Expedition- One Fathom Bank / One Fathom Bank

Here is an excerpt of yet another e-mail that was sent to me today by Mr. DHL.

"Dear folks,

This has been yet the soonest confirmation that I have received from all sides. Well all is looking and sounding good. Boatman has agreed to discount RM100 from his asking price. Well as Sharma had it in his blogspot that if this trip does not pump his adrenaline he would be hosting a garage sale, letting go of all his prized fishing equipment. I know I would be bombarded by all of you should this be the case. Anyway I am willing to place high stakes on this trip as I am more than convinced that this is where the biggies lurk and to the 'lucky angler' satisfaction would be the end result. Although that, please be informed that the boatman did warn me that there were instances when some went back empty handed. Now, now I hope I would not be blamed should this be the case. Currently I am awaiting confirmation from Mr. Alfonso, if he is able to join it would be just ideal. Provided below is more information that I have gathered through my telephone conversations with Mr. Nozami who would be our designated boatman and fishing consultant:

• Boatman: Mr. Nozami
• Destination: "One Fathom Bank" / Lighthouse
• Ownership: Malaysian Marine Police
• Facilities: Air conditioned rooms, toilet and cooking at Lighthouse. Charge of RM20 (big room for 5 people)
• Fishing: legal. The area is controlled by the Marine Police who patrols there from their base camp at the lighthouse
• Hot spots: Ship wreck and areas within the radius of the lighthouse
• Methods: Appolo jigging/Trolling (morning) /Bottom Fishing/Lure Casting/Live Bait
• Bait: Live Selar Kuning (best), Appolo, Lures
• Best time: At night - selected locations
• Weight: Sizes 7 - 1
• Essentials Each pax must bring (minimum 10 packets Apollo jig. Size: 8-10)
• Fish: Kerapu, Snapper, Queenfish, Siakap, Trevally and many others
• Season: Tenggiri and Barracuda (current season; common catch)
• Date: 21 October 2005 (confirmed)
• Depart time: Yet to be confirmed (pls provide suggestions (early/mid am, afternoon/evening)
• Depart from: Tanjung Harapan (Port Klang)

Mr. Nozami had suggested that we purchase our "Apollo" from the Rawang Tackle Shop in appreciation of his recommendation to contact him. Also the guy there has been to his place 4-5 times and knows the best practice and rigging methods. As such Nozami said that we should pay a trip to the Rawang shop for some words of wisdom from the experienced on tackle, bait etc. Boatman will be taking us around to well known spots and suggested that we can rest at the lighthouse and have some food there. The area is 'SAFE' as it is patrolled by the Malaysian Marine Police who has base camp there for protecting the waters. Not everybody is given permission to step at the lighthouse area. Only a few angling operators with a long track record has been given this privilege. The lighthouse is very busy during the weekends. Some choose to fish all day from there while others move around a certain radius within that area to hot spots. Nozami says it's up to us what we choose to do for the fishing period of 24 hours. He has suggested that we start with jigging for selar and tamban, then start for the bigger catch around the ship wreck and other sites. Then he could take us to the lighthouse for some rest and continue with bottom fishing at night. Following morning he could take us trolling for 2-3 hours. This is just his suggestion, do provide your comments and action plans.

By the by Sharma, Mr. Alfonso has confirmed our trip to Kuala Selangor this Sunday at 5:30 am for a warm up session. We will be at destination at around 6:30 am for breakfast and then take the boat for some great fun on light tackle!!!

Thanks and regards,

Navin Panicker"

Looks like someone really bersemangat this time. Hopefully everything will turn out how it is supposed to be. What Mr. DHL forgot to mention in the e-mail is the size of hook that was recommended. According to Mr. DHL, the boatman asked him to use hook size 12/0. CRAZY!!!!! I wonder why do we need to used such a big hook. We went to a tackle shop during our lunch break and the guy at tackle shop started laughing when we mentioned size 12/0 hook. He said to catch a Marlin doesn't require such a big hook.

Both of us will be going down to the Rawang tackle shop later. Hopefully we can get the proper tackle to be used.

Adios amigos....