10 Kilo Barramundi!!! Hooray! Bryan's debut.King's debut too!

Oct to Dec 2004 Fishing Reports and Pics

18 Dec 2004 - Nice Diamond Trevally to brighten a quiet fishing day. 

The last trip of 2004 was rather quiet, with Felip and Reuben. Good thing a strong Trevally showed up together with a few Garoupas for the dinner table. Let's see how 2005 goes. 

4 Dec 2004 - the barras look so small nowadays... 

- after catching the monster on 11 Nov 2004, even my 3 kilo barra looked small. Good feeling was firing up again with 2 barras, one by Sunny and one by me. Huge stargazer came too, together with a new friend Mohd Taha...

Moved to a few other places but at the penultimate spot, some Garoupas showed up to entice the stomach at the Cliff, and then good ol Ahmad, Raju and a boat called Chiku came and dropped anchor around my boat... so I zoomed to the Snagpile for a little peace and quiet, actually the radio was on so we were more into relax mode than serious fishing already... 

5 more prawns? finished fifty bucks of live prawns just like that? OK back to the boatel for a wash and a magnificent dinner at Orchard hotel (friend's wedding with great food!!! Soon Hock too! Previous night was Coral Trout... worth the ang bao) So here are some pics, including Guek with one of his garoupas. 

Cold Water fish on 12th Nov 2004 

After the previous day's success, Brendon, Raphael and Bryan came on board to experience cold water fishing. Sharks, Rays and Catfish were caught!!! And there was heavy, cold rain too... sigh, can't have a perfect trip everytime. But Raphael's 5 kilo white-spotted ray did give us some kick, and my gaff was put to use after a long rest. 

Sambal BBQ Ray anyone? In the end Raphael steamed it and it was wonderful.

MONSTER BARRA TODAY 11 Nov 2004 

My favourite photo, even though it's taken with a camera phone and is rather blurry with 2004 technology

This photo stirred up some controversy on internet forums because somebody took the photo from my site without permission (but forgiven) and posted it in a fishing forum. Immediately, two camps appeared: there were stirrers and immature internet users who accused me of photoshopping (while I don't even have that program and have never used it), while in the other camp there were other mature, sensible netizens who were defending me to the bitter end (thank you all).

I didn't even know there was a debate going on surrounding the pic until a friend called me on the phone to tell me about it. I observed the debate for a while, and recognized the 'flamers' to be little kids who had yet to understand internet behaviour, so I just ignored the whole thing and it  faded away in a few weeks, as with all controversies on the net. It did make for quite interesting reading and I did have a good laugh when I found out a good buddy of mine was one of the 'trouble stirrers' who was saying it was photoshopped in order to see who was silly enough to jump on the bandwagon. 

In fact, another friend of mine who ran the forum at the time also called me up and asked if I wanted anything done with the threads, but I said it was OK to leave them be. Such things were interesting to observe anyway. I was interested in the evolving social media behaviour at the time and noticed that by 2004, there were less 'flamers' and 'kids' than when such forums experienced a boom in 1998. I wonder what the online social media scene would be like in 2010?

Here is an important pic with my dad and my godson Reuben. This was the final active year when we really got closer as I took the chance to bring dad fishing whenever I could. I'm glad I did that. 
(Editor's note: a stroke immobilized him in 2005 and he was never able to fish again)



WHAT A TRIP!!! Dad, Reuben and I posing with my Barramundi.


Went around Ubin today with Dad, Jo, Felip, Kings and Reuben. The queenfish plains over the sunken kelong was packed this morning, with all the usual faces, Ah Bee, Raju, Ah Chai, Rockin Angels, It's Great... and many more. At least 8 boats were anchored over a small area at the plains where an old kelong once stood... so we moved away to find a less crowded area, but not after landing and releasing a Queenfish.

Moved to GOOD FEELING and a monster showed up. It was really good AGAIN!!! I was at the front of my boat with a Rangong Rig when a my Surecatch rod bent into a U shape. The drag on my reel started screaming as the fish headed into deeper water and I knew I had a good fish on.

After a good first run, I managed to slow the fish down with steady drag pressure and got the fish to start circling the boat. As usual with big Barramundi on light line, steady pressure and patient smooth rod pumping action would get the fish tired tired and disoriented, so the circles it swam around the boat would get smaller and smaller.

We all knew it was a huge fish, but when the fish suddenly decided to head towards the surface for a jump, I almost let go of my rod in shock! I saw the line moving towards the water surface and the great fish made a half-hearted leap which only allowed its head to appear above the water. What we all saw was a monstrous Barramundi head the size of legends emerging from the water in a violent shake. Fortunately the small hook stayed deeply embedded in a corner of its mouth.

Finally, after about a half hour, the fish came near enough to attempt a landing. But, like a 15kg GT (see 1994 story) I caught many years back, this one simply tore right through the landing net and I had to fight the fish through the loop of the net. We eventually got the fish tired and dad used his experience to stick his hand into the gill of the fish to lift it in. He got a little help from Kings to lift the fish. And high fives went all around!

Screaming drags and all! The fish broke the landing net too!

Weighed it with my brass scale -almost couldn't lift this bugger at 22 pounds on 12 pound line.

With a monster Barramundi, the other landed fish like Snapper and Garoupas were so small in the baitwell. I have to say, this broke my 8 kilo Barra record. Now Kingsley, who has only just started fishing with me, is certain there are big fish in Singapore. Going again tomorrow. 

Here's the winning shot again!  My biggest Barramundi at just over 10kg to date.

6 Nov 2004 

Not satisfied with Treva Berkley's first Snapper, Jeeves gets the boat's first Javelin... on a rather quiet fishing day. Fortunately everybody landed something decent. Everybody (Jeeves, Guek Fah, Kings and me) was wondering what happened to the waters as the bites were slow. Garoupas always save the day I guess.

Anyway, people often mistake the Javelin for a Grunter (or Guhud). If you take a look at the Javelin, the whole fish is silvery while the Guhud has a yellowy tinge, especially noticeable on half its tail (take a look at earlier pictures in the gallery). And of course, the Javelin fights like a mad horse, as Jeeves can testify. So despite a slow day, some garoupas and a Javelin are still fun, and of course, you know what they say about a bad day of fishing... IT DEFINITELY beats a good day at work!

Looks like the fish are saving their energy for me this upcoming holiday.

30 Oct 2004 - Day trip with Francis, Jeeves, Kings and Sherman. 

Almost couldn't launch the boat with a relay problem. But the good ol mechanic solved it on the spot and we soon moved into position over the spot. As soon as we settled, I had a good pull on my rod, opening accounts with a small but strong grunter. Then things went quiet, with some small garoupas showing up on Jeevan's rod and mine. So we moved ... and soon after letting down the lines, Jeevan pointed out that my rod was into a full U (I was staring at Kingsley's rod at the time)! I sprung into action and landed a nice barra (seen here in the pic). 

A healthy barra while Francis looks on 

Then, Francis got a good pull, while Kings took a strong pull, and my handline went rolling... triple hookup on Barra? Sadly, no. Triple miss. Francis lost his fish, so did I, and Kings lost his fish to a snag.

Then all went quiet as the fish were spooked. And after a while, just when bites were coming in again and Jeeves pulled in a Garoupa, the storm came. So, on the advice of Sherman, we zoomed back to the boatel very early... and the storm didn't really hit. But, according to Sherman, it always pays to respect the sea. The fish will be there ... another day.

23 Oct 2004 - Morning trip with Sengkang Sam. 

So many boats were out today, all fishing the same spots, so we moved to some quieter spots, but they were either taken up too or there were nets all over the spot. The morning started slowly, but just when we thought it was going to be a bad day, several good fish turned up at our last spot to brighten the day. Went back to shore early with a mixed bag. 

Strong pulling Harry Hotlips (a type of Sweetlip) turned up with 2 Snappers and 5 Garoupas! Steamed fish for dinner!!! 

Just snapped a pic of the boat for fun while waiting for the rain to stop.

4 Oct 2004 and 6 Oct 2004 - Practiced lots of golf lately to emulate Vijay Singh. Found some extra distance and consistency. Now back to fishing ... Went out on the boat for about an hour and a half on the fourth. Got a Snapper, a Garoupa and a Grunter before a friend had to go back to shore on urgent business. Quite relaxing though. But today (6 Oct) was interesting. For a refreshing change, we (me and daughter) joined Sunny and Tim at a special freshwater location and landed some nice stuff. Song He, Patin, Common Carp and Rohu were landed and released. Here are some pics. 

Here's a Patin ready for release. 

And Common Carp like this were ... common. Released too! Thanks Sunny and Tim! 

2004 July to Sep - Last few trips on Ranger, first trips on New Boat

Jul to Sep 2004 Fishing Reports and Pics

9 Sep 2004 and 11 Sep 2004 - Went on Thurs and Sat, where the new boat saw its first Garoupa and first Snapper.

  Thurs was a relaxing trip with Pat, Clarence and Jes. A fish was landed at every spot we went to. But the most notable were the boat's first Grunter, first Red Emperor, and first Garoupa (really good-sized) ... all landed by me. 

HOT ACTION! Putting the pressure on a deepwater fighter while it takes drag in powerful bursts 

Landed! Table sized garoupa... You know what they say... behind every successful angler, is an understanding lady 

Check out what years of anchor pulling have done to the biceps! My wife pointed it out to me. GROSS! With a baby Red Emperor here about to be released (burp. oops)

On Saturday, Felip, Reuben, Jeevan, Ling, Wee Boon and Francis came along. We actually landed a good mix of fish. I opened accounts with a nice Barra at Good Feeling on the first bait. Reuben opened with a garoupa. Then the Balloon Gang turned up and we moved to a spot near the boatel to wait for Wee Boon and Francis, and Jeevan caught the first Golden Snapper of the boat. 

Then we moved to the Snagpile where Wee Boon, Jeevan and me added to the baitwell with more Snappers and Garoupas. Ended with a tally of 1 Barra, 3 Snaps and 4 or 5 Garoupas (not counting other rubbish fish).
Barra Tally for new boat = 5

6 Sep 2004 

- Went on a full day trip with Wee Boon, Francis and Sengkang Sam today. Lost at least 3 good fish, probably barra.

First, I lost a fish immediately after letting down my line. A big one, going by the sound of the drag. The hooks pulled. Shucks. I was just not prepared because the fish struck hard when I was trying to put the rod into the rod holder and I had no angle to strike in time.

Then Francis lost a good fish he had pumped up to the surface. And on the final pump, his rangong flew out of the water. Hooks pulled too.

Then I landed a Barra around a kilo, and everyone was encouraged again. After a while, I landed another barra on handline and Wee Boon got a huge pull. Double hookup. 

But when Wee Boon got the Barra to the surface, they all saw the fish. It was quite big. But the fish pulled its way to the anchor rope, which snagged the hook and the fish pulled free before I could get to the anchor rope.

Then the storm hit, and we spent the rest of the day running from the storm, going to the leeward side of Ubin when the wind came from the northeast, and then going into Ketam when the wind blew from the Southeast. Basically, the storm cloud seemed as though it had a homing device, and we just couldn't escape it to get to the good fishing grounds.

Talk about Murphy's Law, just when we had to go back to the boatel, the weather cleared. But two barras are still better than none. Still the same number of fish as yesterday.

Barra tally for Treva Berkley stands at 4.

5 Sep 2004 - Today was the first fishing trip on Treva Berkley. It was also family day. The aim was to set off at 9am, see who could land the first good fish on the boat, and reach back to shore by 12 noon so that I could prepare for my badminton game.

After some delays at home, we finally reached the boatel about 9.30am. I had to fetch my dad, and I brought my wife and one of my daughters along. It was going to be Treva's first boat fishing trip.
After launching the boat at 10am, we went to the Aunty to get bait and bumped into Ah Bee, he was getting bait too. I had a few spots in mind but all were taken up by a few boats. First there was centro, a boat was parked directly over the structure, then there was the Queenie Plains, but there were 3 boats already there, and I went to the Outer Reef, but Ah Bee was there too, though he was over a different structure, so we tried for 10 minutes, but did not get any bites and my daughter was getting a bit restless. So I had to go to Good Feeling, and the feeling was good indeed.

After anchoring nicely over Good Feeling, we let down our lines and I said something about even a stargazer would be good, then my dad pulled in the first fish on the Treva Berkley... a stargazer. Then my wife got a good pull, but did not strike and the drag went for a while before the hooks pulled. Definitely a good fish.

Then my dad struck gold! The first Barra from the boat came, as expected, and put up a good struggle plus acrobatics, before I scooped it up with the landing net. The leader was all frayed and the line snapped just as the fish came into the boat.

Then it was my turn, with a handsome Barra, that fought all the way up and found itself in my baitwell. We all lost a few more fish, but my then I was already satisfied. The target was met, and I took out my precious iced lemon tea and slowly savoured it while watching the two Barras in the baitwell swimming around. Treva also enjoyed watching the fish in the baitwell and constantly gazed at them.
Soon, the sky turned dark with rain clouds, and since it was almost time, we also headed back to give the boat a good scrub. Two Barras for the boat's first trip. Not a bad start indeed! Tomorrow's trip will be a full day trip with Sengkang Sam, WeeBoon and Francis, let's see how that turns out.

3 Sep 2004 - Brought the new boat out yesterday for a spin after work. Didn't bring any fishing equipment, wasted, cos I found a really promising deepwater structure. 

 

Tried to get a hang of the new boat. Took 90 bucks of petrol and 20 bucks of oil to get this baby going. Zoomed around to the fishfarms and old spots, and tried the anchor in 70 ft of water. That was a mistake I only realized when I wanted to lift the anchor.

Anyway, at anchor, I tried out the baitwell... a rather interesting concept, and played around with the fish finder and all the other electronic gadgets. Then, I tried lifting the anchor. At first, with the help of the winch, the anchor budged. Then I turned off the winch and tried to use raw muscle power... and by the time the anchor lay on the boat, I was totally exhausted and even slightly seasick from the strain. Almost fainted man!!! 70 ft with a heavy anchor is no joke. This isn't my small boat anymore, and I'm not getting any younger.

Zoomed the boat around a little more. Brought it to 5200 rpm for a while and this baby cuts across the water surface like a hot knife through butter. Didn't push her too hard cos gotta break in the engine first. Bringing up the boat was ok. Felt good driving from a flybridge, but I think it'll take many more trips for me to get a real hang of the boat. I think I might try night fishing this coming saturday or sunday with the family. But next monday's got a few friends coming along for a first proper fishing trip.
On the whole, minus the slight nausea from the strain of working the anchor in a choppy sea, I guess the maiden trip of Treva Berkley was a success. Now let's go get the fish!

20 Aug 2004 - FINALLY GOT A CHANCE TO UPDATE - GOODBYE RANGER 17 HELLO TREVA BERKLEY

This month I've been really busy doing lots of things like brushing up on my badminton and golf, and spending time with family. I also have to wave a sad goodbye to my faithful boat Ranger, having served me well for almost 8 years now. I've decided to focus on family outings so I changed my boat to a rather comfortable Bertram style cabin cruiser with a spacious cabin, toilet and flybridge so that there can be more space to relax.

Goodbye Ranger 17, you have served me well.

and HELLO TREVA BERKLEY, my new Flybridge Cruiser

Last few fish on the Ranger

I managed to upload a few poor quality pics of good quality fish caught during the times when I managed to wet a line since the last update. 

Here's my dad with a decent Snapper. 

Dad was the one who introduced me to boat fishing. He had a boat kept under the Penjuru Rd bridge in the 1980s and he brought me out fishing almost every other Saturday night at the Southern Islands. That is where I met Razali, learnt the basics of boat fishing, and learnt to pull the old crowbar anchors. We had a great time during that period (1983-1990). Now, with my own boat, it was time to return full circle, and bring dad fishing.


Here's me with some fish like the usual Barra, Snapper and Garoupa. (Check out the biggie garoupa on the bottom left) 

and here are some garoupas, snappers, grunters and GT 

Typical catches of Garoupas, Snappers and Grunters. 

BUT I'VE GOT TO HAND THE TROPHY FOR THIS SEASON TO SENGKANG SAM! for this magnificent 6 kilo Barra! 

Well that's all for this update. Got more pics of other fish in the cam, but that will have to wait till the next update. Will be busy trying my new boat out, finding relaxing fishing spots to just anchor and sip some iced lemon tea or have some Tiger with buddies.

2004 Apr-Jun Desmond, JJ and a hidden Luke

Apr to Jun 2004 Fishing Reports and Pics

5 Jun 2004 Saturday– **** Went fishing on the boat with Jeevan and Mikko. Saw Willy at the boatel, he was bringing some clients out to Horsburg. Wished him luck. Launched the boat at 9.30am and got a good mix of prawns from the aunty.

  The tide was rising so we hit Sunken Kelong 1, on the Queenfish Plains, hoping to get some monster pelagics, but all we got was a lost fish by Jeevan. After 20 mins, we moved to Sunken Kelong 2, where some great action took place.

First, my handline started spinning wildly on the floor of the boat and I was soon fighting a brute of a fat Golden Snapper which pulled real hard but finally we managed to ease it into the waiting landing net. Then my faithful rod dipped violently and I pulled up a decent Garoupa. Then Jeevan got in on the action with some great bites, but lost most of his fish. Some baits came up crushed by Snapper jaws.
Then Mikko grunted as he struck into a heavy strong fish … took a pic of the fight … and some good pumping later, a large Garoupa around 2 kilos was swimming merrily in the baitwell, wondering if it had died and gone to Heaven, surrounded by FOOD (live prawns). And Jeeves soon got a good bite, struck firmly and brought in a good Garoupa too.

The action slowed as the current slowed and we moved to Good Feeling, but someone was already there, so we went to Kurau, but no fish turned up.

Shifted to Onga and Centro, but the current was bad, and finally ended up at spot 2000, where some fishes like Snappers, a Sickle Fish, and a Garoupa obliged. Some good action was also seen at the Snagpile, accounting for two of the Golden Snappers. Some cats came out to play and we moved to the Cliff, but someone else was there too, and we waited for them to move off before I could position the boat at the prime spot, then suddenly the other boat came back but we had already anchored nicely. So the other boat had to watch us catch and release a nice Queenie. The fellas on the other boat asked why I released it, I just felt like it.

Then the highlight of the day came as I lost two good bites, feeling good weight from an aggressive fish, and it came down to the last two prawns of the day. Baited up and held on to the line, knowing something big was going to tug strongly, and it did. The take was strong and I was soon fighting a handsome Barramundi, which came to the surface after some good pulling. Mikko helped net the fish and take some pics.

Time was up at 5pm. Bait was gone too… all 1 kilo of prawns used up. We ended up with a baitwell full of beautiful fish … Good variety. Good Size. Completed the cycle with the famous trio Barra, Snapper and Garoupa. The company was good! Headed back and to Changi Village for dinner and beer with the guys! Real fun.

2 Jun 2004- morning trip 10am to 2pm.** Wee Boon, Jo, Dad and me.

Had some battery and phone problems in the morning so the trip was delayed for over an hour. But we soon got the boat running and headed straight to the snagpile, where I immediately opened accounts with a good garoupa. Wee Boon lost a strike too.

Then dad pulled in a slightly smaller garoupa and things were looking better, but everything became quiet, so we shifted from the snagpile to spot 2000, where very soon I landed a Snapper after losing another fish to a snag even after using my lure retriever.

Then the action picked up, with even a stargazer showing its face. But the highlight must be the 3 big fish lost. First was my rod, which took a sudden bend while I was holding it and the fish was huge and strong, but the fish reached home and my line was stuck. Then dad struck into a monster of a fish which he struggled with for a while till the line went limp. Somehow his line was bitten through, so we consoled ourselves saying it was a Barracuda.

If we lose a fish, it's either a barracuda, stingray or catfish. But if we land it, it's a snapper or garoupa .. that's the unspoken fisherman's consolation, now spoken.

We didn't have much time to mourn the loss as my rod was almost ripped from my hands as another monster grabbed my bait. The drag screamed for a moment and the line went limp, the hooks pulled. We spent the next few moments cursing and swearing... all the what ifs appeared.

But Jo soon started with the biggest Snapper of the day! What a beautiful fish! And I closed the accounts with another garoupa before heading back before a storm hit.

At least everybody got something.

1 May 2004- May Day morning trip 10am to 3pm.** Robert, Desmond, Wayne and me.

After the previous week's good catch, Des and gang decided to come along.

After getting 1 kilo of prawns, we zipped to the Snagpile which was good the previous week. The instant bites did not come. But after a short while, Desmond opened accounts with a table-sized Snapper, which was encouraging.

But the bites were slow and we moved to 2K, where my handline started rolling and I pulled up a slightly bigger Snapper. Then my rod took a good bend and some exciting fighting brought in another tough looking Snapper.

Rubbish fish were caught along the way and we moved back to Snagpile where Wayne brought up a huge Flathead for dinner. And Wayne proved that his specially tied rig was effective when he fought and brought up the biggest Snapper of the day.

The bites slowed and we moved around Ubin, trying various old spots like the Temple and Army, but nothing big showed up, and we moved back to Snagpile, where the Garoupas showed up.

Des got his Garoupa first, grumbling about catching rubbish fish when he pulled up a Garoupa and started smiling. Then I got a good bend on my rod, and tightened my drag to prevent the fish from running back into the Snagpile, and got the big brother of Desmond's Garoupa.

Des had to rush back home so we ended fishing just as the water was clearing up, it had been yellowish all morning and the incoming tide was bringing on the bites, but satisfied with our catch of Snappers and Garoupas, we headed back, washed the boat, and went home.

23 Apr 2004- Fri afternoon trip 2pm to 5pm. **** Sengkang Samuel and me.

After work, I decided to test the new Ultegra my wife gave me. Called Sengkang Sam along as he was free.

After launching the boat and buying half a kilo of prawns, we looked at the dark clouds overhead and decided to go to the Snagpile instead of the Sunken Kelong. What a good decision it was!

The moment I let down my line, I had barely enough time to close my bale arm when my rod took a good bend. But when the fish surfaced, we initially thought it was gonna be a bad luck day as a Stargazer croaked at us. So that's the first fish caught by my Ultegra. Sam said some positive things about at least being able to sense some excitement when I let down my line in the exact same spot and this time, the huge pull was unmistakeable and some hard pulling later saw a good sized garoupa come to the surface. This time it was a good fish.

In fact, after that, the bites came too fast too furious as we caught some, then lost some, then caught some more. There were big ones which managed to run back into the Snagpile, and there were those we managed to drag up by sheer brute force.

We ended up finishing our bait rather quickly, with Sam providing variety by landing good Grunters, a Snapper and a Garoupa, while I landed 8 Garoupas myself.

We were quite surprised at the size and number of the fish. Looks like the fish have grown fatter in my absence and they really have missed me. Gotta have more trips like this one!

9 Apr 2004- Fri morning trip 10am to 2pm plus. *** Des, Anya and me.

 Since the birth of my second child in Jan 2004, I had hardly enough time to update this website, let alone go fishing. Sorry for the lack of pics - simply no time to scan the photos. Finally, a window of opportunity came on Good Friday and I grabbed this chance to see if I could start my engine.

Upon reaching the boatel, Des helped me un-stiffen the stiff steering, and we soon found ourselves in the water, trying to start the boat. Some patient cranking brought the engine slowly to life and soon we were speeding to the aunty's fish farm to get prawns. The engine sounded as good as ever!

At the first spot, the sounder showed fish at about 50ft depth near a drop-off and we let down our lines expectantly. Anya struck first with a Ribbon Fish, which was fed to a majestic Ubin Eagle.

Then at the second spot, which seemed to have been overfished and over netted, we struck a school of Star Snapper (usually caught around Hong Kong to Southern Japan). That's the fish that's been puzzling Singaporean anglers recently. All they recognize is the Snapper shape and the white spot on its back. Thanks to Mike Guerrin of the Jump fishing page, now we know it's called a Star Snapper. And I've re-verified this name with other dependable sources. We used to call it Peck Tiam. Well, if this fish is here to stay, then more people will slowly catch on to the Star Snapper name.

Anya also caught a Diamond Trevally which gave some excitement and a good fight for its size.
Lots of bites. Finished the bait. Released many undersized and unwanted buggers. But after laying off fishing for so long, I'm glad to find the fish are still around. Even the newly introduced Star Snapper were co-operative. Here're the pics of Des and Anya. 

Anya with a Chermin. Come to think of it, I think Luke was on board the boat too, haha.


Des with a Star Snapper - gonna be a dad soon.