Yes yes, I know. Probably everyone in Singapore knows how to do prawning by now. It's become such a cliche activity that everyone brings home a few kg of prawns every time. NOT. Well, prawning has gone from below average to bad now in Singapore mainly because of rising costs. You don't really blame the operator as well because like well, water price increase... Ok, that's end of my ranting but what I really wanted to point out is that many prawning ponds in Singapore do have YABBY ponds these days and they are definitely cuter, tastier and more challenging to catch than usual freshwater prawns. Also, the ponds aren't really crowded since everyone still prefers prawns. In fact, I would say, if you master yabby catching, you will have no problems in the usual prawning ponds. Yabby prawning is all about hook set and timing. It's also about patience when fighting the yabby. I've been doing more of yabby prawning recently at ORTO bottle tree park and her...

Lollipop micro jigs were conceived when Baktao wanted a micro jig that could be jigged fast or jigged slow. Adopting a very common cut, the Lollipop micro jigs are recommended to be jigged at slow or medium or fast speeds. One of the key features of the Lollipop jig is that it is very deadly on the drop or using a pitching or drag and drop (bottom bouncing) method when the boat is anchored. The jigs come in a variety of colours all centered around the theme of aurora or rainbow colours. Aurora or rainbow colours are very effective for a wide variety of species.  Earlier on, I tested them in Port Dickson and the queenies there simply went crazy over the jigs. The question for me was then whether they would actually do well in East Malaysia (Rompin, Pekan, Tioman, Desaru, Mersing etc.). Would they be good for bottom species? Ebek? Cobia? Tengerri? Well I got my answer when Ah Biao aka Nenasi tested some of the jigs during his trip there.  The micro jigs proved deadly ...

Waiting for the wind to die down It's not everyday that you find top class fishing destinations for Queenfish so close to home and I was pleased that nearby Port Dickson did just that. Located about 3 hours away from Singapore by car, Port Dickson was just in between Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. My expectations weren't great for this fishing trip and I managed to piece together a day light jigging trip to do some field testing for hybrid versions of the Baktao Lollipop Micro Jigs. The place where we launched from was filled with other fishing charter boats - mostly center consoles and some extra large sampans. It was a rather windy day today so we had to wait for the wind to subside. The people here were adamant it would so I just mucked along and prayed for the best. Most of the captains looked like they were expert jiggers and as everyone gathered to wait for the wind to die down, you could feel the heartbeat of the community here. It was raining, it was windy, it ...

How do we effectively use the tenya jig the right way is something many people ask me. Of course, everyone knows that we use a live prawn here and we drop it to the bottom of the seabed. Most fishing folks do that and already catch fish with the tenya jig. So what's really so special about it? Well, in my humble experiences with the tenya jig, I found there are three ways to "accelerate" the bites and get more fish. Before you go into the the three ways, learn how to hook a live prawn on the tenya by watching this video . 1. Cast and bounce  A very common way that most people use is using the tenya to cover more ground. This often happens as the boat is drifting. Casting the opposite direction to where the current is heading will give you good ground to cover. As the tenya returns to you, lift and bounce( releasing line after the lift) to try and locate the snags and caves in which the fishes are hiding in. Snag rate is high using this method but if you're...

There are so many options for fishing in Singapore now but there is so little time to do so. Add the myriad of techniques that one can pursue in fishing and you end up with a mix of expectations, worries and excitement. The best fishermen I know though, can navigate through all these and still come out victorious - either contented with a day's fishing or always getting a fish no matter the situation. If you're like me and you're always trying to squeeze time for fishing, then I think versatility in your fishing expectations is important. You'll want your boatman or fishing captain to be able to do everything and to be flexible according to the water conditions. Sam Law is such a captain that I know of and he's not only versatile but very big on results. It's tough to place what he really is good at - I used to think he was very good at bringing folks out for jigging and slow fall but it seems that he also knows his baiting stuff! He also knows his casting...

Found them at Instagram! Bangkok, the land of smiles, is one of the countries that we travel to and worry that at the end of the trip, we might not be able to button our clothes! This sounds exaggerating but it is true and I literally boarded the plane with my shorts unbuttoned but zipped.  Today’s post will be a feature on a particular “restaurant” that didn’t seem to have much information on google and made me contemplate if I should give it a try. Thankfully I did. It was awesomely deliciously fantastic! I can’t classify this place as a restaurant as my definition of restaurant is one with air-con and nice, soft and fluffy carpet. Introducing Family BBQ, my new found favourite place in Bangkok for Thai Mookata. As I got very excited and hungry upon reaching there, I missed out taking pictures of the spread. We chose the seafood buffet which comprises of salmon fish head, mussels, clams, baktao, squid, crab, bamboo clams, prawns, and a lot more non-seafood it...