9: Fishing at Kong Kong, NE Johor

On Google Earth, Kong Kong looks enticing, so we decided to check the place out to see if we could have some fun fishing.

Here's the result in a Youtube video for you to view >>>

8: What's this fish?

Yes, what fish is this? Caught at Lower Peirce Reservoir, its large mouth and head resemble that of a kerapu (grouper). A soon hock?

7: Can you catch 19 fish with 1 throw of the line?

I did. And here's proof: There I was, fishing at ECP beach at Carpark F2.

I threw in my line, placed it on my rod stand and waited. Then my rod began to shake."A fish, a fish..." I thought excitedly, and began to draw in the line. That's how I got 19 fish with 1 throw of the line. Don't believe it. Here they are, 19 fish lined up on a sheet of newspaper!
Wanna know the secret as to how I did it? I was surprised myself. Well, the answer lies in the following picture:

Yes, in the distance you can see Bedok Jetty. There, the day/night before, some fishing enthusiasts must have got lucky, after all the day was 10-10-10, you know: 10 Oct 2010. And they put the 19 fish in their catch-net and tied the net to the jetty.
The knot must have got loose, and the net with their catch, sank and floated away, to be lost for all their fishing effort.
And the net was drifting with the tide, when high tide finally brought it to the coast of ECP F2 carpark.
Yes, that's how with 1 throw of the line, I managed to catch 19 fish! See the net below:

Wow, the fish sure tasted shiok when my wife cooked them in asam pedas for lunch, and in tau chioh for dinner!

6: So when is Marina Bay going to open for fishing?

This is a good advertisement for Singtel.
But when is Marina Bay open for fishing - that's what I want to know!

5: A Crab for Dinner

It was late and we were running out of bait. So we decided to fillet a fish that we caught earlier and use it as bait. But the fish were not biting, having a preference for prawn.

Then when we were ready to go, Ivan felt something disturbing his line. He gave it a tug and drew in the line. What a surprise: a huge mud crab got hooked trying to eat the fillet. One of its hind legs got entangled with the hook, and it was caught.

What a going-home surprise catch - a crab for dinner!

4: Americans are funny - afraid of the Haruan (Snakehead)

(Above: Ivan with the snakehead - aruan/lay he)

A few years ago, American newspapers sensationalized stories of the Snakehead ("Ikan Aruan" in Malay, "lay he" in Hokkien) found in the Potomac River, Lake Michigan, a California lake and a few public ponds, calling the event "Snakehead Invasion".

As a boy, I used to chase and catch the aruan in ankle-deep water in the drains beside Changi Road. What fun I had then.

But the Americans are funny. They are terrified of the "snakehead invasion", as they call it, and calling the fish "vicious", "toothy monster", and "Frankenfish".

The foto above shows a snakehead that we caught recently. When my mother underwent an operation many years ago, she was advised by her friends to eat a snakehead as part of the cleansing diet! They claimed that the snakehead has medicinal value.

(Read what the Smithsonian reported:
www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/snakeheads.html)

3: Catch a Tarpon or Fish Free

Yes, catch a tarpon or fish free, says this online advertisement on http://tarpontrips.com from America. They are so sure that they can take you to the spot in Florida Keys where you will catch your tarpon that they quarantee you a free trip if no tarpon gets hooked!
BTW: The tarpon there are really big, averaging 5 feet in length!

Wow, I might just go there one day and catch my giant tarpon, wouldn't you?

But in the meantime (sigh), this is the size of tarpon I catch - twenty inches long! (Waa, very big by Singapore standard.) And you wouldn't eat it too - it tastes like tissue paper!

So, practise C&R - Catch & Release!