I haven't managed to post anything till now because the blog had to take a backseat while one major event took place in my life. This year, 2015, I mourn the passing of my father, Reginald Lee, the one who taught me so much about fishing, the one who brought me sampan fishing at the Southern Islands ever since I was a small boy, the one who introduced me to anchor pulling at the age of 12, the one who taught me to enjoy life's simple pleasures, and the one who demonstrated to me the fragility of all that we have. Thank you daddy, and I'll miss you and your weird jokes and fishing tales.
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| This picture of us was taken in 2004, and my dad had a huge role to play in helping me land this 10 kg Barramundi. Sadly, camera phone quality was not that great back in 2004. Shortly after that trip, dad had a major stroke. |
But, as we all know, life goes on, and I resumed my fishing after a short break. Here are some updates of the notable catches in 2015.
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| This beautiful and strong garoupa caught off Changi was the result of the fight that can be viewed in my video above. |
The waters off Changi, Ubin and Tekong continued to produce beautiful and strong fish like Garoupas, Barramundi and Snappers. This Northern area remains great for relaxed fishing, with some big stuff still lurking around.
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| These Ubin Garoupas are just the right size for steaming, and in my opinion, actually taste better than the ones I catch from the Southern Islands. I find it strange, but years of tasting garoupas from two different areas of Singapore have led me to this conclusion. Maybe it's just me though. |
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| Of course, the Ubin Barramundis never disappointed. |
Ubin seems to have a very healthy population of Barramundi, and they never fail to put up a great fight, with heartstopping acrobatics when they do their aerial headshake. On one trip, Bert's dad caught a nice 6 kilo specimen which we promptly filleted and used for a barbecue the next day. It was just wonderful!
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| We all love double hookups, especially if a Golden Snapper school is around |
The Snapper zones around Tekong were pretty productive, and in the right tide conditions, could be very entertaining. Even some red Snapper turned up this season, among the Goldies.
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| Here's a tasty Red Snapper |
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| Bryan had a surprise when a big Whiting took his Madai while drifting |
Overall, the Northern waters stayed productive in 2015, but the Southern waters did not disappoint either. Bryan's big Coral Trout from the South will definitely be a fish to remember!
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| Look at the smile on Bryan's face. He landed this beauty on a light metal jig. |
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| This should give you a clearer idea of how big that Coral Trout was. We had a full box that day too. |
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| Kings and I were not to be outdone too, with each of us contributing some nice reds of our own. |
Most importantly, in 2015, I started to introduce the next generation to fishing, as my father had done for me way back when I was in primary school. What better way to start than with my favourite fish, the Spanish Flag Snapper! Great fun for young anglers, the South produced these snappers in schools. A great place to learn eh?
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| Leon poses with a catch he contributed to. I think he's hooked now, haha. |
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| It's really about the simple pleasures. Life comes full circle. |
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| He's right where he has always wanted to be. RIP dad. |
