A happy bunch enjoying their day What is the best way to introduce fishing to kids in Singapore? Well, you simply bring them fishing! You can teach them the basic fishing lessons and beginniner fishing lessons by simply bringing them fishing. This June School Holiday I brought some kids out for fishing with Prince of Peace fishing charters in Singapore (Jeff Tsen) which departs from SAF Yacht Club at Sembawang and although it was massively tiring, the trip went really well and everyone had some fun but also picked up some basic light offshore fishing around Pulau Ubin, Seletar and Changi waters. The kids did well! Contact for the Prince of Peace fishing boat: +65 9742 8579, Facebook I won’t be sharing on the narrative of the trip but rather here are some tips that can guide you if you’re planning such trips (if not you can sign them up for some basic fishing courses in Singapore). 1. Seasick The most important thing to take into consideration for offshore fishing is s...

Below are handle designs taken off from [ Majorcraft Japan ] from their complete range of eging specific rods.  TripleCross   Exizaust   Crosstage Zalts       Pandra   Raycal The common features on most eging rods... Padded reel seats and EVA handles with EVA butt ends. Many would understand the comfort of having an EVA handle and butt end, but why the padded reel seat design? For every design there is always a reason and the reason is so... The standard hand placement. It provides a good and secure grip so each and every knock, snag, take etc can be transferred directly onto your hands, giving as much feedback as possible. Egi rods however are built differently... The handles are far too short to balance out the rod's length. Even with the reel attached, the setup is still top heavy. The solution?   By shifting the hand forward, the fulcrum point will also shift and the rod's weight can be balanced out more evenly by using the weight of the ...

It is always a good feeling to go fishing with the family (dad and brother) as we got to spend precious time together. This precious time seems little now that I have a family of my own. The quaint thing about fishing is that we usually don’t need to talk much during the trip but somehow that long pauses of silence and solace would often be peaceful. Much like how most guys spend time together. Just a no frills, no drama day out at sea and being able to soak in all of that is priceless. In fact, I found out during this trip that this priceless time together did not even need to involve dad catching fish. It seemed that he was contented enough to sit around and spend time with his sons just by being around. Additionally, he was also super proud and happy when both I and my brother caught some good fishes. Fishing wise wasn’t so good for the baiting folks during this trip. It seemed like the fish avoided live prawns at all cost! In fact, the fishes seemed to like artificial baits du...

It’s been five years since I last blogged about the flower crabs I got from NTUC . I got them at $12/kg then but when I visited NTUC again, this has now went up to $18/kg so that’s $1/kg increase every year. Not to fret though, I’ve recently found a new “lobang” or source for extra-large flower crabs (400g average per piece) which are fresh and meaty. They even clean the crabs and deliver them to you. Contact and cost is shared below at the end. I detail below on how I received them, how I cooked them and how meaty they were. Crab check out Good colour, no pincers dropping off! Great brain juice retention. Not watery or milky. Biggest was 473g a pop The first thing I did when I received the individually packed flower crabs was to check for freshness and meatiness. All the crabs passed this test. To do this, you don’t have to press the crabs and all. That is what crude aunties do and this actually spoils (bruises) a fair bit of crab in the market. The best way (in m...

It has really been a long time since I did clam digging in Singapore and when Mediacorp asked me if I was keen to bring them for a little scene on national television, I was a little hesitant because I always like to ensure results. That was not possible though as we found out pollution and perhaps “over-clamming” have taken their toll on the clam populations. The episode still went on though and you can watch it using the below links (it was first televised on Channel 5 and Channel NewsAsia. 'On The Red Dot: Singapore Snapshots'. (Click) One thing that wasn't aired was how clam digging used to a free family hobby as we were growing up. We would simply all go down to the beach and get ankle deep in fresh mud. It was a way of life and how we used to pass time together. It wasn't ground-breaking or massive in terms of livelihood but it was probably one the last definitions of what it felt to be "kampung-ish" in the prehistoric sleeping fishing village that...

Most of know the golden snapper (also known as ang cho, jenahak) and this fish is exceptionally good eating but also offers a great fight on rod and reel. Over the years, golden snappers have been targeted using more novel fishing methods like slow fall jigging or light jigging. That said, the traditional way to fish them (at least in Singapore) would still be at night using squid bait or mantis prawns . Here’s a handy list on how to cook these wonderful eating fish. Remember that if you can bleed the fish or eat the fish on the same day (without freezing), the quality of the meat would be much better. This fish also doesn’t suffer from meat stiffness or the “lor kor” effect. For bigger fish, you can slice steak cuts of the fish for steaming or frying. 1. Steamed fish Steaming the golden snapper is one of most recommended ways to enjoy it. You can choose from many different ways of steaming (Hong Kong style, Teochew style, Assam steam) as the fish is quite versatile. My favou...

Fishing has always been a hobby and a way of life for many Singaporeans. Proud fathers have brought their sons (or daughters) out to catch their first big fish and their children have brought their own children out as well. My own father brought me on my very first fishing trip to Bedok Jetty at East Coast Park and when I caught my first tambans, I could see my father being quietly proud. I never knew what it meant back then until recently when I brought my dad and younger brother on an offshore fishing trip. Such a sweet role reversal and a subtle positive feeling that. Singaporeans as a community have been talking about the future of Singapore – jobs, infrastructure, quality of living and so on, but has anyone thought about the future of fishing in Singapore? Looking at how the Singapore Government treats fishing in general, I really doubt so. The future of fishing would probably be the last thing in their yearly desired achievements. Below, I predict some of the key trends t...