2014's First Catch

It's the first day of 2014, New Year Day.

Yesterday night, I was telling Ling that I wanted badly to return to Kent Ridge and try to catch the big one that I lost last Saturday morning.

Ever since Kent Ridge turned legal, baiters have been bagging every single fish they managed to catch.

Fish population there dwindled to a pathetic level...

The fish I lost last week might be one of the very few remaining snakeheads in that pond, if not the last.

Even those baiters are starting to desert that almost empty pond...

Sadly, having zero catch at Kent Ridge's legal fishing ground is common now.

Woke up this morning, hesitated about going there as having zero catch from my first fishing session at this first day of a new year doesn't feel quite right...

I just couldn't shake off my regrets from last week.

Should have set the hook harder...
Should have set the hook a few more times...

Should have kept my rod tip lower during the fight...

My thirst for revenge eventually clouded everything.

Reached Kent Ridge Park before dawn and casted my Surface Cruiser blindly in the dark.

Popped, walked, waked all yielded nothing.

After the sunrise, I could see the entire pond.

No surface action, no feeding splashes.

Not a single sign of life in the water at all.

Switched my Surface Cruiser to the same minnow which lost the fish last week:

Megabass X-140 SW

Walked up to the other end of the pond and I just couldn't find the set of fries from last Saturday.

They were gone. 

Returned to the legal area and I saw water movements at the opposite side, at the very edge of the bank below some overhanging trees.

It's those same fries from last week! 

Their parent has been guiding them, hiding underneath those bushes all along!

Quickly, I made an accurate low trajectory cast to the commotion just centimeters away from the leaves.

The fries started hitting my lure but none got hooked as the trebles were a tad too big for their small jaws.

I retrieved my lure at full speed and tightened my reel's drag 2 clicks tighter.

Made another cast to the exact same spot again.

BOOM!!!

The mother snapped at my lure violently at the very moment it landed on the water surface.

Immediately, I pulled HARD at my rod with tight reel drag not giving the mama any chance to dash deeper into the bushes.

She made a series of wild forceful headshakes which brought back fears when she managed to throw my hook last week. 

I made a couple of hard snaps to my rod just to be sure the hooks are set securely upon this thought.

A big mama protecting it's fries can have unimaginable bursts of strength at times of danger.

Her maternal instinct kicked in and she made a few mad dashes to free itself from me back to her babies.

Even with the tight drag setting on my Lin 10 Mars, she still peeled line easily forcing me to stick the butt of my rod into my ribcage for extra leverage.

Every pull she made, I prayed those Owners 3X trebles would held on.

Every meter I gained, she took back two or threefold's worth. 

After some time, she was exhausted and I started gaining line.

And that's how I landed my first fish of 2014...

Unhooking the mama

Big Head!

As always, fish was released safely back to where it rightfully belong...