly, it went slack...

Reeled it back and noticed that one of the trebles got bent.

Oh well... that's life...

Carried on casting and the place seemed abnormally quiet save for a pair of zebra tilapias swimming leisurely near to where I was standing. 

No takes at all. 

ZH spotted gushing water further up and we realised that PUB had turned on an outlet up ahead. 

We walked up to the outlet feeling excited as moving water usually promise good catches and hookup rates. 

Water pumping out has a greyish tone to it.
That's when we smelled chlorine.

PUB will sometimes pump water loaded with chlorine into it's reservoirs.

No fish will wanna stick around chemical laden water...

After some photo taking, we left...

Went to Mandai to check out a water body.
It's an abandoned quarry in a SAF's training ground.

Trekked in and saw the biggest bamboo tree in Stinkapore:

Real thing is much bigger than seen on photo

No sign of wild pandas nearby though...

Found the water body after a long trek and some dead ends.

I walked up the fallen tree and tested the depth.
It was too shallow...
Only slightly less than 2 feet deep at the area around the fallen tree...

We stick around observing for a cigarette's duration during which not a single fish activity was sighted.

Another dead lake...

Mosquitoes are very much alive and active there though...

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Went home and showed Ling this:

Something which I picked up on the ground while trekking in.

She doesn't know what it is and seemed not too interested...

Anyway, kept it at a corner in my fishing bag.

Lucky charm?

This seed from a rubber tree brought back some of my childhood memories in Malaysia...

Spot Banana

ZH brought me to a new spot this morning.
Heard about this spot long ago while Derek went there last week.
Shall christen this spot: Banana.

It's a long walk there across different kinds of terrain.
A place where it's impossible to discover without anyone leading the way.

While on the way there, I'm really amazed that how can anyone actually find the way to this spot in the very first place??

ZH right in front

Secluded enough to dump a corpse

A tranquil place...

ZH caught 4 temensis. Or is it 5?
I caught 1, lost a few due to poorly set hooks.

It's been sooooo long since I last caught a temensis.
Been always giant snakeheads lately...

This is my catch:

Nice web!

After awhile, the action stopped.

We decided to head to Mandai.
Heard that the water outlet had been turned on recently.

Whenever the water is 'turned on' there, it will attract large amount of fishes.
Reason being, moving water will supply plenty of oxygen and baitfishes for food.

Anyway, reached and saw many anglers already there:

We fished for awhile getting many hookups.

A short while later, we stopped.
Why stop when hookups are good?

Simple.

That spot is extremely risky.
PUB goes there multiple times everyday to catch anglers fishing illegally.

ZH and I kept our rods and started chatting there.

True enough, a PUB lorry came and booked all anglers there:

We watched the show, mocking at those anglers' ignorance.

Kids...

I've already got fined twice by PUB.

One more time and it will be a court case for me.

Sport fishing is like a crime in Singapore.

Can only fish at legal spots assigned by PUB and only artificial lures are allowed.

Problem is, legal spots are all dead.

Destroyed by baiters.

Even if alive, will be crowded with baiters who often get away with using live baits.

These baiters will bring home their catch, no matter how small or palatable it is.

Worst thing is, I don't see PUB as proactive in booking these baiters using live bait.

They rather book lurers who practice catch and release.

And did I mentioned their attitude sucks too?

Bastards......