Wednesday, February 22, 2006

An e-mail from mangrooveDan.....

I received an e-mail from my friend mangrooveDan from Kuching, Sarawak. This is what he had to say.....

"guys, i caught my first wild siakap with lure, today. all 2.5kg of pure strength and beauty. u all must be wondering... "bladdy ell, this guy no need to work on a tuesday kah?". well, for those of you that has yet to be informed, i have now been posted to a site. site location should remain confidential, but all i can say is that it's near pasir pandak, which is where i caught the fish. as for you smart alec, no, the fish is not from the pasir pandak salt water pond.

i went there to cast after finish inspecting the site. used my normal setup, abu d5 6600 baitcasting reel coupled with 2 piece team seahawk light casting rod and a "cipalang" 4" lure. in less than 15 minutes, i hooked up the baby. my initial thought was that i had "sangkut" to some underwater snag. then suddenly the "sangkut" started to veered to the right and the 14lb berkley ironsilk line started to peel out of the abu. i tightened the drag a little and started a tug of war with the yet unseen opponent. it must have been just a few minutes but it felt like ages. soon a silver gleam can be seen using my polaroid sunglasses. it was a siakap... and a huge one (my standard) it was. my thought now was, how to land the trophy fish? i had nothing with me and the fish was trashing.

thankfully, a mamak on motorbike passed by and i asked for his help to hold my rod. the fish by now was next to a muddy shoreline. i ran back to the car and got a pair of pliers. came back to the location and climbed down 2-3m of retaining gabion wall to the now exhausted fish. i secured the pliers on the lips of the siakap and pulled it further inland. i dun remember how many times i must have thanked the mamak. soon he left and i climbed back up and rushed to my car. thankfully there was a camera in my car. "now i have proof!!!"... i said to myself silently. took a few photographs and then a father and son on a motorbike came by.

the father was surprised with my catch. he lived around there and he said he has yet to see anyone caught anything that big around that area. he helped my open my plastic bag so that i can placed the trashing fish into it. if any of u ever catch a siakap, my advise is just to put the fish in the boot of the car. i had put mine in the passenger seat and i tell you, it can freak you out when it starts trashing in the car while you are driving. attached herewith are 3 photos taken at home. i will forward the rest of the pictures (taken at the location where the fish was caught) tomorrow. comments are welcome. cheers for reading."


mangrooveDan attached some pictures as well. Enjoy the pictures. Do take note at the treble hook on the lure. Must have been a strong fella.









Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Navin's Solo Fishing Trip

Navin did a solo fishing trip One Fathom Bank on 29 January 2006 till 31 January 2006. Here are some photos taken by him. The pictures are quite grainy because they are taken using his phone. Enjoy the pictures...

:::... The boat that Navin used ...:::

:::... On the way to One Fathom Bank ... :::

:::... Navin proudly holding his jenahak. Fish weighted about 4.8 kg ...:::

:::... Jenahak chilling in the cooler box ...:::

:::... Prove that the fish was really caught by Navin. Note his signature on the cooler box ...:::

:::... The size of the jenahak head compared to a teaspoon ...:::

A gelama caught by Navin. Compare the size of the fish with the teaspoon beside it ...:::

:::... A collection of selar kuning and tamban ...:::

:::... What a bountiful harvest ...:::

A bunch of barracuda caught by a different group of anglers ...:::

:::... Picture in picture. Taken from a digital camera by a different group of angler. Note the size of the barracuda ...:::

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Plan to breed deep-ocean fish

JOHOR BARU, Feb 7:
Deep-ocean fish like cod and salmon bred in fish farms nationwide? This may not be far-fetched. The Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) has tapped Dutch technology to promote captive breeding of sea fish.

Utilising the high-tech fish-farming technique, common tropical seawater fish such as pomfret can also be bred on a large scale.

LKIM chairman Adam Hamid said a pilot project would be launched at Bagan Lalang in Sepang, Selangor, in May.

Malaysia will be the third country after Australia and Brunei to adopt the method, which is set to revolutionise the aquaculture industry.

"What is unique about this is that fishermen need not depend on the seas for their daily catch," he said.

Adam said fish produced through such a method could be classified as "organic fish" as they complied with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standard.

Products with HACCP accreditation are guaranteed free from chemicals, pollutants or antibiotics.

Adam said as there was a huge market for such fish in Europe, LKIM was keen to develop the project nationwide

"The Terengganu Government has set aside RM20 million to start the project," he said.

Under this method, fibreglass tanks, measuring six by 10 metres and 1.5m deep, are placed in enclosed buildings and filled with filtered underground water.

The building’s temperature will be controlled to suit the types of fish reared, while the harvest schedule is programmed to meet demand.

He said salt would be gradually added to the tanks two weeks before the harvest to replicate the chemistry of seawater.

"For a start, we will install eight tanks to rear barramundi, a tropical salt-water fish which has a huge demand in Europe.

"It takes only four months to harvest, which is half the time of conventional breeding methods.

"It also means huge savings in fish food as only a kilo of pellets is needed to achieve a kilo of fish weight, unlike the conventional method which needs two kilos."

The pilot farm, he said, would have four tanks in each of the two buildings, with the capacity to produce 150 tonnes of barramundi a year.

It will be a joint venture between LKIM subsidiary Majuikan Sdn Bhd and Australia-based Fish Protech Pte Ltd, under a 60:40 profit-sharing agreement.

Next year, LKIM will breed the gede perch, which is rich in fish oil and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Source : New Straits Times Online

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Variations Of Murphy's Law For Anglers & Outdoor Fun-Seekers

Everyone knows Murphy's Law, that "Anything than go wrong, will..." Here are some other Laws that some of you anglers may want to beware of :
  1. Snagg's Law of Casting Near the Trees : Your most expensive lure is more likely to get stuck in the weeds and branches than the cheaper ones.
  2. Luke's Law of Group Fishing : The person right next to you always has the better sopt - and seemingly, more bites.
  3. Peppard's Law of Forgotten Tool : No matter how long you prepare for a fishing trip the night before, you will always fingd that you have forgotten something curcial during the trip.
  4. Bobstein's Law of Relative Size : The fish that got away is always bigger than the whoppers caught by your friends.
  5. Shank's Law of Hook-rigging : The sharpest hooks are most likely to 'catch' your finger than fish.
  6. Haruan's Law of Promising Bubbles : Bubbles in the water do not necessarily mean there are fish beneath.
  7. Cranky's Law of Tackle Choice : You never seem to be using the right tackle when you first start fishing.
  8. Bitchess' Law of Making Appointments : Your wife always has something planned for you to do on the you are invited to the most interesting trip.
  9. Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair : After your hands become coated with grease, your nose begin to itch.
  10. Anthony's Law of the Workshop : Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
  11. Snorr's Law of Insomnia : The more important the trip, the more difficult it is to sleep the night before.
  12. Fred's Theory Of Relative Tardiness : Those who are habitually late for work always show up on time for golf anf fishing.
  13. Lowery's Law of Home Repair : If it jams, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.
  14. Tyson's Do-It-Yourself Law : There is no mechanical problem so difficult that it cannot be solved by brute strength and ignorance.
  15. Schuck's Law of Supply and Demand : The one item you need at the store is always in short supply.
  16. Cannon's Law of Retribution : If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tyre, the next morning you will have a flat tyre.
  17. Norman Einstein's Law of Ingenuity : If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid after all.
  18. Colonel Ollie's Law of Modern Combat : Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder!
  19. Sea-Am's Theory of Optimistic Magazine Readers : Only 2 out of 10 tips you read in the megazines will work for you in real-life.
  20. And the most famous of all. Dodger's Law of Workday Blues : A lousy day fishing is better than a good day at work.

~Taken from Rod & Line Magazine (July 2004 issue)