stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 12:42:30 GMT 8
Hi all, In alignment with the other senior fisho's here, I thought to start my little own blog. Will be posting the fishing that we do even without catch (which is most of the time ) Oh well, currently very obsessed with chasing an elusive barramundi in one of the little creeks in Singapore. And hope you guys pardon the "backdated adventure.."
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 12:55:11 GMT 8
It all started on the 22nd of March 05. Highest tide that day is around 1030pm.. Since am due to pick my GF from work at around the same time, theres a good 2-3 hours for me to go fishing on the rising tide.. After dinner started packing the little things that i will need for a little fun... Small lures and rubber squids with a little baitcaster outfit is packed into my car. Along with a pack of trusty marlboro's and a bottle of water, i set out for my intended spot. On previous trips, i had spotted todaks (a type of garfish) during the rising tide, and i thought it will provide some fun on my newly acquired calcutta 101 fitted with 10lbs braid. Started luring at around 8pm, and the signs are promising.. Lots of baitfish playing around the pylons, and one can just see the outline of a couple of todaks cruising below the jetty lights. Oh well, to cut a long story short, had quite a lot of strikes from the todaks using surface lures, but fail to hook up due to the hard beak. The highlight of the evening came when i spot the dark shape of a barramundi cruising near the pylon, ambushing the small baitfish. Getting all excited now and a quick glance at my watch showed that i have less than an hour to get the fish before having to leave to pick my gal... Hands shaking, i quickly took out the rubber squid i had on my hand, and switch to a diving minnow.. a small one.. rats.. i have left my rapala 14's at home.. Started to cast at the dark shadow (bear in mind that the fish is visible throughout this time) and in my excitement, manage to cook a decent plate of bee hoon.. K.N.N acme out of my mouth.. these words seemed distant and have not been uttered out of my mouth since army days... My lure had landed 2 feet from where i last saw Mr Barra, and the current is quickly sweeping my lure into the barnacles encrusted pylons while i'm struggling with the birdnest...
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Post by mtshark on Apr 11, 2005 13:09:10 GMT 8
Hey, Good to have you around and best of all, starting your signature thread here. You are most welcomed to share your fishing experience and of course, dont forget those wonderful pictures too. Backdates or not, no problem. It is all about the experience and your passion in chasing those elusive barramundi. Cant wait to see your reports soon. Good luck and hopefully, you get them in your next trip!
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 13:12:52 GMT 8
... in double quick time and hands still trembling from the excitement (poker players will refer this to "the shake"), the bird nest is finally no more and i quickly retrieve the lure.. A second cast into the territory and my lure struck the pylon, and bounced into the promise land.. Two quick pulls sorted my minor beehoon, and i quickly act out the well rehearsed twitch, and began to retrieve my lure slowly.. Two winds in and... "slurp.. de da tud tud" (am trying my best to translated the "music" that the braided line played from the lure to my fingers...).. As fate would had it.. am simply being blown away at the prospect of catching my first wild barramundi, Land based, In Singapore, WITH A LURE.. I froze... Perhaps its the habit of live baiting when we usually give some slack, perhaps its the cold of the wind that rendered my reaction slow, perhaps its the lotus seed soup i had for dinner.. Bottom line, i froze... and at a great cost.. The 2 seconds seemed an eternity and when i start to reel in my slack, i realised that the fish had spit out the minnow.. Upon quick examination, the tiny minnow had a few abrasion marks (not from knocking the pylon) that only a barra teeth can do.. a few shallow chips near the tail hook.. i took a deep breath and rested. With my diving torch, i search the area frantically,"had i spooked the fish of a lifetime??".. With less that 40 minutes before i have to leave, i am somewhat torn between the exhilaration of "sight fishing a wild barra", and the sickening feel of losing the fish... d**n, a hungry barra, at the right place, at the right time, without the right lure, and i manage to foul up.. after patrolling the area, my heart stop for a 2nd time in that hour.. ANOTHER barra.. a smaller one this time, but still a WILD BARRA.. After a few measured cast into the area, i managed to enticed a strike on the 4th or 5th cast.. This time, i make sure that i had a solid strike, and sure enuff, the line began to peel from the tiny calcutta... Mr Barra is heading for the pylon, and i held my rod high and away, and before the fish can hit the pylon, the line became slack... i reel in furiously and began to curse under my breath, beads of sweat falling from my forehead, heart thumping wildly... Upon inspection, the tiny trebles that cam with the lure had straighten.. And with that, came a familiar Nokia Msg tune, and its time to pack up... I will be back again... (its only a speck of dust from the high point where i spotted it, but one can make out the distinction shape and red eyes..) To be continued...
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 13:59:06 GMT 8
After the episode with not 1 but 2 barra, getting to sleep can be pure torture.. At least i got the timing and spot sorted out.. all that's left is having the right lure( with the right hooks!), the right mental preparation, and a bit of good luck that same place, same tide, will have barramundi in the area again. Scenes of how i fight the barra and how i manage to steer the fish from the many obstacles and snags, and how to get the fish out of the water for a decent pic played through my mind countless of times.. Sure, am confident of getting a solid hook up the next time, but i still have the pylons and the long distance between the place i was standing and the water surface to contend with... The next tango with the barra had to wait for a full 2 weeks.. i had a fishing trip coming up then (see the SCS thread). Finally the day came on a friday night, 8th April... High tide at 11pm.. perfect! and my gal have to work late till 11++.. This time, a friend was invited to join me.. at least i will have a witness in case i lose the fish again.. All was set and my friend, being a non-lurer brought 200 grams of live prawns. hmm.. just as well, though its my dream to get the fish on lures, it will be nice to at least get even on score first using life bait. (the current score is fish 1: Stingraytan 0) Tied a 4/0 hook on 40lb trace, and using the same rod/reel combi, we began our wait.. Well, search is more like it.. I ws patrolling the place up and down with my friend wondering what's happening. As the tide picks up, and the timing is just right, the barra is spotted like on cue.. I literally shouted to my friend.. "lai liao lai liao" <come already, come already!> Although i am mentally prepared to spot one this time, my hands still trembled.. its a bigger specimen this time, and looks to be about 2kilos.. Using bait, and fishing from high above, i began a cat and mouse game with the elusive fish, dropping the prawn a few feet away from wherever the fish was last seen.. ( the barra is crusing in and out of the pylons and thus at times not visible..) All this time, my dear friend couldnt quite make out the fish in the dark (i didnt want to risk spooing the fish and did not shine my torch at it) and was wondering why i am getting so flustered over a few "surface cruising todaks"... after about a good ten minutes (which felt like eternity), my offering was finally taken. With my thumb on the spool and gear in free, i let the fish take a good few meters of line before and "WHACK THE BUGGER".. All hell broke loose... My rod went double and the 2.5lbs drag on the calcutta went "zzzz zzzz zzz" (if using spinning reel will be ping ping ping!).. My main line is getting dangerously close to the edge of the platform i was on as the fish swam with the current to the other side.. In moments like these, i always wish i can see myself from the third party angle.. it must have been quite a sight... Shouting "tio liao!" and running half the length of the platform, and jumping and hopping down a 1.5 meters edge, into the bushes and lalang by the side, all the while with rod held as high as possible and away from the dreaded stone edge of the platform, i reach the bank and nearly fall into a few pot holes that the lalang manage to cover.. Jumping to my feet and at least now i have a better chance fighting Under the platform. The fish had pulled a good 10-15 meters away, and made a spectacular jump on the other side of the platform. The fish then made a left turn towards the pylon, and i was forced to follow and duck under the platform, running on all three's (one hand is holding the rod) while keeping the line taut.. i manage to emerge from the other side of the platform with only a few scratches and finally, manage to get into a real battle with the good size barra, who had made another couple of jumps while i was scrambling. With the wall of the platform on my left, a barricade on my right, the pylon 6 meters in front of me.. i have half a fighting chance.. (compared to when i was on top of the platform, and the fish beside the pylon, heading under the platform to the other side...) My fighting ground is a mere 1meter by one meter of space. And the good mr barra is now only a few meters away, and tiring soon. Line is retrieved slowly and steadily, with a couple of last minute runs by Mr Barra.. It was at this point when we have a good look at the fish(my dear friend had caught up with my frenzy jumping and joined me with a torch in hand).. it has already surfaced a couple of time and seemingly ready to be lifted. A good size specimen of 2 kilos and above.. "ZZzzzzz!" the fish made a final attempt, and pulled a few meteres down and away, and then "Splash!", it made another jump 2 meters from me.. but something is not right.. the fish is to my right while my line is to my left.. Shock and horror takes over as both my friend and i saw that the fish, in its attempt to get away, had fouled the mainline with a crabnet's line!! And the crab net is tied up on the platform, 2 meters above us, and a good 3-4 meters away... My good friend who had climbed all the way down, now have the honour of climbing up to try free the snag.. (thanks buddy, i owe you one) Finally, the crab net was freed from the platform, and i manage to recover some line.. but the sickening rub of braided vs nylon is still there.. the line of the crab net is still very much involved with my line.. Mr barra had already tired, and is resting by his side on the surface of the water, beside the (slowly surfacing ) crabnet, as i try to recover a 2 kilo fish and a crabnet filled with seaweeds with 10lbs line. As fate would have it.. Mr barra gave a final kick 1 meters away from us at the suface, and the line parted... This time, i did not take any pictures... Score, Barra 2: Stingraytan 0 We will be back again.. (the next day to be precise) To be continued....
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Post by Admin on Apr 11, 2005 17:35:49 GMT 8
Nice fishing report. Thanks for sharing with us.
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stingraytan
Full Member
Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 19:46:35 GMT 8
Realised that too many words and no photos make for a boring blog.. but then, the targetted fish camera shy and so didnt have a chance to post its pic.. So, here are some pics of other fishes that are caught in our pursuit of Mr Barra. (by the way, any barramundi below 4kilos i will name Mr Barra, anything above, will be named Mrs Barra for obvious reasons...) Flat head is caught will the live prawn is sinking while i clear my birdnest.. ;D well, as you guys should know by now, i'm quite a good cook of bee hoon... Theres a lot of stripe catfish in the area, and they do make a very good meal. But since the fridge is still stocked with fishes from the SCS trip, they are all CnR along with the flathead..
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 20:12:40 GMT 8
Continued... 9th April 2005 Couldnt wait for the next weekday to try, and at 7pm, called my kaki and we decided to give the spot another try.. Got 300 grams of prawn, and we meet at the same spot by 8pm.. To our dismay, the place is jammed pack with fishos and crab netters.. its a saturday afterall.. And we all know how crabbie it is when crabbers are trying to catch crabs at our fishing spot. The whole platform is lined by the nets and every so often, a big "Splash" will follow another.. Not fishes, but the crab net heading back to the water after another failed attempt.. Its really quite disheartening as the nets are splashing right over the spots where the barra's regularly surface and ambush.. And since the platform is filled up, we decided to set up our fishing spot right in the midst of the lalang forest, enduring air raids from mossies and other insects.. We tried various techniques this time (since we cant spot the barra's from where we are positioned) and set up cable car rigs, floating rigs, and bottom rigs... It got frustrating after a while when every nice cast into the strike zone means entanglement with the crabnets and those that are not, are simply, not productive, except for pulling in seaweeds... So as the peak tide phase starts to pass us.. our hopes went along with the tide from swift to slow.. Finally the air raids by mossies won, and we shifted back to the platform to do another hour of fishing before we call it a day.. So there i was again, doing my rounds with the torch light and PRESTO! there's another barramundi.(Actually, i'm not sure if its the same barra i tango with just one night before... similar size) Now the situation is really sticky.. we could pretend not to see the fish, and call it a wasted trip, or we could try to catch the fish, then figure out how to get pass the numerous crab lines AND at the same time risk the exploitation of the spot by the crabbers present if we do land a good fish... At last, the temptation of feeling the runs of MrBarra took over, and i gingerly place a live prawn in front of the barra, between two crabnets and the pylons.. Almost immediately, a loud slpash is heard... Aiya.. the crabbers have to check their nets at this time, and the fish gave a gentle flick of the tail as if to say goodbye, and dissapeared into the murky waters.. "Dio liao dio liao!!" shouted my kaki as i was cursing under my breath.. i turned and saw his puny rod doubled over and the rachet screaming ,"Ping ping ping ping!" <he's using spinning gear>.. i drop my setup (ouch...) and rush to reel in the other two rods that we had waiting.. At the same time, my buddy is struggling to keep the small rod from touching the stone platform.. I rushed to the end of the platform, jump down the 1.5meters ledge, bashed thru the lalang, and manage to get the rod from my friend who is still on top the platform.. (they say practice makes perfect, and tho i dont dare say perfect, i got there pretty quickly in about 24.67 seconds flat) I reeled in the catch.. hmm.. the line is not going out anymore, but there is definately the tugging and some weight resistance.. And there's no distintive flash of MrBarra.. upon closer inspection, its a catfish... and not the barra we just saw.. a good decent size, but a tad dissapointing as our hopes were landing a KimBaklor.. So, that signals the end of another trip targetting Mr Barra and friends, and i have yet to try since then.. Oh well, will post of any attempts (which should be soon). And dare i add that after 3 futile attempts.. I seriously am getting attached if not sentimental to MrBarra at our spot, and cant imagine having him for dinner even if i manage to land it... Perhaps this little game of cat and mouse will continue for sometime, and will help me pass my waiting time from fetching my gal from work.. oh.. here's the pic of the catfish my buddy landed.. a good catch netherless.. *catfish is given to a fellow malay fisho, who also landed a stingray that night..
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 11, 2005 20:24:21 GMT 8
a very very bad attempt at drawing the spot where we tango with MrBarra.. Black lines is the platform and surrounding fixtures. Black arrows is a rough indication of distance, and the yellow arrows is the path that I took while "we waltz"... The red "fish" logo is where the fish is spotted and caught, and the purple fish is where i lost the battle after MrBarra found an ally with the crabnet..
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 13, 2005 12:24:02 GMT 8
Having a rare off day yesterday 12April, my family and i went for some BIG GAME TROLLING in singapore waters.. It was a fun day with superb weather. Started from the low tide at around 10am all the way to 330pm. Did we catch anything? Let the pics speak for themselves.. The live bait rigged up for slow troll
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stingraytan
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Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 13, 2005 12:35:02 GMT 8
see how a nicely rigged live bait scampers over the surface of water? the tentalizing bubbles and splashes will make any big game salivate... Too bad we are trolling in the channels of punggol river where the encounter of any good game is unlikely...
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2005 8:11:52 GMT 8
Nice action pictures. Please keep them coming. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by mtshark on Apr 15, 2005 1:56:04 GMT 8
So cool!
Got cool babes onboard too? MOre COOL!!!
FCUK,
Can your fish hole have such activities? Maybe you could show us one photo with you doing that board thing!
This forum is getting more exciting. Even humans use themselves as baits for trolling... I really wonder if evolution is true? I think I would rather have a pair of wings instead and with eyes of th e eagles, holding a fly rod in the air spotting for fish. kekeke
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FCUK
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FCUKed Off Already
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Post by FCUK on Apr 15, 2005 9:17:11 GMT 8
So cool!
Got cool babes onboard too? MOre COOL!!! Go on, stingraytan - make mtshark eat his heart out ;D Tell him - Ru Hua was onboard ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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stingraytan
Full Member
Let a fish live to fight another day.
Posts: 74
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Post by stingraytan on Apr 15, 2005 12:51:43 GMT 8
perhaps that's the reason we fail to raise any big game?!! ;D ;D ;D anyway, if mtshark's dream date (<--read Ru Hua ) is on board, the baits (us) will be swimming away from the boat instead of facing the boat le... Ahh.. when can i wet my line again??
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