Flathead and a lost Talang!

(God gave me a consolation in the form of a flathead which I released to the sea)

Dear God,
Thank you for giving me the exciting experience of fighting a queenfish on a taman hook! Considering the cool headedness in my fight, cutting it more slack and finally reeling it all the way in, I guess I did well. But I lost my cool when I realise there is no one to help me hook it up and made the silly decision of pulling it up from the water anyway - as a result, it broke free. If I were to think clearly then, I would use my net to bring it up instead. I would do better next time.
Though I felt sad about the loss, I would still thank you for so many good things in my life - having the opportunity to fish is one! So help me o Lord, in the future to always be thankful for the opportunity to fish, irregardless of whether I catch a fish. But if you do give me a fish, I would also give thanks!
Thank you for the precious lesson. Giving thanks to you is the antidote for disappointments and loss. Because it reminds me of how much you love me.
Amen.

Now I know...

Now I finally know why I kept going back to the sea, even after being beaten time and again by the fishes. This can be quite puzzling considering the hurt i felt after being beaten each time.
My desire: I fish with an objective - to catch big fish!
My belief: I believe that the big fish will be mine if I wait long enough
Therefore, every time shortly after my return from an empty trip, I would be planning my next counter attack!
(PS: My next counter attack will be Thursday night!)

(Todak caught with tamban hook - these are supposed to be stronger hooks bought from Mark's shop)

(One whole basin full of tamban. Good catch today. Spent 30 min cleaning and packing them into nice ready-to-fly packets!)

Beaten

Philip, Winston, Josh and I went for night fishing!
Philip and Winston caught a fair number of toa-bak. This is their virgin catch. Good for them.
After that, Philip returned home and the remainder set up a huge 6-men tent to catch a wink.
The next morning, Winston and I continued to catch a good amount of tamban.
Then we went for breakfast at Old-Town.
When we returned to fish, it started raining and the game is over.
Throughout... Not a single big fish!
PS: But God did grant good weather and good fellowship. :)

Showdown

Night fishing tomorrow with Josh, Philip and Winston!
May God grant us good weather and fellowship.
As for me, big fish as well - please God...
Will report back after tomorrow!
(Anyway, saw a boy with a seabass at carl's jr jetty this morning. He must have caught it during his overnight fishing)

Giant Giant Travelly

(Jie Xin holding bicycle on the right)

Time: 10am; Venue: Bedok Jetty; Full moon; Tide: 2.2m rising.
This is the biggest fighting cum landing I've witnessed! The guy fought it in an experienced manner using his thin 6-ft rod! It took a long time to land it. And a helper used a fork to pierce it and pull it up.
This guy is at least a 5-kg!
One day, it would be me... O God, when?