Bedok Jetty is CLOSED!!! =(

Went early in the morning (around 6am) to secure a place at the jetty. By around 10am, a group of workers came to announce that the jetty is closed for renovation! (What is there to renovate? If they add a toilet, I'll be grateful!)
So, for the next few months, will have to say goodbye to queenfishes....
Hopefully, other places will not become too crowded as a result.
Anyway, packed up and went to the "jetty" besides Carl's Jr. Caught a palm-sized flounder. Otherwise, very quiet....

How to catch a queenfish

Twin catch, again!

This is the 3rd twin catch this week! (See previous posts for 1st two)
But of course, this time, it is the most precious catch so far - queenfish!

Actually, there was an earlier bite this morning which got away because my hook came loose. After that, I retrieved all my hooks and re-tied them.

The second bite (which is first fish I caught) was nabbed with live prawn on a drift line. Live prawns are like "magic bullets"! :)

The next fish was caught after I changed the rod to the opposite side as the fishes seemed to be coming up from there all the time. True enough, the switch paid off.

PS: Gave left fish to Karyn and right one to Josh...

Catch report: Date - 17/11/08; Time - 1200; Venue - Bedok Jetty; Low - 0740, 1.6; High - 1340, 3.2

Catfish attack!

Actually quite disappointed to catch these "low class" guys. Reason: they are not like the gramourous "up class" deep sea fishes that travel the oceans which we usually see in pictures. Furthermore, though edible, the fact that their meat needs some processing with asam and lemon juice to remove the "ba-wu" (smell) gives me the creeps.
Nonetheless, here are the few consolations: (1) They gave a good fight on the line - helps train my skill, (2) They are big enough to make a meal, (3) I saw them swimming around in a fish tank at a Chinese restaurant - hey, no bad!

Troubles come in twos

Caught these 2 cat sharks (just look at the cat eyes!) at the mini-jetty mentioned in the previous post with live prawns. It's also interesting in that it's got leathery skin. After bringing them home to show (off) to my kids, I returned them to the sea. These guys are strong and never said die.

Barren day

Had a really barren day yesterday at Bedok Jetty from morning till night. Nobody here caught anything. How dismaying.
But there are lot's of tamban, which I'm getting bored of. Caught a bag of them (1kg plus?) and gave it to Josh for dinner.
By noon time, Josh and the girls from office came to the beach hawker centre for pig's trotter. Gave them a treat. Other then their famous trotter, still have bak-kut-teh, taupok and pig's liver. Most of it are high-cholestrol stuff.
I'm going to try out the new spot. Water not so deep. But better environment. And less competition.
Bedok Jetty, I may not see you again for a long time....

New Spot

Found this beautiful spot along East Coast that is ideal for family time and still fish!
It has a small jetty, nice beach, lot's of shade, good food (Carls' Jr and Old Town), and toilet!
Next visit with my family, I'll be here.
(will include picture later)

Lessons from my fishing trips

Picked up fishing a few months ago. The experience brought me through a roller-coaster-like discovery of myself. Here are just some lessons that I’ve learned.

Fishing technique matters
To the casual observer, fishing is just a fishing rod, a hook on a line, and a piece of meat on the hook. Try using that method and you should be prepared to wait for eternity without a catch.
There are details to the kind of rod, line, hook and bait to use. Furthermore, your ability to land a fish is greatly affected by the skill of operating all the above.
You want to be a fisher of man? Sharpen your skills.

You thought you’re catching the fish, actually the fish is catching you
Fishing is an addictive activity. For every fish you catch, you want to go back for the next one. Before you know it, the fish has caught you!
Enter the fishing-for-man industry with your eyes wide open. Because you’ll be addicted to changed lives!

God brings the fish
This is the most important lesson for me at fishing.
All the enthusiasm and good techniques would come to naught if there is no fish in the waters! But when God sends the fishes, and your lines and hooks are ready, you’ll get tight lines all the way!
Don’t be discouraged when all your efforts at fishing for man seemed to yield no result. God has his timing. Use your waiting time to pray and hone your skills. The fishes are coming…

Sure Catch

Josh and I each bought a 10ft "sure catch" rod yesterday at the tackle shop at changi village. Only $21. Cheapest in Singapore. We thought this will be our chance to show off our "extra-long" thingi at the beach. So, we took our new gear to Pasir Ris beach to try it out.

To our dismay, the old man at the beach took one look at our "sure catch", lighted his pipe and said, "Sure catch? Sure spoil one." Nevermind, at $21, even spoil won't feel that bad!

That night, my "sure catch" got its first catch at Bedok Jetty. It was an useless sea-snake. It wrapped itself around my bait and suffocated itself. No wonder I felt a few jerks on my line and then... dead silence again. I hope "sure catch" will do better next time...

Lizardfish?

Saw the 2nd fish on the 3 Nov post? I was wondering whether it is a flathead. But later, searches on the web for photos of flathead is far from similar. My next best guess is "lizardfish". Look at the photos above of lizardfish which i download from the net, similar, right? (Of course, Josh disagreed. But he is wrong)

Tamban day

Left office at 4pm yesterday to try my luck at the jetty before going for the "Promise Musical" rehearsal. Turns out to be a tamban harvest! Within an hour, I caught at least 2 kg of this mini-delight - that comes to more then a hundred fish... Tamban is a ikan-kuning-like fish that visits the jetty in swarm once in a while. Most of the time, you'll just get a few at a time... (To prepare a feast with tamban, remove their scales, then cut of head and remove intestines, finally deep fry them and you can eat it whole with the fine bones!)

A gift and a strange fish caught

Ah boon gave me a live teenage Indian Threadfin Trevally aka chermin (see video below) today. He is a nice guy who appeared to be staying on the jetty - because whether it is in the morning or at night, he is there!

It is now in my aquarium waiting for that faithful day again. This guy is really fierce and kept knocking into the glass walls and splashing water out of the aquarium whenever anybody goes near...

As for me, I caught a strange looking fish (see below) unexpectedly as I reel in my main fishing line. The MAJ (man at jetty) said it is edible. So I'm going to down it.

Went online to try to find its name. I think it is "flathead". As I found a picture below and it sure look like this when I fish it out of the water...