Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Sea Tackle Warehouse Sale - 1 - 4 November 2007

Saw this posting on ShoppingNsales. This ad is for a warehouse sale at Sea Tackle Sdn. Bhd.



Click on the links below for more information on the sale.
  1. ShoppingNsales
  2. Malaysian Fishing Net

Netting whopper of a grouper

:::... A smiling Tan Eng Thiam (far left) posing with the giant catch. They netted the grouper while fishing in the Straits of Malacca coast near Sembilan island ...:::


TELUK INTAN: Their dragnet felt extremely heavy but the three fishermen from Hutan Melintang did not think a live 183kg grouper fish was their big catch.
Fisherman Tan Eng Thiam, 45, said the incident happened about 11am yesterday when they were fishing in the Straits of Malacca coast near Sembilan island.

Tan said the machine lifting the dragnet to the fishermen’s boat experienced technical difficulties due to the heavy catch.

He said it was common for the machine to experience difficulties when the drag net got stuck on logs at the bottom of the sea.

“However we were stunned to find what we thought were logs was actually a giant grouper fish that was still alive,” said Tan.
The 2.1-metre-long fish was brought back to the beach near Hutan Melintang. They first sold the fish to a middle-man who later sold it to a restaurant operator for RM5,500.

Before yesterday’s big catch, the heaviest grouper fish caught weighed 163kg.

~Source : New Straits Times Online~

Saturday, October 20, 2007

New Blog Layout

Hi to all my loyal readers. As you can see, I have changed the layout and template of my blog. This new blog template is courtesy of Blogcrowds. I have done most of the critical links and layout arrangement. Over the next few days, I will be make some slight cosmetic changes to the blog to make it more appealing.

I would be gracious if anyone out there is willing to give some comments on this new layout. Positive and negative feedbacks will be taken with open heart.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Abu Garcia Collectors Lures

I have seen this set lying around in Tightlines for quite sometime. Didn't really think much about it until recently. I decided to get this set to add to my collection of lures. I have the Rapala 100th Anniversary Lures and this would really go well with those lures.

:::... The Box ...:::

:::... 5 Spoons in different compartments ...:::

:::... Abu Toby ...:::

:::... Made in Sweden ...:::

:::... Abu Toby Slim ...:::

:::... Made in Sweden ...:::

:::... Abu Svavgsta (I Think) ...:::

:::... Made in Sweden ...:::

:::... Abu Jungle ...:::

:::... Made in Japan ...:::

:::... Abu Droppen ...:::

:::... Made in Italy ...:::

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Sun Vista Wreck & Pulau Sembilan Catch Report

Over the weekend, a bunch of us anglers decided to head to the Sun Vista Wreck and Pulau Sembilan to do some jigging. We left KL on 13 October 2007 at about 4.00 am and arrived at Sitiawan at about 7.00am. After a quick breakfast and 'tapau' some lunch, we were at Leisure Bay Cafe by 8.00 am.

We quickly unloaded our stuffs from the car and loaded them onto the boat. We left Leisure Bay Cafe at about 9.00am. The journey to the Sun Vista wreck was a back breaking, ass thumping and knee busting 2 hour. We arrived at the wreck at approximately 11.00 am.

:::... Our arsenal. All the reels are either Shimano or Daiwa ...:::

:::... View of Damien's and Sharma's sore ass as a result of the back breaking, ass thumping ride to the Sun Vista Wreck ...:::

Once the signal was given by the Captain, we all wasted no time and proceeded to drop out jigs into the water. The water was a bit choppy due to the strong wind condition. Th first hour yielded no catch. But we all did lose quite a number of jigs. Since we were fishing at a ship wreck, the chances of snagging is quite high.

After about an hour of fishing, Ken managed to get a solid hook up. The fight was brief. In the end, he was rewarded with a handsome 2kg plus GT. Shortly after that, the winds picked up and we could see rain cloud coming our way. True enough, we were hit by rain at around 2.00 pm. The boatman decided that we should head back to shore as is is not advisable to fish in such adverse conditions. No one objected to the boatman's recommendation.

On the way back, we did stop at a few locations, but we didn't register any catch. So we decided to head back to shore and prepare for our trip to Pulau Sembilan the next day.

:::... Ken with his GT caught at the Sun Vista Wreck ...:::

:::... Damien and Bruce taking shelter from the rain. Note the dark storm clouds at the background ...:::

:::... Alan and Kuan Wai holding on to the boat as it makes it back to shore at full speed ...:::

:::... Ken and Sharma feeling cold and wet as a result of the rain and sea water ...:::

The second day started rather gloomy. The sky was overcast and rain clouds could be seen in the distance. We all hoped that the second day of fishing would not be a wash out like the first day. We spent some time travelling from one place to another looking for the fishes. Although the echo sounder showed that were fishes, we were rather unfortunate not to land any of them.

:::... Gloomy weather in the morning ...:::

At about noon, the boatman registered a catch. It was a queenfish weight approximately 1.5kg plus. Were al hyped up after that catch. All of us were hoping to get one as well. The action kinda died down after that. After about 2 hours, it was my turn to get a fish. I was using my Daiwa Caldia Kix 4000 paired with a custom Shikari PE 2-4 rod courtesy of Damien. The fight was awesome and after about 5 minutes, a 3kg Queenfish was gaffed and landed.

:::... 3kg Queenfish by Sharma ...:::

After my catch, we moved on to a different spot and this time, Ken, Damien and Alan managed to get hook ups. I also register a hook up but as the fish was about to be gaffed at boat side, it made one final leap and managed to throw the hook out.

:::... Ken with his Queenfish ...:::

:::... Damien with his Queenfish ...:::

:::... Alan with his Queenfish ...:::

At about 5.30pm, we all decided to call it a day and headed back to shore. The journey back took us almost 2 hours because one of the engines on our boat broke down. We had a leisurely ride back to the Leisure Bay Cafe.

After having a quick shower and loading our stuffs into the car, we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner and then proceeded back to KL.

Although the catch was disappointing, we did enjoy ourselves. We especially enjoyed the Whistling Brothers, Bruce and Ken who provided us with non stop whistling and jokes. I will definately be fishing with them again in the near future if time permits.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

DIY Assist Hooks For Jigging - Part 2

Good day fellow anglers. Here is a simple DIY for doing assist hook. Have fun tying them. Mail me at sharma_8379@yahoo.com or drop me a message on Yahoo Messenger. My YM ID is sharma_8379

:::... Tools and materials that is required for this rig ...:::

:::... Run the kevlar material thru the solid ring ...:::

:::... Do a normal overhand knot to secure the solid ring in place ...:::

:::... Trim of the excess kevlar material ...:::

:::... It should look like this after trimming the excess kevlar material ...:::

:::... Take the other end of the kevlar material and run thru the eye of the hook ...:::

:::... Do a overhand knot over the shank of the hook ...:::

:::... Tighten the knot as close as possible to the eye of the hook ...:::

:::... Secure the hook on a mini vise ...:::

:::... Take some old braided line or dental floss and place them like the picture shown above ...:::

:::... Do about 8 to 10 turns ...:::

:::... Take the tag end run it thru the loop ..:::

:::... Using a plier, pull the other end to tighten the knot ...:::

:::... It should look like this once tightened ...:::

:::... Trim off all excess braided line and kevlar material ...:::

:::... Put a few drops of super glue ...:::

:::... There you have it, a complete Assist Hook for Jigging ...:::

:::... Assist hook ready for some action ...:::

Wish you good luck in trying out this assist hook. There are more to come. Different variations with different types of knots. Do stay tuned for the next update.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

DIY Assist Hooks For Jigging - Part 1

I have toned down my fishing trips drastically for the past few months. My last trip was during the Merdeka Break and my next trip would be during the Raya Break. During the Raya Break, I would be going to the Sun Vista Wreck on 13 October 2007 and Pulau Sembilan on 14 October 2oo7. Both the trips would be pure jigging trips.

In preparation for the upcoming trip, I have decided to do my own assist jigs. Before I share with my readers on the method to do the assist jig, I would like to introduce some of the tools and items needed to do the assist jigs. It helps a lot to have all the things ready in hand before starting to do your own assist rig.

:::.. From top left : Long Nose Plier, Craft Blade, Scissors and split ring pliers ...:::

:::... Mini Vise ...:::

:::... Top : Super Glue, Bottom : Splicing Needle ...:::

:::... Jigging kevlar

:::... Close up of the hollow jigging braid material ...:::

:::... Close up of the solid kevlar material for assist hook rigging ...:::

:::... Various brand and sizes of jigging hooks ...:::

:::... Top left : Split rings, Top Right : Combi Ring, Bottom : Solid Ring ...:::

:::... Close up of sold ring used for jigging ...:::

:::... Close up of combi ring. Split ring and solid ring combined ...:::

:::... Close up of split ring ...:::

:::... Heat shrink tube ...:::

:::... Old braided line. This can be substituted with thread or dental floss ...:::

:::... Hook enhancement accessories. Thin foil of paper like material and soft squids ...:::

:::... Close up of the thin foil of paper like material. Normally this can be seen on apollo rigs ...:::

There you have it. All the required material needed to make your own assist hooks for jigging. In the next few postings, I will show in detail the steps on how to make your own assist hook. Stay tuned for the next episode.