Fishing alone has been therapeutic for me and I have often done it solo just to have a feel of the wind on my face. It's much more relaxing than having to arrange with fellow kakis and then have to compete with other expectations. When you're alone, it's simply you and your funny nuances.  Having some good ole alone fishing time But I have since stopped fishing more "hardcore" areas alone after having close encounters with monster wild boars, snakes and crocodiles... hence, I returned to my favourite legal freshwater spot in Singapore. It was reasonable fishing here since the spot is legal and one can expect certain surprises once in awhile if you are hardworking and lucky. I have personally landed good sized Tomans, Soon Hocks and Peacock Bass here. I have since acquired a very special tool that would make fishing solo a more memorable experience! No longer are videos or pictures limited to a first person experience, my GoPro camera means that I ...

With the good ole spot producing a good bed of fish recently, some good ole kakis were invited to explore the urban legend of "Amazon" style luring. They were new to this and very soon the usual urban complains snickered into our lives of that day. "Why so far one...." "Reach already or not...." These were the usual hot words on that day but once we reached the sweet spot, the air just simply stood still with a calm excitement - experienced kakis like Weiyee taking out lures from his lure box in a slow relaxing manner which made it seem that this was his 1000th cast. But the first cast didn't produce much fish.... only Nigel landing a couple of Temensis with his good ole home made no frills flys.... and the gang trudged along, this time Shawn with Weiyee and me with Kiat (who wore crocs!). The usual schools were not around the same areas as the previous trip and we were hard pressed to land some good fish. Weiyee and Shawn soon gave up and cro...

This post about my experiences with Batam won't be entirely fishing related but all fishing kakis need somewhere cheap and good to bring their FWAGs (Fishermen Wives and Girlfriends) during peaceful non fishing times. Batam is a great place for this and may include some fishing too (If you are heading to KTM Resort, Shalom Kelong, Batam View Beach Resort or Harris Hotel (think they have their own fishing pond) ) But most of the time, the fishing isn't anything to shout about and us tired fishos would rather laze around and enjoy massage/food. Below are some experiences with and without tours. 2D1N Batam Trips usually come in the form of tour packages these days with Groupon and Big deals offering great deals to hotels like Novotel, Mecure, Harris, Pacific Palace, Harmoni One, Nagoya etc. The tour usually throws in the ferry (so far we've taken only Sindo Ferry), a complimentary tour (Best 933) and the hotel stay with breakfast for a crazy price for as long as $29 SGD p...

In yet another whacky fishing episode with Jimmy Lim, we are put to the test of keeping our stomach's sane with all that cheeky laughing and ass poking! The fish were few today though and although we shifted many times, we just could not get the fishes to bite. But there were still some smallies playing around and they entertained us until we went for the most fun part of the trip... The trolling! It was during trolling that one would feel there was bound to be something at the end of the line as you search out the fishes with that heat seeking trolling lure! Ang ko li on jig! Biao with a chor on bait Well.... until it rained cats and dogs and we had to take cover.... But we still went trolling in the end... There were a number of shocks during this trolling trip though as Biao got himself bullied by a suspected big Mangrove Jack above 5kg.... It even broke his lure's bib after it got itself unhooked! But Biao redeemed himself with a whopper of a Barracuda at ...

It was back in the heydays of 2012 that we even managed to bowl ourselves out of bed. The heydays of 2012 were a boil of excitement but it was something that didn't boil over nor reach fruition before we simply gave up. But then again, we are Boatman Shawn and the famous Baktao, our passion for fishing was limitless and our hearts, as always, were full of good confidence. So we slugged our way there... Such was the rustiness of the anglers that we found accommodating to the humid tropical weather tough. Every uphill was a battle and every downhill was like the tender bottom of a newborn. No matter though because once Shawn and me started luring properly (without catching tree fishes and stuff), we got it going again! I had my tricks up my arsenal this time including the Storm Super Skarp which produced excellent results on the drop. I managed to hit good distances on the jig and let the jig's sexy curving falls tempt the fishes into taking them! Temensis schools were c...

The Madai (or Tai Rubber/Tai Kabura) jigs fishing scene has been on a boil for now. After a few pioneers started it from RSYC (Fishing Buddy/Anglers Outfitters etc), it has become a "go to" method for most fishing boatman and charters in Singapore. That isn't surprising because the method has seen huge success especially with Grouper fishing as anglers are able to accurately pinpoint key hit success areas at drop offs or reefs. The Madai jig presents itself right into the fishes hiding place and predatory ambush predators like the Grouper cannot resist the Octopus-like presentation. Actually, to conclude, the Madai jig would probably be "just another very flashy Hong Kong hook" except that it comes in 150g and 200g! Why the title 100%? It came about as many charters and anglers started using baits on their madai jigs to improve strike rates. I always believed that fishes take notice of a madai or inchiku jig very quickly as it is highly striking and visible. ...

I have not fished with Ah Long for months already due to this erratic schedule. It was tough to book his boat as he occasionally engages in shipping work sometimes. But somehow, the card of fate was played again as I signed up for an Ah Long trip with Ah Biao! The last time I met Ah Long, was when he towed Boatman Shawn's boat as he had a stalled engine. It seems just fate-ish that a few weeks later, I was to meet Long again.  Baktao with Ah Long Word was around that the Chermins were back at their usuall hunting ground after a few years of recovery. Changi Naval Base fishing area used to be a heaven for Chermins until they dredged the entire area, presumably for the Naval ships to pass by. This uprooted many of the soft corals - I call them penis corals because they are so soft and looks like a penis! These are corals that Chermins and Big Snappers love to hang around! The Chermins were not in their abundant schools and we had to drift in order to make...