There was this river that I would pass often on the way to work. There was even this very picturesque house beside the river bank. I got curious and decided to see if I would be able to drive somewhere near to it. From the expressway, I turned out after crossing the river and found myself around some Ponggol LRT sub station. I noticed a dirt track towards the river and decided to go for a look see. At the end of the dirt track, I came to the river bank. There was actually someone fishing on the far right, his scrambler parked beside him. The place looked ok but at that time, there was a boat with someone doing water skiing. Not good, would surely scare off the fishes.
Next stop was to check out the charcoal factory. The first time I was there, I did not dare to go pass the iron boom gate. There were "no trespassing", "no parking" signs. This time, I decided to drive in and disregard the signs. On the way in, there was a group of Ah Laus there, with bird cages. Not sure what they are doing. Reaching the charchoal factory, there was no one in sight in the factory. However, there were 2 chaps doing fishing. But the place itself, was not too clean. Bits of rubbish all over. And same thing, the boat with the skiier was there. The 2 rivers were somehow connected. Nevertheless, another possible spot.
At night, I decided on Semb Park for lack of a better choice. As D was coming, better to be at somewhere comfy. However, upon reaching there, it was fully occupied (being a weekend) and the boys there were rather rowdy and noisy. Furthermore, the stench from the raising tide was quite strong and I didn't fancy myself fishing from a canal of rubbish. I decided to turn back and go somewhere. I had not been to LSR for night fishing before, so I thought it would be a good idea.
LSR was nearby and we reached there soon after. There wasn't very much people, just 2 groups of youth. However, they were serious about fishing. Every spot on the jetty, there was either rods or a handline. I noticed a big pack of catfish, for the bait. I went to one corner to setup for luring, but couldn't do very much. Cast a bit out, I would cross into their lines. One guy came to chat to me, mentioning that luring wouldn't work at night. They had caught a few fishes, one of which was a good size toman. They had somehow left it on the floor of the jetty (for it to die?). After a while, some more people came, another group of young people. So, this place was looking to be a popular spot for group gatherings. And people were complaining about ah laus doing baiting in LSR.
Today, High tide was around 1-2pm. In the morning, after sending D for swimming lesson, I went to do somemore spot of recceing. I read about the spot near to the Senoko fishing port. Sounded interesting. It was quite near and I drove there to check it out. Outside the fishing port, there was a cemented track leading around the fence. That must have been it. I walked in and found the place. But, the water was terrible. Just like the Semb park condition. Full of rubbish and more. There was even an iguana browsing through the rubbish (too late to snap a pic of it as it crawled into the crack in the floor. see pic). I concluded that the water quality north of Singapore is in a terrible shape. Fishes I might have caught, I wouldn't dare eat. On the way out, a family came in a full lorry load and proceeded in. There to fish or to throw more rubbish? I wondered.
After D's lesson, I decided to head towards east, for better water condition. I was thinking of Tanah Merah, but on the way, I passed by Pasir Ris. Hmm, had not tried Sungei Api Api. That place looked decent (clean and comfy), I turned in to give it a try.
I rigged out my rods and starting to bait it with sarong worms. These worms were rather messy to handle. And stink too. Anyway, I casted a few times and set it up with bell and rested it on a stiff bush. There were a few alarms, but everytime, I got to it and pull up the line, the worms were gone. Hmm, interesting. I casted again and decided to hold on to the rod. Yes, I could feel something biting. I gave a yank to set the hook and pulled up the line. Yes! there was definitely something. When I pulled it in, there it was, my very first salty. A catfish. I was hoping for something more pro, like barracuda or shark, but still, catfish would do.
Feeling energised, I reset the rig and cast again. In a few minutes, I could feel another bite. I pulled to set the hook, but it felt like I had missed. However, when I pulled the line in to check, there was a very small fish, but it gotten the slip when I was pulling it up.
I decided to go back to luring and setup the rod to rest on the bushes again. Interestingly, I saw a few people luring. But none of them got any results. The bell vibrated again on the bush and I quickly run to it. But it stopped. Haz, I pulled the line in to check and to my surprise, there was my 2nd fish. Not sure what the fish is. [found out later that this was a Javelin Grunter]. Not bad, sounds garang...like "I caught a Grunter" has a nice ring to it than "I caught a catfish" :P
Enough is enough. Not bad for a day. The 2 fishes, I decided to release it. Got D to perform the ceremony and send them on the way home. This spot seemed quite good. Even though the fishes were small, I was very encouraged that I could actually hook up a few. Would definitely come to this spot again. It would forever have the distinct honour of being the place where I got my first Salty.
Javelin Grunter
http://www.handlinefishing.com/whatsthisfish/grunts/javelingrunter.htm
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