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Post by motocafe on Jul 16, 2009 16:01:32 GMT 8
Fly Clinic @ FW3 - 31 May 2009We had a REALLY good time at the Fly Fishing Clinic organised by FW3 on a Sunday morning with able assistance from COHO & FFS. Somehow we had mistaken that the event will start at 6am. Kiashu, we arrived at 6:30am. Nobody there yet except for another flyer. Wah, pai seh man. Flyers started drifting in. Gleaming advice and tips from a fellow flyer, I shortened my leader which will make it easier to roll out the fly. Also learned about the slow stripping of line. The event got going at around 8am. Being newbies, my son and I were escorted by a number of fly shi-fus. Perhaps they felt that we were a potential hazard with our 'handgun' casting. Many a time, I had anointed the trees there with plenty of my flies. Also, I had so many 'dry' fly days that the fishes were probably laughing, "Aiyoh, here comes our lau uncle trying to con us with his flies again.". I started out with a new fly given to me by my FW3 mentor that morning. I called it the 'Green Bumblebee'. A few cast and slow strip-tease was enough to induce a take. Instinctively, I strike with my rod (aiyah, old habits die hard). Hookup! And... promptly the line went limp. Retrieved the line and the fly was gone, snapped off by a suspected Kim. But hey, this was a promising start. Put on another fly called the 'Green Hornet' another 'house' fly. Slowly stripping the line, I felt a slow tug. This time heeding advice from FFS shi-fus, I pulled on the fly line and lifted the rod. FISH ON! A shout went out across the pond announcing the strike. It was a Kim that leaped up into the air. All eyes at the pond were on me - wah, kan cheong leow. "OEI, PAY ATTENTION!" the fish seem to say as the reel handle gave me a knuckle rap and line screamed off the reel. Wah, pain man. With expert coaching from FW3's resident Shi-fu at my side, the fish had no chance. Slowly, I coaxed the fish in and it was promptly boga-ed. Aiseh, not bad leh, quite a good sized Kim. Cameras clicked away. Wah piang eh, feel like Bollyhood movie star. Good thing I wasn't asked to dance around the coconut tree. Pressure off and confidence gained after landing my 1st fish, I decided to switch flies again. This time, I opted for a black&brown combo, maybe I shall call this the 'Mama' fly. Fishes at FW3 like a slow striptease - horny buggers! So, who am I to argue - I stripteased slowly. I felt the now familiar slow tug on the line. Unmistakably, this was a horny bugger who fell for my slow striptease. Aiseh, now like a pro, I yanked the fly line and lifted the rod. FISH ON! I looked over to my son who was fishing besides me. He had not experienced a fish on fly yet. So, I handed over the rod to him. With so many shi-fus around, I knew he was in good hands. The smile on his face, as he fought his 1st fish on fly, was priceless. I looked on proudly. The fish on the end of the line was giving him a battle - a good sized Pacu! With so many shi-fus coaching, the fish had no chance. Promptly it was boga-ed. It weighed 14 lbs. Cameras clicked away again. The Pacu mangled the 'Mama' fly. Daniel, FW3's resident shi-fu kindly gave a 'white' fly to my son and told him, "Don't give up on this fly". He said the best part about fly fishing is the take. I agree totally - the feeling is ecstatic. My son didn't give up. And what do u you know! He felt a take... he strike... he fought... and he landed a Tilapia - all on his own! My last fish of the day was a Milkfish. When it was first hooked, it didn't react much. I reeled it in easily. Then, it sort of woke up and started jumping all over the place. Eventually, it threw the hook. What can I say? The advice and tips given by all the shi-fus from FW3, COHO & FFS made this day our most productive ever in our short flying career - 1 Kim, 1 Pacu & 1 Tilapia landed, 1 Kim & 1 Milkfish lost. And to top it off, we were treated to a sumptuous and delicious BBQ lunch comprising ribs, prawns, chicken, sausages and salad. Everyone went home with a door gift & flies. What a day! Er, please excuse my cheong hei catch report.
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Post by motocafe on Jul 16, 2009 21:34:49 GMT 8
TALES OF MONSTERS ON FLYDreams do come true. I had been dreaming about landing a big CPC on fly ever since I started fly fishing. And so it happened. I landed not 1 but 2 huge monsters on fly! I set up my 'virgin' 3wt fly rod, tied on a brown bread fly and started casting. Not much action on the road side of the pond so I went over to the other side and cast again. Not long after I felt a tug on my line. I stripped and the line tore sizzling across the surface of the water. I was on to a Pacu of 4-5kg. Good fighter but I soon subdued it and brought it in. Just as the line drew near, it suddenly slackened. The fish was lost. I reeled in and the fly was gone, neatly severed at the end loop. Hey, not a bad start. Lost a fly but can't complain when fish are biting. I brought out the potent 'Green Hornet' one of my favourites. Rolled out the fly and started stripping slowly. The time was 9:05am when I felt a slight tap on the fly line. I stripped. The rod bend. FISH ON. The fish on the end felt real heavy and was taking out whatever slack line I had in the water. My left hand maintained just enough pressure on the fly line without getting burned in the process. With the slack line taken up, I palmed the reel to try and stop this fish. Then all of the sudden, it turned and headed back. I stripped furiously to maintain tension. This sort of run confirmed that the fish at the end of the line was a big cat. Hanah, the fish handler, came by. I told him this could be a long fight. He told me that, just Saturday, another fly angler took 4 hours to subdue a big cat. Oh-oh, that was not encouraging. I buckled down for a bruising and it had only been 10 minutes. With a tippet of 12 lbs, I was in no position to muscle it in. But I managed somehow to drag the fish in. A black tip showed up in the waves to confirm the presence of the big cat. I brought it in and the leader showed. Reeled the leader past the top guide and lifted. The knot securing the leader to the tippet showed... and then it stopped. The big cat hovered. There was only 3 feet of tippet in the water but I could lift no more. No matter what I did, it would not budged. The fight has reached a stalemate. I was at the mercy of the light tippet. Not daring to strain and break the tippet, I could do nothing. Then the cat decided to go for a run. Helplessly, I palmed the reel but the line would simply peeled out. When the cat stopped running, I retrieved the line... slowly... inch by inch. In again but only up to the tippet knot and it would not budged again. This would be repeated again... and again... and again. What to do? Grabbed a chair, sat down and made myself comfortable. Eric, my menter, came by and was duly briefed. He grabbed a few stones and threw them near where the cat was. But this cat was stubborn and would not be spooked. Soon Eric gave up and left me to my own battle. The minutes dragged on into an hour. Soon it was an hour and 1/2. My palms were aching. Sweat dotted my forehead. Then a light-bulb lighted up in my head, "If I can't lift it, why don't I drag it sideways". So, I proceeded to do that. Inch by inch, the tippet lifted off the water. A black fin appeared. Looked like the tail! D@mn, I hooked the cat by the tail! I signaled to Hanah that the cat was about ready to be landed. First time, he missed and the cat was spooked. But it was tired and did not run too far. I brought it in again. He managed to grab the tail this time. I handed my rod to my boy D. Grabbed the landing mat and laid it down. I reached down to lift the cat. Slimy and slippery, I could not get a good hold. Grabbed the pectorals and lifted... Whooooa, d**n heavy man. Adrenaline pumping, I managed to lift it up onto the mat... Waaahh, it was a monster! Probably in excess of 30+ kg, it was definitely, my biggest cat ever! Pictures taken, we gently released the cat back into the water. I looked at the time, an hour and 40 minutes had passed. I plonked myself down on a chair, exhausted. After half an hour, I felt rejuvenated enough to try again. This time I opted for my 5wt rod with 15 lb tippet, at least this setup would give me an even chance. I strolled over to the pump where I had lost a big cat on fly before. Not really expecting anything, I rolled out a brown fly this time. Incredible as it sounds, I had a take on the VERY 1ST CAST! BAM! I stripped and the rod bended over. The line slipped out of my hand and all the slack line was whipped away. Another fierce run had line screaming off the reel. How could this be? Another big cat? Surely not! With the 5wt setup, I was fairly confident. This time the tippet was 15 lb, more equal to the task. Rather than being at the mercy of the fish, I had more adequate leverage. This was a fight I could savour. I proceeded to pump and reeled in the fish. Again, Hanah came by. I told him that this could be another long battle. As I drew the cat near there was this strange swaying of the line from left to right. Oh-no, don't tell me... another cat hooked by the tail! Sure enough, the tail appeared first. This time there will be no stalemate. With confidence in the 15 lb tippet and the lifting capacity of the 5wt, I gently brought the cat home. This time, Hanah did not miss and grabbed the tail first time. The battle with the big cat was over in 30 minutes. And it was another monster! Definitely over 30 kg and felt just as heavy.
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Post by motocafe on Jul 16, 2009 21:45:13 GMT 8
TALES OF BIG HEAD CARPEr, what to do for school holidays? No need to ask my kids - all they want to do is fish! So, we ended up in FW3 again. The morning action was pretty good. First fish of the day was a decent sized Pacu brought in by Mrs Motocafe, with a little help from our boy D. This was followed by a good sized Kim Bak Lor brought in by my boy G. The KBL was injured on one side with scales missing. Hopefully, it will live to fight another day. We had only 1 fly rod. So, my son D and I had to share. He took the first shift from 8-9am and did not catch any fish. I took the 9-10am shift and also came back empty handed. I handed the rod back to him. He changed the fly to the white one that was given to him by Daniel Shi-fu during the Fly Clinic held recently. With this fly, he went over to the pump to try his luck. I was relaxing in the shade and observing D roll casting near the pump. Hmm, he's getting quite good at it. Next moment, the fly rod was bend over - FISH ON! D looked in my direction for assistance. I rushed over. D said, "It feels big." With my limited knowledge on fly fishing, I felt inadequate to give advice or to assist. So it was with great relief when I saw Melvin and Eric coming over to assist. With Eric in attendance, I stayed in the shade to enjoy the spectacle of D fighting the fish with my boy G recording the fight on video. D was into the fight for 5 minutes or so, when we spotted Mrs Motocafe at the other corner with the spinning rod bend over. So, my son G and I rushed back to assist her. G took over the rod to fight the fish. It turned out to be a KBL. While G was fighting his fish, we heard from across the pond, Eric and Melvin shouting, "SONG HE AHH!". G landed his KBL and photos were quickly taken. After that we rushed back to the pump where D was still fighting his fish. I took the camera to record Part 2 of the action. The fight was already more than 10 minutes. Eric said, "Lift the rod, break never mind. Then got excuse to buy a new one right?" Now, D was really putting pressure on the rod to bring the fish in. But the Song He was very stubborn and did not give in easily. Finally after more than 15 minutes... after the rod was stretched to breaking point... the Song He gave up and floated up to the surface. That's when I shouted, "Waaaahhhh!' as I had not seen the fish till then. Soon after, the Song He was brought up by Melvin. D was grinning from ear to ear while I snapped picture after picture. This was a special moment. Song He on fly is not an everyday event. After landing the Song He, D sat contentedly in the shade. "Hmm, I wonder if lighting will strike twice at the same spot..." I said, took the fly rod and headed towards the pump. It is my dream to catch a Song He on fly. Heeding my son's words, I cast the same white fly across the white water and retrieved slowly. After a while, I felt a reaaally strong tug on the line. I pulled on the fly line, the rod bend over - FISH ON! The line screamed from the reel. I held the rod up and looked on helplessly as the fly line spewed out across the pond. From their vantage point, my kids saw the bright orange fluorescent line rose up and like a laser stretched halfway across the pond. Then the fish turned and headed back towards me. Oh-oh, this was no Song He... this was quite definitely a Big Cat! In a panic, I reeled frantically. But to no avail, the rod straightened and the line tension slacken. Soon after, I lost the fish. On hindsight, I should have stripped the line with my hand. Old habits die hard - I needed to react like a fly fisherman. Looks like we REALLY need to buy another fly rod...
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Post by motocafe on Jul 16, 2009 21:56:59 GMT 8
TALES OF BIG HEAD CARP part III decided to try fly fishing after observing and speaking to one fly fisherman at FW3. Struck up a conversation with Eric after observing him fly fishing on a number of occasions. Initially, I had no thought of trying fly fishing but just wanted to convey my admiration for this method of fishing and fly fishermen in general. To me, it felt like the most elegant and also difficult way to fish and I never had the knowledge nor confidence to try it. Through encouragement from Eric, I decided to give it a try. I bought my 1st fly set and started fishing. In the beginning, I returned empty handed on countless occasions so much so I felt discouraged. But again, Eric was there to encourage and guide me. Things began to come together when I attended the Fly Clinic organized by FW3. Since then, I landed my first fish - a Pacu. Soon after, I had bought a 3wt setup which I then used to subdue two 30+kg big cats. 26 June 2009 turned out to be a blockbuster day @ FW3. My kids had a bountiful catch on spinning tackle. Boy G started the day off with a Motoro ray to add to his growing list of catches. Boy D had quite a few KBLs on bait and lost one on fly. He also landed a nice CPC and a huge GT (Giant Tilapia). I left them to catch their own fishes and walked over to the other side with my 3wt fly tackle. I started with the universal green fly and began casting midstream of the pump. Didn't take long to hook up a nice Pacu, sort of a warming up exercise. The sun was shining right in my face. I strolled over to the pump to fish. Had another good hookup and soon landed a slighter bigger Pacu, again on that same green fly. Decided to change fly so I tried a brown fly next. This fly produced a take and soon another Pacu was brought in. But this time, the Pacu bit through the tippet and I lost the fish and the fly. I decided to try a red fly which I did not have much success with before. I cast the fly into the white water generated by the pump and let it drift out. I experimented with various retrieving techniques which I picked up from observing Daniel Shifu. Nearing the end of the line, I felt a slow tug. It felt like I snagged something. Nevertheless, I strike with my line hand and lifted the rod. The rod bend. The line felt like it was struck. Then the line began to move! Hey, I was on to a fish. The fish at the end of the line felt heavy but there was no explosive runs. The fish swam slowly... lazily in fact. Kept pressure on it. Then the fish kinda woke up and tore off in a run. Not the explosive, lighting speed of a KBL or Pacu but this fish took off powerfully and stripped the fly line easily. Perhaps now it realized that it was hooked. All this time, it did not break surface. So I thought this must be a CPC. Not a big one but enough to give a good fight. The runs were strong and deliberate. On one such run, I caught sight of a large tail. But it was not black like a CPC. Hmm, can it be... a Song? Dare I dream? With sufficient drag and constant pressure I was able to draw the tussle to an end. A huge head broke the surface. It was a Song He! Excited, I cautiously drew the fish in and a fellow fisherman promptly boga-ed it. Wah, nice size too. Needless to say, pictures were taken to commemorate this occasion - my first Song He on fly... a red fly! It did not take me long to cast another fly into the water again. That day, the fish were not particular and took any fly I had. This time, my choice was a tiger-striped fishlike fly - 1 of the earliest flies I had. Never successful before but a beautiful fly nevertheless. How could a fish not take this fly? So, into the water it went. The take came without warning. Bam!! It took off like a rocket! My line hand felt the power of the fish and I lifted the rod. The rod bend like it meant to break. My fingers got burnt as the line was stripped with lighting speed. But my heartbreak came soon after. The loose coils of slack line was whipped up so violently by the run that it coiled around the butt end on the rod! Desperately, I tried to untangle the line. But it was not to be. Alas, the fish was too strong and I was too slow. The tippet broke... and the fish was gone. It felt like a big cat. The gods of fly fishing must have deemed that the Song was enough for me that day. I was to lose the next 3 fishes I hooked up. One was lost when the tippet was bitten off together with the hook, most likely a Pacu. The other fish was probably a KBL as the tippet returned minus the fly and badly frayed. The last fish was unknown, lost after a quick battle but my fly came back intact. In summary, I had a terrific day. Landed 1 Song He & 2 Pacus. Lost 1 big cat, 2 Pacus, 1 KBL, 1 unknown & 4 flies. Remember the day you passed your driving or riding licence? Well in some ways, I feel like I had just passed my 'flying' licence.
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Post by motocafe on Jul 17, 2009 15:14:10 GMT 8
Grassie on green fly - 3 Jul 2009
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Post by motocafe on Jul 17, 2009 15:17:54 GMT 8
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Post by motocafe on Jul 17, 2009 15:20:49 GMT 8
Pacu on green fly
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Post by motocafe on Jul 17, 2009 15:30:06 GMT 8
Chao Phraya Catfish on red fly
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Post by ninetail on Jul 22, 2009 3:00:05 GMT 8
;)Good job, uncle. you are getting better... nice fishes and great kids...hope to see you at FW3 again.
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Post by motocafe on Jul 22, 2009 10:30:51 GMT 8
;)Good job, uncle. you are getting better... nice fishes and great kids...hope to see you at FW3 again. My catch rate has improved a lot thanks to your good advice about leader, tippet length and slow retrieve. BTW, saw your pics @ FNR of your trip to BSR & Boon Ma. Great fishing! Hope to go there someday...
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Post by xxJiMboZxx on Jul 22, 2009 23:00:38 GMT 8
BOH LI YU! flyfishing beginner catch so much big fish. I go there so many times, never catch anything! Boh li yu, boh li yu!
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Post by motocafe on Jul 23, 2009 9:14:09 GMT 8
BOH LI YU! flyfishing beginner catch so much big fish. I go there so many times, never catch anything! Boh li yu, boh li yu! Hello Boh li yu! Alamak, my 1st few trips on fly also come back empty handed. Then learned a few tricks lah. I think because of the murky water there the fish cannot see the fly. So must strip SLOOOOWLY. I think also the fish @ FW3 very lazy one, being spoon fed all the time. Anyway, the 2 flies that seem to work all the time are pictured below. A perennial favourite of mine - the 'Green Hornet' is a simple streamer made with green rabbit zonkers and hackle. No more green zonkers so I use yellow lor - also work leh! Can't explain why it works so well. The other is a red wholly bugger I call the 'Kuay Kua' made with red marabou, chenille and hackle. Perhaps it looks like the chicken livers fed daily to the fish.
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Post by motocafe on Jul 23, 2009 9:26:42 GMT 8
Last Sunday, D caught his first Chao Phraya catfish on a red woolly bugger.
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Post by poisonmaster on Jul 25, 2009 12:44:44 GMT 8
have not read interesting CR like this for a long while... bo li yu leh
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Post by xxJiMboZxx on Jul 25, 2009 21:59:06 GMT 8
Yar lor really bor li yu esp from beginner and his kids!
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