Baktao Heaven

Punggol End Beach And Jetty

2012-01-20T11:24:00.027+08:00

Punggol End Beach and Jetty used to be one of my favourite eging spots in Singapore. In the past, it used to be less crowded, full of squids and it was a place where i would go have a few casts when i was stressed or needed some fresh air... But now it has transformed into a more developed area and it is packed with people!

I could not recognise the place...

Look at the number of cars!

Since there were a few days of sun, i went out to check Punggol End for some squids but i went home early because it was too crowded and noisy. No longer can i do my eging in peace... There were kids running around, shouting and screaming... Big malay families camping at the beach and all over the area...

Packed!

There was still a great number of people coming to fish for squids though... but they left one by one as the wind got stronger... The style of eging has changed alot in these 4 years. 4 years back, these ah laos used only slow crank to fish for the squids. Nowadays, you see them whipping their rods like some pro Japanese wannabe eging angler... Some even bought eging rods, yamashita squid jigs etc....

Packed with new age eging anglers...

Well.... it just proves that even the most stubborn learn...

Oh yea bus 82 does not go to Punggol End anymore... you have to use bus 84...

New Year's Eve Changi Offshore Fishing

2012-01-17T11:41:00.000+08:00

Almost every year, i will try to have a "last fish of the year" trip. Thankfully, i managed to book Ah Long this year... But a few weeks for before the booking, it kept raining everyday... so we are all praying hard the rain stops during our trip. The trip was done in such a way that if the rain proves to be still raging, the Captain will call me to discuss and we might cancel the trip. But... luckily 2 days before the trip it was sunny all the way... This might not be enough though as it requires a few days sun to "wash away" the freshwater in the sea...

All go!

Let me share some of my knowledge here for Changi Offshore as many do not know the fishing strategy there... it's very important to note that Changi and Punggol are considered "rivers" and that the main sea is actually in the direction of Johor Shoals or off Changi Naval base... This is where the saltwater comes from.

Hence during the rainy season, freshwater from Changi, Punggol, Ubin and Pengerang side will all flush down... This is during outgoing tide in which the water is flowing towards the main sea which is Changi Naval base side... this is EXTREMELY DETRIMENTAL to fishing near Ubin, Changi side during heavy rain as it will bring all the catfishes out because the water salinity is very freshy due to the rain water...

The solution to this problem is to fish at the open sea... as the fishes that love saltwater like grouper will move out into the open sea... note that if it is not rainy season, no worries.... the fishes will still be here...

Now then one will ask ... So we don't fish near Tekong, Ubin or Punggol during rainy season?! Not true... The key is to fish there when water is INCOMING... means water is moving from the main sea Changi Naval base area to Ubin... this will bring some salinity into the water and fishes will move in to feed...

The key to fish in the rainy season is to either book a spring tide which will mean good salinity... or book a tide which is incoming the whole day or most of the day...

Back to the trip... This trip saw the incoming tide occur in the morning and we had a good catch of Snappers and Groupers in the morning. After lunch saw us catching catfishes and the likes...

Cousin getting a good ang cho kee...

Sim dad and 1.8kg Grouper

Uncle Dennis getting a good one

Fengshan knock out...

Well, my first saltwater fish was an Ang Ko Li... the "rainbow fish"... tasty little buggers... hehehe...

Sad total catch..

Sora Aoi Sexy Fishing Pictures

2012-01-15T19:25:00.000+08:00

Here are some photos of the JAV Idol known as Sora Aoi (蒼井そら, or Aoi Sora and also known as Sola Aoi) in a camping themed photo shoot... She's a Japanese AV Idol...

I won't post the censored one haha maybe you can go google them yourself... but i guess these are okay for viewing... She's kinda cute... Hehehe...

Don't know if the bass she caught is real!

Last Freshwater Fishes of 2011 and First Freshwater Fishes of 2012

2012-01-14T10:29:00.000+08:00

A couple of freshwater luring sorties that didn't really have any impact in our lives took place during the festive period. No spectacular catches were recorded but we still enjoyed ourselves!

Notice that in some of the photos, background is not censored. What i am trying to do is to share with our viewers our "so called secret spots" so as to showcase the beauty of fishing in our local freshwater holes. It is the spirit of sharing and angling that drives me. It's either you know the spot or you don't.... and quite frankly... censoring backgrounds off photos spoils the photos... I'll try to keep backgrounds original as much as i can....

One of the shots from new year's eve freshwater fishing in which Shawn and me caught a Temensis each... boring...

New year's day fish.... on a light setup of Zeus Inox 4lbs rod, Caldia Kix 2000 with 6lbs Abulon Tournament monofilament line and 8lbs frog hair flourocarbon leader...

First fish for 2012!

Feel the air.... breathe the air ;)

Shawn getting in on the fun

One of the fishes in another trip...

Sniping who?

Shawn's waterproof and floating "overboard" bag...

Boxing Day Luring

2012-01-12T10:18:00.000+08:00

Well, the gang itched for Santa's fishy gifts and we set off for another bash in our Singapore's remaining "tropical rainforest". On this trip was Nick... our mr Hulk who was new to this whole luring thing and was itching for a first fish on lure. We brought him through the motions and what do you know... He got his first Toman aka Snakehead.... It wasn't huge but still something to shout about!

Nick's first fish on lure... a decent Toman

All of us were cramped at a small area but we made do with haphazard casting... Shawn got a nice specimen too around the 4lbs mark...

Today was a sunny day after weeks of rain... The significant change in weather meant alot for fishing.... Water temperature, pressures, type of fishes active all changed. This was evident in today's catch which suprisingly had more Toman than Temensis!

Also an interesting catch of the day by Shawn... A jungle snakehead or known locally as the Budjuk... This fish is a rare catch as invasive species like the Peacock Bass take hold in our reservoir. The fish is a survivor and can survive in puddles of water. It is often found in muddy stagnant water and does not grow very big...

Shawn caught a decent sized specimen.... fat and very healthy... well done Shawn...

Very fat and good sized...

A temensis being caught...

I ended the day landing a few small Temensis... The big ones simply weren't feeding today...

But we had fun with mother nature... She is so accomodating as usual...

And by fun, i mean by planking! Hehe...

And a little photoshop is going to tell you a whole new story... Imagination! Where's the fish?!

TCE Tackles Import Export Grand Opening

2012-01-09T19:50:00.000+08:00

TCE Tackles grand opening made it to the newspapers on 8 January Sunday... So i went to have a look. It's finally good to have a tackle shop near me. Shawn was on the way to pick me up for fishing so i told him why not visit the grand opening and see what they have. They also have door gifts and food...

Here's the address and contacts!
TCE TACKLES SINGAPORE PTE LTD
NO.1, BUKIT BATOK CRESCENT #02-30
W'CEGA PLAZA, 658064
SINGAPORE

TELEPHONE:
+65 6684 2628

EMAIL:
INFO@TCETACKLES.COM.SG

WEBSITE: WWW.TCETACKLES.COM.SG

The place is quite big and has free ample parking but might pose a problem for those without their own transport. It's in the middle of an industrial estate. I guess it's kind of a "showroom style" tackle shop as they do not sell baits or water etc.

Me and Shawn followed the posters lol

TCE Tackles stock up with in house brands like Lemax, Ajiking, Strike pro, Bakau Xpuyu, Tomman, Banax, St Croix. Most of them are Malaysian brands. I kinda liked the Bakau lure series. There are many good and effective colours and models from what i can see. Some are as cheap as only $3.

It looks quite empty but... pretty crowded!

They sell a great variety of Bakau and Strike Pro lures so Shawn and me got some frogs for our upcoming Toman river luring trip on a sampan.

I got myself some Bakau frogs at only $3.80. I spent around $8 and Shawn spent abit more but TCE gave us some free door gifts and goody bag.

Bakau Squid Jigs, lures

Crazy choices of bakau lures... cheap too!

Inside the Goody bag was a towel, mug with assorted fish designs... i got bluefin Tuna and Shawn got Dorado. A free cap was also included. We also were given a nice poster of fishes of malaysia freshwater and saltwater fishes... kekeke....

Goody bags! Everyones favourite!

Lemax rods

Kiasu Singaporean

More posters

Ajiking big guns

Food was awesome considering it was already cold and we can see that TCE Tackles has put on a great show for the opening day with more staff than customers, great food, posters and door gifts... Well done i would say... Let's hope they can last in the market.

Food!

Me and Shawn chilling out... with our free gifts

Me taking some pictures with the poster which i later left in Shawn's van..lol

Me and Shawn went fishing after that and he finally got his first fish of 2012.... Will update again!

17lbs Toman Record Broken On Christmas Eve!!!

2012-01-08T23:55:00.004+08:00

Shawn and me did our usual fishing at our "backyard" spot on Christmas Eve. We are into the spot at first light and surface action was but a little boof here and there...

Then, we saw a few schools of Toman fry emerging from the cover so i casted my pencil lure right at them... twitch, twitch... BOOM! The mother Toman has come out from beneath the school to protect the baby fries! My Pencil lure went under the water and line peeled out on high drag. I gave the fishes a few setting of the hook as Toman have hardy and tough jaws.

This fish was QUICK and FAST! It took me on a joyride and it kept going for the snags. I had to slowly move back and thumb the spool a few times to keep it from going into the snags... Each time it tried, i prayed hard that the leader and hooks will yield. Shawn was remarking in the background... "Big sia! Big sia!"... I was thinking to myself that this fish could be huge... breath taking fight...

Finally we had colour and OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN.... It was huge! Both trebles were on the jaw securely so i had a peace of mind... in, out, in, out... This fish was not giving up without a fight... i kept trying to bring it in fast as i knew that hooks can drop off a Toman's mouth whenever it made such forceful lunges to and fro. I was right... as we were landing the fish, there was only one hook on!!!

The fish refused to open it's mouth and so i acted fast.... I grabbed the leader and yanked the fish out... Mind you... it was a huge bugger.... And success!!! The fish was successfully landed and hi fives were exchanged with Shawn... I stared at the boga scale in anticipation as i wondered how heavy this mama would be...

And it read... 18lbs!!! That's it! I broke my long long long long ago Toman a.k.a Snakehead record! My previous record was at 17lbs which was at least a few years back using bait...

Previous record a few years ago

Alas, we only had a lousy handphone camera but we did the usual photo taking... Shawn as accomodating as usual...

Tackle used: Shimano Bassterra 10-20lbs, Daiwa Tierra 3000 with Varivas Casting PE 2.

Now, the next "fish" was even bigger...it was at 80kg.... landed...and released back into the wild... I copied Shawn's text from his blog... Hahaha... Shawn's next experience reminded me of this....

http://baktao.blogspot.com/2008/12/most-painful-experience-of-fishing.html

Shawn Blogged...
Now it was my turn. I casted out and the moment my $3 pencil lure hit the same school, I hooked up with an estimated 4Kg+ Toman. This was probably the dad. Unlike Nigel’s fish, my guy wasn’t trying to swim back to the school, he was swimming in every direction except to the school and to me.

Before I could react, he swam underneath a fallen tree (which had not been there before) and quickly wrapped itself around what I believe was branches. I repositioned myself a few times to try and gain leverage but the xZoga 20lb camo leader gave way yet again. Within seconds, the trashing had stopped and my lure floated up to the surface. The leader had been bitten through the loop knot itself.

Nigel skillfully retrieved my lure with his own while I retied my terminals, this time using Nigel’s 60lb leader (between us, we had nothing else as I had left my newly purchased 30lb xZoga FC leader in my vehicle). I also made my leader about a foot long instead of my usual 5 inches.

Nigel received no more hits at either spots during this time. With my newly tied rig, I casted out at L2 a few times and then at L1. After a few tries, I got bored and decided to try out a 4’6″ rod that I had also bought the day before.

I retied everything.

On my first cast out with my 4’6″ rod, I felt a short sharp pain in my back before feeling a general numbness in that area. I immediately knew that I had hit myself in the back but I was unsure if I was hooked. I slowly pulled the rod back to release the tension on the line and opened the bail arm. I asked Nigel to see if anything had hooked me.

As he played with the first hook, I told him that that one was “clear” but before I could finish that sentence, he had moved to the second and immediately I said “fuck”.

As he attempted to pull at it even further I told him to stop. I put my rod on the ground and asked him to check how deep it was. I was wearing a black dry fit shirt so it was hard to tell. When he tried pulling at it more, we both knew that the barb had gone in. Upon closer inspection and using guestimation, he too had virtually confirmed that the barb was well in.

I immediately took out a fag with my left hand and lit up. Analgesic, calming or just psycho symptomatic, it took my mind of the seriousness of the situation.

Without being very clear about what he was about to do (which in hindsight was a good thing and also thankfully was the right call) and my missing even the slightest hint of what he was about to do despite my asking all the right questions, he proceeded to push the hook further in to loop it out of the skin, like a fish hooked well and good. I had no idea what he was doing of course as all I felt was a sharp pain in my back. After about 45 minutes and some manly and I’m proud to say very controlled groans of pain (with a slightly bruised love handle caused by strong squeezes from my hand) but limited progress, we retreated to a shelter nearby…. after I reminded him to cover up the other treble with a treble cap.

I asked him to take a photo of my back but he ended up switching the cameras on my phone and took a picture of himself! lol.

Despite being unable to move my arm without causing pain and only being able to keep it in a position as if it was in a sling, I was still in good spirits as having been in a relatively similar but unrelated incident before, I knew I could either skip to the funny or look solemn. The only problem was that the adrenaline had not kicked in fully yet. Nigel managed to block out my groans of pain surprisingly well which was good for me.

We mused on our options including A & E, a clinic recommended by Nigel and continuing on with the “pull through” (although, at the time, I still had no idea that that was what he meant). Nigel also mentioned how he should have brought scissors as he was still flying blind with my black shirt still covering the injury. We were about to move off and walk back to my vehicle when I remembered that I had brought some knives with me (ironically for safety) so we set our things back down (or rather Nigel set everything back down as he was carrying all our stuff including rods) while he searched for it.

When he found it, we tested it on the front of my shirt. The kitchen utility knife turned out to be useless so he moved on the chopper. The chopper was only slightly better but feeling we had no choice, he used that to cut a heart shaped hole in my shirt. He swears it was unintentional. He also swears that it was because he had to cut far enough away from the injury site to stop me from feeling any pain. When I saw the photos later I tried to keep my mouth shut but I couldn’t help it and teased him for it. wahaha.

When he had gotten a clearer view of the situation, he informed me about the depth of the hook and once again very unclearly told me about what he going to continue doing. About 10 minutes later he apparently had managed to pull the hook and barb out of a freshly made hole in my skin. Again, I had no clue that he had well and truly hooked me like a fish and I only found out as we were halfway to my vehicle, after first asking him why if the barb and sharp point were out was the lure still hanging from my back.

We walked past morning people going to work and mused about the benefits of private transport in a situation like this (as opposed to public transport and appearing on stomp – a guy with a heart shaped hole in his open backed polo tee with a hanging lure) and we eventually reached the vehicle.

By now I had smoked about 5 sticks. I’m not saying they helped or that such a large amount of fags had helped more than a “normal amount”, but they definitely kept me distracted.

By now I was well aware of what was happening. The plan was to get a strong pair of pliers from his house to cut away the sharp end and pull the remaining part of the hook back out through the original hole. As we were loading up the vehicle, I remembered that I always carry my fishing gear with me and that I had a pair of strong Surecatch pliers. Nigel, who is normally Surecatch-phobic, had also commented on the apparent quality of the pliers only a few days ago.

All the gear was in the back and having a hatchback, I had to drive forward. As it was a tight parking space and being unable to squeeze myself into the drivers seat, I told Nigel to release the handbrake while I pushed the vehicle. He had some trouble releasing the handbrake so I gave it a go…. with my left hand… from the passenger seat. I found it extremely difficult but since I was intimately familiar with it, I managed to release it after some fidgeting. We both pushed it forward and when it had reached its desired mark, I pulled the handbrake.

Nigel took out the pliers and tested it on a similar lure that had similar hooks. The pliers appeared to work well although I suspect the barb was pushed back in to my skin at some point. I positioned myself while he attempted to break off the tip. After some effort, he managed to do so and I immediately could feel a weight of my back as he pulled the lure free. My arm remained in that sling-like position for a short while after, until I realised that the pain would no longer be present.

It took a while before the next photo was shot as we both consecutively triggered the one and only bug on my custom android rom… a bug which required a reboot.

Two small blood filled holes were all that remained. It was very undramatic, as Nigel was quick to point out, but thankfully so.

After a quick smoke and Nigel browsing through the photos on my phone (we both had forgotten to bring cameras) of both his massive Toman and my 80Kg human, I dropped Nigel back off at his place and drove back home to rest.

In the middle of the day, I heard from Nigel that he wanted to go back there again tomorrow so I signed up for revenge….

The End.

Known lures used:
Yozuri Tobimaru (Floating) – Orange
Sasuke 105
$3 Pencil Lure (1 hit but lost by me, 1 hit and landed by Nigel)

Setup:
Eupro X-Power 6Ft ($77)/Some 4’6″ Rod + Ryobi Zauber loaded with 15lbs Jerry Brown Industrial One.
Shimano Basstera by Nigel.

Terminal:
xZoga 20lb camo leader with non slip mono loop/xZoga 30lb FC leader with a knot that I appear to have made up (can’t seem to find this supposedly common knot online) at swivel and snap ends.
Sasame 47Kg swivel to join main line and leader and Angler’s Pal Snap at the end of the leader.

What Is Popping In Luring?

2012-01-06T23:40:00.001+08:00

Whenever a fishing kaki or fishing friend tells you Popping, it stands for a type of fishing with a surface lure. A popper is a top water lure that floats and resembles bait that usually stays at the top of the water. In freshwater fishing, these could be frogs or little chicks. Poppers usually have many rattles so as to cause vibration. They can make a popping and splashing effect by a concave cut head.Surface lures are also known as top water lures, poppers and stickbaits. They float and resemble prey that is on top of the water. They can make a popping sound from a concave-cut head.

A fisherman has to twitch his rod in order for the popper to chug forward and the concave head of the popper means it will splash water from the head.

Popping is a widely used fishing technique used for fishing for GTs, Tomans and many more other aggressive fishes that love top water lures...

Below is a short video i have made to let our viewers know what is popping... Don't mind the lousy popping in the video... It's just meant to illustrate...

I'll be doing up a how to "Walk the Dog" with a pencil the next time we get bored when we are fishing... Hahaha

Owner Cutting Point Aki Twist Bait Hook

2012-01-03T13:50:00.002+08:00

Hi Fishing Kakis, i would like to introduce this hook to you by Owner... It's a great hook and i have been using it for years. It's the Owner Aki Twist Bait hook... It's thick, strong and very sharp. Excellent if you need excellent hooks for the monsters. It's thick but not too thick and hook setting is great...

It was first introduced to me by Roger a.k.a Sticko...

I have been using the size 2/0 for light offshore baiting and even as jigging hooks. The bigger sizes can be used for heavy bottom fishing or even hooks for poppers etc.

Compared to the Owner General purpose hooks which are so much thinner, the Owner Aki Twist has not failed me yet...

My 35kg Shovelnose ray was landed with an Owner Aki Twist size 2/0 hook lol....

Shout Fishermen's Tool: Shout Bobbin Knoter and PR Knot

2012-01-01T13:36:00.008+08:00

Hey fishing kakis, i recently borrowed a Bobbin from Jamie. It's from Shout Fishermen's tools. It's to help me master the PR knot but somehow i forgotten how to tie the knot again... Looks like i have to go visit Alan Chan again... Hahaha...

Shout Bobbin Knoter... If im not wrong this is the cheaper one at $180... There's a $300 one by Shout too lol

Reason for learning the knot is that it's a widely used knot in big game fishing... I will definitely need to use this knot often in the future...

Here's how to tie the PR knot with a bobbin lol..

Shawn Finally Scores with the Temensis a.k.a Speckled Pavon

2011-12-30T20:18:00.002+08:00

Shawn and me couldn't wake up that day but we still made it although first light was way behind us... It was going to be one of those wet wet days though and luckily for me, i brought my disposable poncho... Phew!

After around 40 minutes of trekking to our location, we set up a distance away from the spot as we knew that the fish here are very sensitive. When you stop fishing and just sit down to watch, they start surfacing and swimming around... So this time we casted behind some trees far away from the bank.... And you know what? First cast, first twitch on the pencil and BAM!! Fish on! A cute smallie to start the day... Shawn also had one take on his first cast but didn't land it...

Guess what... after that it was quiet... We could see fishes swim away from the spot as it's very shallow... The rain started pouring on us after that... out came the poncho and it was "fish in the rain" mode.

Rain mode...

That was when Shawn broke his rod tip when his rod got stuck with some overhanging vines... tough luck mate... but guess what? He hooked onto a good sized Temensis around the 6lbs mark and landed it! But but but... It jumped back into the water! Man... i can tell you that Shawn was feeling bollock-y now... ha ha ha...

Well, no matter... he got another one later one... Wow, he sure was doing every right when it came to making the fish come to papa...

A beautiful 6lb Temensis aka Speckled Pavon...

Notice the broken rod lol

Shawn lost a big Toman later too.... When it just took off with his lure and didn't return with it... Hahaha...

Well... Shouldn't laugh at Shawn too much,... I got own my own lesson later on when my Bomber Long A hit onto something big... I couldn't pull it back and it cut the water, jumped and spat my lure out... It was a Giant Gourami aka Kalui ... oh my god... it's one of my dream specie and i lost my virgin Kalui...

A happy and sad day for Shawn and a sad day for me... That's fishing in the wilderness... in the rain... hahaha

20 December Changi Trip With Uncle Fong/Pong

2011-12-28T20:05:00.000+08:00

Uncle Fong from Changi is one of my favourite boatman in the area... Simply because he produces the results. His knowledge of the coral reefs is not bad and he knows where to start drifting from. He has good knowledge and estimation of the drop offs and reef areas. When i need a trip in where there is a good catch, i will definitely call Ah Fong... But sadly this trip was marred by bad weather... RAIN.... It has been raining for the past few weeks now and today was no exception...

On this trip was Ricky from Pekan... surprise surprise he was over in Singapore for holiday as he is here to try out micro jigging on ah ho's boat.... So we invited him over for a chance at Singapore Changi waters... well not that bad he landed a small snapper or two...

Beginning was bad but we still landed the fishes.... after 2pm was bad... there are ZERO fishes landed from 2pm/. The water quality is real bad and the fishes are simply not feeding. I guess it's time for freshwater fishing kekekeke...

Before lunch catch...

Alan, ricky and clarence all sleeping...

Total catch... luckily i landed a small 800g grouper at least im not a zero fighter... hahaha....

17 December Johor Shoals Offshore Trip

2011-12-26T19:55:00.002+08:00

This trip was a total disaster. I haven't been with this boatman for a long long time now but i must say this will probably be my last time. People can change during a short time.

The moment we boarded the boat, i somehow knew that he was trying to be funny. I checked with him whether we are confirm going Mano Wreck but guess what he tell me? He told me the sinker size will be very big so not going there. I'm not a newbie when it comes to telling the sinker size at that spot during that lunar date. The current will only pick up after 11pm for that day.

Never mind i just kept quiet ... next we are going to jig for small baitfish to use as bait... Guess what he tell me... he said very little so just try awhile then move off already. I manage to get some baitfish at the buoy but there's indeed quite little of them but the impression i get from him is that he is half hearted just park his boat roughly and just wait...

By this time i knew that's it liao this trip is going to be bad.... with the recent rain also being very bad... Well, you know the rest... We caught over 10pcs of duri aka ah seng aka catfish as the water is cold... Some snapper here and there... around 3am the boatman went to sleep already lol...

Here are the pics...

Nick got a small Shark

I had a nice size Snapper too

Nick testing out his new setup... Eupro Exploder PE 3 - 6 and Daiwa Saltist 40H

Shawn's Tiburon and Hammer Jig rod...

This will be my last southern trip for a long long time....

Sabre Tackle Moving Location

2011-12-23T22:27:00.001+08:00

Take note guys... Taken from Alan's blog...

The other day was talking to the lady boss in sabre tackle, she told me that they are moving to a new location soon. The new owner only gave them 2 months notice for them to move out.

Jean Yip will be talking over the whole building.

New location of sabre tackle will be still in beach rd area, will update you guys when the new location is confirm.

- www.acfishing.blogspot.com

Triumph Super Shock Leader ( Nylon and FC) and What are Fishing Leaders?

2011-12-23T22:13:00.002+08:00

Okay guys, here's some general tackle talk. I have been fishing for a long time now to have seen the Dupont Leader in action but nowadays fishing leaders are very widespread and there are many different types like Fluorocarbon, Nylon and even hi stretch leaders... Here is some basic introduction which may come useful to beginners.

What is a leader?
A leader line is a length of fishing line (usually monofilament) which you attach to your main fishing line (usually braided). Anglers tie the leader to the lure they are using. In a baiting context, the leader may be your terminal rig like your Apollo Rig (Paternoster). Leaders are stiffer, stronger and can have different properties to suit the angler and terrain.

If you are using braided line, it is definitely a must to use monofilament leader as braided line is very visible, it is not abrasion resistant and it is not stretch resistant. Usually, i like to use an FG knot. Look at this video from Jigging Master... Great knot. Uni to Uni is also okay for me but the strength is tied to your leader poundage versus braided line poundage...

FG Knot

Fuorocarbon leader is believed to be invisible to fish, which will naturally help you get more hits. I was a little skeptical at first but eventually, i saw that this is true. But i only use FC line during clear water and day time. It's not really practical using FC line in the night or when the water is murky. Fluorocarbon line is also very abrasion resistant, so it is better used for tricky structures or toothy fish. Do note that it is a little stiffer than normal nylon leaders and hence is a little hard to tie your braided main line onto.

Leaders are often matched to the mainline class that anglers are using. You don't really want to use a 100lb nylon leader on 8lbs braided line!

Ok enough of Basic Introductions!!! Below are the FC leaders and Nylon leaders that i use.... I tend to use Dupont leaders for night fishing or casual fishing too... Only buy the stiffer version...!

I find Triumph Super Shock Leader Nylon and Triumph Super Shock Leader Fluorocarbon a very economical choice when it comes to leaders. I usually get the 30lbs, 40lbs for light jigging and 100lbs for Sailfish or bottom fishing...

To date it has landed me my first 35kg Shovelnose (40lbs FC), Sailfishes (60lbs FC and 100lbs Nylon)...

You can get Triumph Shockleaders at Sabre Tackle... I think the 40lbs FC is at $24 or something

GUSA 79XF 10 - 25lbs, 7"9, Spinning For Sale (SOLD!!!)

2011-12-19T06:42:00.002+08:00

Model : GUSA 79XF 10 - 25lbs, 7"9, Spinning
Components: Fuji guides and reel seat
Sports handle seperated by a screw on nut. A very nice piece of design that is special.

Bought it from another kaki who didn't used it at all. I only used it once for casting some poppers.

Probably near mint condition. Guides are in mint condition. Almost no scratches on blank.

Viewing with no obligation is i believe that height of the rod is a stumbling block for some kakis.

Great for medium light popping at Rompin, Pekan or even shore casting. Toman popping may also be a great idea.

At the price i am selling, it's an unbeatable deal for a rod that beats factory made rods for the same price.

Price : $200 Cash n Carry non neg. Reserve only for kakis that place deposit.

Collect at Bukit Panjang. PM me with contact. Thanks!!!

D.A.M or DAM fishing Electronic Line Stripper

2011-12-18T22:23:00.009+08:00

I was shopping around Joe Tackle today and came across some interesting tackle tools...

Behold... the DAM fishing electronic line stripper that works on batteries! Well you're supposed to insert the line and press the button while the tool helps you to strip line. A nifty tool!

But god knows how fast it is...

Useful tool for anglers that love to strip their fishing lines after fishing trips. It's an important aspect in tackle servicing and maintenance...

Removal of Mano Wreck

2011-12-16T22:14:00.002+08:00

Some of you might have heard the news but here's the official news for everyone. Mano Wreck is going to be removed sometime next year. MPA has already tendered the removal. You can see this here http://www.hellotrade.com/tenders/details/531470781/

It's a sad news for anglers out there as Mano Wreck has been producing wonderful giant grouper fishing results for fishing in Singapore.

Head to Mano Wreck soon to catch some deep sea grouper wreck fishing before it's gone...

Go to my CR for some pictures and report on mano wreck...
http://baktao.blogspot.com/2011/11/singapore-mano-wreck-fishing-for-giant.html

Aftermath of Tukun Perak, Penang Popping Trip

2011-12-15T22:12:00.002+08:00

This trip was a disaster due to the typhoon off sumatra.... but here's a pic for previews before i write the report!

Fishing Tackles For Sale (SOLD!!!)

2011-12-14T22:08:00.009+08:00

Hi guys,

I have some fishing tackles for sale.... Leave me a mail or reply here if you're keen.

Light Jigging Spinning Set - Ryobi Artica 3000 spinning fishing reel and Eupro Salty Fighter fishing rod. Both items are well taken care of. Rod is only used twice while the Ryobi Artica is rated at 8/10. Comes with two spools that are loaded with powerpro and tuff lines.

Selling as a set at $150

Below jigs are also for sale... Crippled Herring, Skill L, Smith CBN etc etc...

Top left $12, Top right $12, Smith CBN $15, Skill L 220g $25

Changi Offshore 3 December with Ah Long... The Smallies came out to play!

2011-12-11T16:30:00.019+08:00

This post is somewhat dedicated to my dad...Different times, different strokes... It used to be my dad that brought me on an offshore trip or two in the past. I remember him bringing me to Bedok Jetty to fish for the tambans, i remembered him tying all the rigs for me during offshore trips and so on...

Look at how smug i was!!!

That was me... jigging for tambans with an old spinning setup... those were the days

Me at a slightly older age going southern island offshores with my dad...

Now, it's me that's doing all these... for him and my brother. It's kinda deja vu... but i guess it's how things should be! Nothing better than the guys in the family all going out for a day of fun and putting fishes on the table! Well one day i really dream of doing what my dad did... going to the deep seas of indonesia and malaysia and use a handline set to bring up a 10ft tiger shark.... i still have a photo of that somewhere that ill try to find...

So here i was bringing him on a changi offshore trip. We boarded the bumboat at Changi point ferry terminal... yes the ferry placce that people take bumboats to Pulau Ubin...

It rained cats and dogs the previous day so we weren't optimistic about the catch... the rain probably spoiled the water condition. We were half right.. the biggies did not come out to play and were probably not in the mood to feed but the smaller fishes were full of energy and each fish had a crab or squid in its mouth half digested!

Everyone managed to get some fish... The dad managed to bully some fish on my calstar 10-25lbs and accurate 197.... it's kinda shocking to see him just reeling in the fish... he's not used to rods as he always used to handline...

I did not manage to get any ang cho or golden snapper this time round but i still managed to get a few good sized groupers...

My dad, brother, uncle and my dad's friends and his son...

Going to the fish farms to buy some live prawns

Sigh my dad took a photo of me... and it doesnt look good!

Suppiah and son

A rather measly catch...

Deep Fried Cobia Cubes

2011-12-09T12:11:00.005+08:00

Alright guys i'm new to this but some kakis asked me to share my recipe for Cobia so here it goes... It's part home made and part research but i've eventually made it my own. The thing with the recipe is i don't know exact quantities of ingredients used so it's better to make your own adjustments as well!

The taste of the Cobia will vary because i usually use fresh cobia that has been caught. Smaller Cobia from 2kg to 6kg will taste better than 20kg specimen. Cobia also taste better when bled.

Deep Fried Cobia Fish Cubes
You have to fillet the cobia and remove the skin. Remove any blood clots or blood from the meat. It will taste nicer this way. You can either cut cubes or even cut slabs and thickness is according to your preference.

- Flour (standby for frying and only use what you need)
- Oregano and Dill
- Lemon
- 1 Egg
- Salt
- Oyster Sauce and Light Sauce
- Black Pepper

Make the marinate with the oregano and dill. Maybe 1 tbsp each? Lemon only... 2 or 3 drops of the juice will do. Salt half a tbsp to 1 tbsp... Oyster sauce maybe 1 big spoon and light sauce 1 big spoon. Add the egg, give the marinate perhaps 5 spoons of water. Add maye half a spoon of black pepper. I use black crushed peppercorns. Beat and mix e whole thing.

Marinate the fish cubes for about 2 hrs. Make sure its soaked.

Make sure the heat of the fire is high enough so that the fish will be crispy... can test the oil by sprinking some flour... Meanwhile u can pour e flour into a bowl and use a chop sticks to coat the fish cubes with the flour. Make sure the fish cubes are all fully coated.

Then just fry the fish. Don't overcook the fish!

Below is the exact recipe that i used a few weeks ago... the Cobia tasted excellent!

I'll be doing up the recipe for the panfried Cobia soon! Stay tuned folks!

Effective Jigs For Desaru

2011-12-08T11:18:00.002+08:00

Hi fishing kaki,

These are the effective jigs that i was using for Desaru this year.... some of the jigs are effective for other areas as well.

From left... Surecatch Flasher 40g and 60g, Deflector Jig from Angler Pals from Deep Sea Tackle, White Rabbit MJ1000 from Chop Hock Heng, Technic GT Jacks... Below jig is a Smith Metal Forcast copy from Asari termed the Asari cast fighter....

Beautiful Freshwater Fishing Shots...

2011-12-06T11:10:00.020+08:00

Well by the time you'll be reading this i will be already in Penang, Tukun Perak popping for my GTs... hehehe

Here are some beautiful shots taken by Shawn while i am fishing... we managed to catch up with the giant school of a few hundred big Temensis at one of our catchment areas. But too bad they moved off very fast....Managed to hit one baby while casting into the school. Amazing stuff... very big fish boilings that were 10m x 10m wide!

Look at this picture... take a deep breath.... take in the air, the smells and the sounds of nature... tell me you aren't filled with something money can't buy. The effect of mother nature...

Shawn got a big Temensis estimated around the 8lb mark that threw his hook... what a pity... he was using an Ima Sasuke yellow...

Prawning at Haibin Bishan Singapore

2011-12-04T10:52:00.001+08:00

It's been awhile since i have went prawning so i thought why not do it again? Made a trip to the Haibin Bishan prawning place and looks like prawning is still as popular as ever. This is surprising because there were much bigger prawns and more prawns last time. I guess that prawning has now become a bonding type of activity among family, friends, girlfriends boyfriends...

Bite rate was very slow and topping up of prawns were not much but the prawns tend to feed at intervals. I guess this could be due to their topping up time which is consistent. At every point of time, prawns from different batches of release will feed.

We still managed to get some prawns for our BBQ... Haha... and we managed to get some crayfish aka yabbies. These are very heavy when hooked and don't fight much. Be careful of their claws!

Here's a list of Singapore Prawning locations if anyone is keen

And i have written a prawning guide and tips long long time ago too! Click here to get the guide...

Pictures....Prawns were marinated with mineral salt and ground black pepper. Be sure not to overcook the prawns if not they will be not as juicy... crayfish tasted a little like lobster...