All About Fishing

Learning by Doing - Glaserian Grounded Theory

2011-05-21T02:20:00.000-07:00

If you don't do it, how in the world will you learn how to do it.

But Glaser mentioned " We do GT everyday but we never know that it is GT". For example, you are planning to go to Kuala Lumpur (KL) city from UPM Serdang. But then you see the cumulus nimbus developing fast and hanging above the city. You cancel your plan to KL but head for Seremban. Why do you change your original plan to KL city? Because you know from your experience that the traffic will be congested when it rains in KL. Now, you can actually predict what will happen. That's GT.

I call this "Rain Theory in KL" .... mmmmm.

2010-04-23T01:36:00.000-07:00

http://visualvivid.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-do-you-like-to-fish.html

2010-04-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ajib and his Chinese pal, Morgan, was fly fishing in front of our house when I took these pictures. They didn't catch any fish. However, the catch isn't really important but the process of catching the fish is more than anything. What am I talking about? hehehe.

Manalah pergi haruan ni?

Lefty Morgan

The Weather and the Angler

2010-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

The storm is coming but I will endure.

Ajib (red T-shirt) waiting for the siakap to emerge. But then it rained ducks and chickens.

Wait! After the storm in the afternoon, Ajib continued fishing. I was busy with this entry of my blog when suddenly I heard a scream of joy. Ajib caught a huge siakap. Wow! We haven't caught any siakap for quite a while. So I snapped these photos below using my D700 for remembrance.

It sure pumped up his adrenaline. Ajib was trembling with joy!

Inilah yang dipanggil Gitar Siakap!

If anyone like to see the fish, it's in the pool in front of our house at Pantai Sepang Putra, Bagan Lalang (below).

Lagi, lagi Siakap!

2010-04-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Setelah empat kali terlepas akhirnya salah seekor siakap bersaiz mega dalam Tasik Dedap berjaya ditumpaskan oleh Ajib dengan bantuan Harith (tukang tangguk) dan Pak Ngah (tukang ambil tangguk). Oh ya, Ajib juga menggunakan rod ATC, reel Ryobi dan tali braided kepunyaan abahnya (tumpang glamour!).

Bila dapat ikan semua orang tumpang glamour!

Kali pertama siakap ni terlepas ialah pada 5 Ogos 2009. Pak Ngah menggunakan gewang EcoGear. Sungguh mudah sang siakap mematah dan meluruskan matanya (lihat gambar di bawah).

Mungkin ikan yang makan gewang Pak Ngah ni bukan ikan yang Ajib dapat. Sebab ia sangat besar sehingga Pak Ngah tak boleh pusing multiplier Abu Revo dan tarik rod Basterra tu!

Siakap membaham gewang pancing Pak Ngah dan melarikannya hingga ke seberang tasik ini. Nyaris habis tali! Namun satu mata pancing itu patah dan dua lurus dan ia berjaya melepaskan dirinya.

Kali kedua, sang siakap tu berjaya memutuskan perambut 50kg yang digunakan oleh Ajib. Gewang Ecogear pun ditelannya sekali.

Gewang Ecogear yang Ajib pakai tu dah ditelan oleh sang siakap!

Untuk kali ketiga, sang siakap ini berjaya melepaskan dirinya dari gewang Pak Ngah walaupun ia sudah hampir-hampir didaratkan. Mata gewang itu lurus lagi.

Kali keempat memang kelakar. Kawan Pak Ngah, Hery, cuba memancing ikan itu dari atas kayak. Bila sang siakap membedal gewangnya, Hery tak tau macam mana nak daratkannya. Akhirnya ikan itu menarik Hery dan kayak itu sekali ke tengah Tasik Dedap sehingga mata gewang itu jadi lurus dan ia terlepas.

Akhirnya pada 16 ogos 2009, jam 7.13 petang Siakap ini telah berjaya didaratkan. Ia terpaksa dimasukkan ke dalam kolam depan rumah Pak Ngah kerana luka pada tubuhnya. Bila ia sudah sihat maka Pak Ngah akan lepaskan ia semula ke Tasik Dedap.

Tumpang glamour, bang! Nampak macam ringan tapi selepas posing, ikan tu jatuh dan cedera!

Kami tak tau berapa berat Sang Siakap ni. Tapi Pak Ngah rasa antara 5kg ke 8kg agaknya. Cubalah agak sendiri.

Why do you like to fish?

2010-04-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

I was once asked by someone with that question and I must say that I have 1001 answers to it. But the best part of fishing is when you catch a real big one.

The thrill of fighting the fish and finding your way out to land the monster while you are all alone will put you in a situation of quick rational thinking.

No one is around to help you net the fish and your rod is too small to carry it over to the land. When this happens, don't rush to land it. Be cool and enjoy the rare moment. Be stubborn and don't give in to the fish. Hold the rod vertically and don't let go. The fish will continue to fight to free itself but after awhile it will get weaker and the fight is over. Then, that is when you start pulling it ashore.

I have caught quite a number of big siakap from a pond in front of my house in Bagan Lalang. Frankly speaking, I wasn't really into serious fishing until I bought the house in 2004. I have fished before but the size of the fish was minute and no fighting was needed to land them. In Bagan Lalang however, that wasn't the case. For the first few tries, all the fish escaped out of my ignorance in tying proper knots. So I searched the internet to learn about knots, and later about baits, rods, reels, and even fishing boats and kayaks.

UnfortunatelyI became obsessed and started buying all the gears and gadgets from tackle shops as well as from some fishing stores in the internet. I have spent thousands of ringgit to fulfill my lust in fishing. At one point, shopping was a lot more enjoyable than the fishing itself. I bought expensive rods and branded spinning, bait casting and fly fishing reels namely Shimano, Daiwa, Sage and what not. I even bought a small Pelican boat with a 3HP engine, a Pelican kayak etc etc. What a waste!

I have learned a lot about fishing and if you ask me now about it, I'm sure you'll get the right answers. But let me give you a piece of advice in fishing. Size doesn't matter, price doesn't matter, quality doesn't matter. I caught all the big fish not with the most famous rods or reels. But what matters most is the process of fishing. So don't waste your money. Save them for your Umrah or your Haj, InsyaAllah. At the meantime, enjoy these pictures of me with the catch from mediocre rods and reels.

This one was caught in 2009, weighing 8kg.

This one weigh 4.8kg using live bait (2007)

This picture was taken in 2006

This 4kg Siakap was caught in 2008

My son, Ajib, sharing the joy

Not bad, heh?

Going home ..gratified.

A small one but really nice to eat.

Those were the days.

THE JOY OF BAITCASTING

2010-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

In 1963, it was just a bamboo rod and a line and the fish were small. Then, a rod with a spinning reel (usually for tiliapia). Later in 2006 it was flyfishing (I caught a Kelah). Now, I'm in baitcasting. So which one is the most enjoyable? It depends on one's needs but at the moment, baitcasting really is the "in-thing" for me.

These are some of the reels I use today

The usual fishing spot near my house.

I began baitcasting a few years ago but gave it up because it was difficult. Backlash was really demotivating. The bird's nest was something I dreaded. The controls on the reel were confusing until I met Ah Keng from Sungai Pelek. He taught me to solve all the problems with baitcast reels, but most importantly he instilled the appreciation for baitcasting in my heart. Thanks Ah Keng.

I have some photos here to share with you. All these Siakaps were caught using a Daiwa Ardito rod, a Daiwa Alphas baitcast reel and Rapala and Ecogear lures. Enjoy!

I was really surprised with the strength of the Ardito rod and the small Alphas 103L reel. The weight of the Siakap is about 6.5kg.

My son helped me with this 6kg Siakap. We released it back into the water.

It was tough to land this one when I was all alone. The Ecogear lure worked well.

The Rapala lure really deceived the fish.

I caught 4 Siakaps that day and this one was the biggest (about 7kg)

If you like to share your baitcasting experience please let me know the URL of your blog. Thanks people.

Flyfishing in Pahang

2010-01-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

This flyfishing trip was about two years ago on May 8th 2008. There were five of us and the destination was somewhere in Bukit Sagu, Pahang. There was a dam being built and the river would be flooded when the construction of the dam completes. From left Shaharudin, me, Zaki and Naim. Cikgu Zaki was the camera man.

The journey was exhausting. It took three hours to reach the fishing spot.

Finally we made it. So cool and serene.

Beautiful. Just the perfect place to flyfish.

My first catch was a baby Kelah. Wow! I got my fishing license here in the middle of the Pahang jungle.

The result was astonishing!

Fly Fishing Haven

2010-01-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

Luring the Peacock Bass with the fly

2009-06-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

2009-06-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

FLYFISHING AT SERI ISKANDAR

2009-02-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

Seduced by Fly Fishing

2009-01-18T01:15:00.000-08:00

And so they say, "Fly fishing is to seduce, conventional fishing is to rape!". That's why fly fishing is more challenging. You can't use force when you are flycasting but a gentle throw of the line may do the trick. It's an art that can only be mastered through patience, consistency and of course, sacrifices that you have to make out of your wallet. It's still an expensive venture in Malaysia but who cares if you are madly in love.

These pictures were taken using my Nikon D80. The guys seemed very enthusiastic with this new method of fishing in Malaysia.

I have been a fly fisher for more than 2 years now. I began with a fly fishing combo bought from a fly fishing store, the "Tackle Box" in Subang Jaya. The owner, Nick Ooi, never gave up with me and I think I owe him a lot. But consequently, I became so obsessed with fly fishing that I was shadow-casting while sleeping! My wife told me. Then I knew I was a real nerd in fly fishing.

The obsession became worse when I started to buy the equipments through the internet. That was a mistake because I couldn't control myself when I saw anything that was "nice to have". I have everything "fly fishing" under the sun. So long as my credit card could make the buy, I would purchase anything just for the sake of catharsis.