Rakit PL - Queenie attack

This week, Eric was keen to try out the Rakit and so off we go again to visit what that had come to be my regular haunt. We reached the Rakit about 9am, with the tide turning to come up in a few hours.

The morning started well with nice cool weather. The water seemed alright to me and I was habouring high hopes of a fruitful catch. But we soon learnt that the fishing was quite tough with hardly any catches from jigging. The tambans were simply nowhere to be found. Eric got lucky and caught the one and only tamban for the trip.

Unlikely star of the day


Kal-Kar-ying


Waiting for the bell


Good rod bending fight


A Duri


But one thing that was plentiful, was the humble glassfish. Seeing that we hardly got any live bait, Eric experimented with sending out a glassfish drifting in the water. He was fishing at a certain spot with a certain chair, and that was the lucky spot for the day. His bell on the the rod kept ringing and the first catch of a Duri that put up a good fight came on board. Duri was caught on dead prawn meat.

A group doing boat fishing (rentable from the rakit)


This is better than the playground swing


Kitty enjoying a glass fish meal


Fishing for food for Kitty


The children had fun playing happy family with the resident baby cat. They took turns caring for it and fishing for fishes for it to eat. :)

Sweet success! Second Kurau for Eric, which almost dropped back into the sea


Close up




Though Duri wasn't particularly a good one, it was a good prelude to better things to come. Eric's lucky spot soon had the bell ringing again. The fish put up a very good fight and when it surfaced, we thought it another Duri. But on closer inspection, it turned up to be the prizest catch of a Threadfin! A Threadfin at the Rakit was the least expected fish as I had never seen anyone catching it so far. So it was a beaming Eric with the Threadfin snapping pictures all the way to the icebox.

I wasn't doing that well and the only actions that I had was some takes by todaks disturbing my live prawns. But my hooks were too large and they would throw out the hook very quickly.

Todaks kept us entertained


Eric's long awaited Queen fish! Pretty big too




Eric's lucky spot did the magic again, and he was soon the proud owner of another first, a Queen for him! This trip, it was certainly a record breaking one. At the end of the day, he was to have two Queenies under his belt, a Duri, a Kurau(Threadfin), along with some four or five todaks.

D "picked" up this juvenile Cobia from somewhere. We released it :P


Desperate for glass fish bait. Fishing from the hole


Era fishing for glass fish (our supplier)


Holy smoke. Another queen for Eric


Finally! A queen for me too


Happy family


My second queen! :))


I did a hook change to a smaller one, and did manage to catch my first todak for the year, after a long dry spell of going todakless. I also was quite happy when a Queen, similar to Eric's, went for our glassfishy bait dinner. It was a great discovery that the what we used to think of as pest glassfish turned out to be such an effective bait. At the end of the trip, I had another lucky catch of a Queen that fiestily took my tamban jig when it was almost at the surface.

So it did turn out a be a fruitful trip indeed, despite the poor catches of baitfish. We now would never look at the glass fish as a nuisance. It really did save what might had been a fishless day.

Advent into fly tying

Thompson "A" Vise




I happened to come across someone selling off his fly tying vise. It looked interesting, and I was thinking of doing some fly tying myself. Although not into fly fishing, the use of flies in out waters can do wonders. Peacocks can be effectively gotten by charlies and clousers.

So I managed to get hold of the vise for a $50. This was an authentic D.H Thompson "A" vise. Though I was not an expert in this, I had heard the name many times. Therefore, the vise should be quite expensive originally. Searching on the Net, the vise would cost about $100US.

My fly tying materials


I drop into Coho the next day, asking for some fly tying materials thinking just to tie a clouser. I left the shop spending another $50 for a bobbin, fly tying materials, threads, beads (for eyes), crystal flash, size 2 mustad hooks and special glue for finishing the joints. Coho was nice to let me try tying one myself and taught me the ropes on the techniques, and I managed to tie my very first clouser.

A nice lady intro me to a fly tying set, which actually cost only $105 thereabout. I had already spent that much, and only got materials for tying clousers. :(. The set looked not bad at all and came with a nice guidebook on fly tying patterns.

Flies that I have now






Clousers






Charlies

Rakit PL - Salleh

The infamous jam


I had been running to the Rakit frequently these days. Part reason was that it is cheap and promising, and usually not so crowded. Another part reason was bringing some of my fishing friends there. Today, Andrew popped over to JB for some car servicing. Jeck Meng tagged along to look see, and was planning to head for Belumut later in the afternoon.

Hey, there is a kiddy ride in the workshop


Familiar hilly road


Servicing was done and over rather quickly. We joined up with TC and wifey and off we headed for the rakit around 1pm. Since wifey was coming along, we decided on the better creature comfort rakit. So it was back to Salleh's rakit for some short fishing fun.

Checking out the other Salleh's Rakit. Nope, not so comfortable


How to get to Belumut?


We asked the boat"boy" to bring us to the other Salleh's rakit for a looksee. But it wasn't so nicely constructed and we gave it a miss. We were told that that was the original rakit. The one that we went to, was the newly renovated one.

My first Queen!


How big it was


Jessie's fish


This fish so heavy. (Cencaru)


Reaching there, while I was still busy setting up, TC got very lucky and landed a small queenie on the first cast. I was like jaw dropping and couldn't believe my eyes. Thereafter, everyone excitement was pushed up one notch. Jessie (TC wifey) also wanted to fish, and she did catch some goodies along the way. D too got a Cencaru. They are good fighters.

My biggest fish!


Close up


Jeck Meng also managed to get the first fish since dunno when. It was a good size Assam fish. (But, they dont fight) So it was rounds of picture for good memory, and to show off to you know who. Shortly after that, he got bored with the silly activity of holding a rod and waiting and decide to run off into the great unknown, in search of Belumut mountain. At time of writing, I do not know if he is alive or not.

The fishing kind of tapered off gradually and we did not see the good catches that was at the beginning. Must be due to the changing tide, and water current was slow. I threw out a float and did have some fun with todaks. But lately, I had been quite unsuccessful in getting them. They always managed to throw out the hook by the time I was in position. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use circle hook for them. But hack, I wasn't even targetting todaks and was hoping for a sailfish. However surface fishes seemed to be only them pesky sharp nose.

This is mine! Meeow!


Don't come any closer


Got any wasabi?


There was an interesting incident when I just landed an Assam fish (mistakenly thot to be giant tambans :P). The resident fat furry cat pounced on the flapping fish to my utter surprise and took off with it while the fish was still hooked to my lines. I was dead worried that the cat would swallow the hooks and tried to pull the fish away. But cat was adamant and wouldn't let go of it's dinner. Luckily, my tamban hooks tore from the fish mouth and managed to leave cat with fish intact. Cat then took fish to one corner to feast on it.

Rain also can fish


Expanding


Clever use for weights


My new friend


The rain clouds came over and it poured suddenly, and rather heavily. Luckily, the rakit was well equipped and had covers to roll down from the shelter. So, we were kept pretty dry. Some fishing was possible at the internal well. But nothing was biting.

Andrew had to leave early and we needed to cut short the fishing session. Nevertheless, it was a good outing. I am thinking to do an overniter in the near future. Should be fun.

Rakit Palau Layang - Reiza

TC car following behind


TC called the day before to revisit Rakit Palau Layang, after seeing my good catches for the last trip. Actually, there are still many "rakits" around that area, and I didn't mind trying them all out.

We meet again


The place we were heading


So much for confidence. TC came with this tiny icebox


Therefore today, after the last on the "verge of collasping" rakit, we went for the most presenatable and comfortable one. This one was called Reiza Rakit. This would be more expensive, costing RM20 per pax.

Yippee. So fun


Arriving there, it was indeed not bad. Almost had the feel of a full scale kelong. There were rooms that you could book at RM40. Toilet was presentable and ample fresh water for washing. There were lots of shady areas and shelter. So, it looked like the RM20 was well spent.

But unfortunately, the water condition was quite bad. Water was murky, and at times, quite dirty. We arrived there around 9+am with cool windy skies. But that soon became quite hot, and I did the stupid thing of not putting on sunblock. At the end of the day, TC and I were looking like lobsters from outer space.

String of glassfishes


First good catch


Cencaru


Undaunted, we setup our tamban jigs and went around trying out luck. TC managed to draw first blood by catching a tiny weeny glassfish. After that, it was quiet for about half hour despite jigging diligently. My luck took a turn, and I started landing glassfishes, overscoring TC result of 1. And indeed, I had a sudden good catch of a Cencaru, a fish that I had read about in Rod and Line. I hadn't gotten this before, so it was a welcome first.

Mama Tamban!


Tiniest Selar


Close up (fish was released)


Around 11am, I got my first Tamban and after that a few more although not plentiful like the last rakit. We used some them as bait. TC was targeting todaks, and the tambans came in handy.

I had also 2 very lucky catches of what we termed as Grandpa and Grandma Tambans. It was really huge. But strangely, no fight whatsoever. But still, it was another first for me. So the trip was turning out quite ok.

So heavy


Yeah, I got a fish


An angry Gelama


Around 2pm, there were no other fishes to be gotten. Some of the other fishing folks were fishing in the well under the shelter as it was too hot to be standing in the sun. A managed to get 4 scats within the short time she was fishing. Not bad at all.

My charlie which met the fate of flying off into the sea when my reel suddenly locked


Papa Tamban


Handsome fellow


I finally got it!


Not bad size


TC and I were at the back of the rakit aiming for todaks as we spied quite a few swimming around. There were some actions, with the todaks grabbing the bait offerings and taking off. But catching them was quite trickly as they would succeed most time to throw out the hook. I took the opportunity to try to lure with my x-rap, which was reputated to be good for Todaks. But not much luck, although I had one solid bite which got away. TC finally succeeded with a good size Todak and he was grinning from ear to ear. He authoratively told me that todaks don't eat plastics. hrrmph...

So ccccute


Pretty fellow


Finally some fellow from live prawns


ACK


This rakit is the tiny speck near to the man in red


In the late afternoon, the current was too strong, and not much fishes were around. Even the obliging todaks went somewhere else. But we managed to use apollo with prawn meat to catch some bottom residents of Gelama. We managed with quite a number just for the fun of it. I tried one last attempt with my jig and managed to get some anchovies. D said it was so cute and that I had to release it. After picture, back to the sea it went. I ended the day with an ACK on my bottom rig with live prawn. At least the RM10 worth of live prawns got something.

It was sort of a mix result day, with the morning bringing me some good catches. But clearly again, the water was quite bad. I wasn't sure if it was due to the location, but my guess is that the fishing here was largely depending on the water quality. There were some other rakits around and it might be worth some more tries.

Extension from the main platform


Feeding time!


Decent toilet


Berthing area


Tidbit shop


TV area


Rooms for rent


This rakit even got plants

Kranji Reservoir

Went to Kranji in the hope of a PB or two. But alas, no luck at all. The whole stretch on the right, people were baiting until I couldn't even cast without crossing their lines. They even had the cheek to give me a dirty stare when they were breaking the rules.

On the way back, saw some sinkers hanging from the overhead cabling. O_O

For 2008

Baitfishes - lots
ACK - 1
Cencaru - 1
Gelama - few
Queen fish - 2
Todaks - 1
Threadfin - 1
Tengerri - 1 (on lure)

Kelong Info

I have been asked quite a few times. Since I am planning a trip for my friends, putting the info here for the benefit of everyone.

General Info

From Wiki
"A Kelong (sometimes spelt Kellong) is a Malay word to describe a form of offshore platform built predominantly with wood, and can be found in waters off Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, while only a handful remains around Singapore due to rapid urbanisation.

Kelongs are built by fishermen primarily for fishing purposes, although larger structures can also function as dwellings for them and their families. They are built without the need for nails, using rattan to bind tree trunks and wooden planks together. Anchored into the sea bed using wooden piles of about 20 metres in length and driven about 6 metres into the sea, they are usually sited in shallow water, although some can be found in deeper waters. Some kelongs are less isolated, and are connected to land via a wooden gangway. Other variants of Kelongs can be mobile, or may involve a large groups of Kelongs joined together into a massive offshore community."

For Sibu Kelongs, there are 4 kelongs in the region. The kelongs are situated in front of Sibu Island. Sibu Island forms a land mass to protect the kelong from the strong wind and current. From the nearest to the island to the farthest. Ah Fatt, Hotboys, Ah Ngan, Ah Yew. There is no one best. All of them got fishes, since they are like quite near to each other. Difference in the way the kelong is run, from the way you get water, kind of toilet, availability of ice, quality of food and services, comfort of the bed, other additional facilities like playstation and tv and karaoke.

Contact

1. Ah Fatt
+60197120333
http://www.kelongahfatt.com.my/

2. Hot Boys
90294229 (Singaporean owner)
97355644
or
+60197453019
http://www.kelongfishing.com/

3. Ah Ngan
+60197712879

4. Ah Yew
+60137212332

Cost

Rates seem to have gone up from the usual RM130 as of May 08. Now it is RM155/RM95.
Hotboys still $69/$38 (in Singapore dollars) [last checked on 22nd Jun 08]
There is a Jetty fee of RM4.
If you drive, there is a parking of RM4 per day. (hence, if going 2D1N, will be RM8)
Rod rental - RM25/RM35

Booking

You can just call them the day before. State how many pax going and your name. They will pick you at Tanjung Leman Jetty at 9.30am (unless due to tide or some other reasons). There may be periods when the Kelong is fully booked. But normally, it is ok. Weekdays are the best. Sometimes, you may be the only ones there.

Booking Van - Info from Eric Hui
1 Person to contact: Melvin Tay [Van 02-0127851133] Fare: S$360 return trip to Tg Leman-Sin Van condition: More space due to slightly bigger van

2 Person to contact: Wong [Van 02-0127231623] Fare: S$320 return trip to Tg Leman-Sin Van condition: Smaller van

3 When you call the above number, give them the following:

Date going (eg Sat, 6am) and returning (eg Sun, 1.30pm)
The address of the first pick up point (eg Blk xxx, Jalan XYZ)
Number of persons (if they asked)
4 Ask them their price. If they quote you higher than what is indicated above, tell them that you got this contact from a friend who has used their service before at the stated price here and try to get them to give you this price.

5 Pay in full only when back in Singapore.

6 Can get the driver to send back everyone to their homes. Maybe give a small tip for his troubles.

SOP for making the way there and back

Location and map
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104728955432928655814.00044cd85721d64256f8d&ll=2.189523,104.038124&spn=0.144776,0.20874&t=h&z=12

From Singapore, you should head for the checkpoint at 7am. From there, it will be a 2-2.5 hr drive. There are 2 route to it. I prefer the Sedili route, it being more Ulu and country side. Nicer view. If traffic is smooth, you should reach the Jetty around 9am, in time for a leisurely breakfast. There are some small shops there selling food and clothings and cheap sibu island t-shirts. Even a small tackle shop.

Reaching there, first buy the boat ticket. Then have a coffee and ramli burger while waiting for the boatman. He will usually come around to ask which kelong you going.

From the boat, it is a half hr ride to the kelong. Normally by 10am, you should be there. You will be assigned a bed, and can start fishing. Lunch should come around shortly.

The next day, you will need to pack and get ready around 11am. Lunch should come about 12pm, and then board the boat back to the Jetty. Normally, you should set off from the Jetty about 1pm. From there, you should be able to reach home by 4pm-5pm, depending on the Jam.

Things to pack

1. 1 day change of clothes.
2. Toiletries. Soap, Shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, Towel. But no need for toilet paper. There plenty
3. Sun protection. Sun block, hats, sunglasses.
4. Icebox. You need to bring your catches home right?
5. Other stuff like books, iPod, radio, card games etc.
6. Money. On top of the fee, bring about RM100 will be more than enough for snacking and food along the way.
7. Camera!
8. PASSPORT
9. Fishing stuff

Things provided by the kelong

1. 5 meals per day, free flow of coffe/tea/water, bed. Got even canned drinks or beer if you want. There is one that even sells ice cream.
2. Ice (for keeping your fish fresh)
3. Bait (unlimited supply of sotong meat)
4. Entertainment like Mahjong/Karaoke/TV
5. Electricity. If you need to charge anything, you can. Generator is on at night. Voltage is same as Singapore. 240V.
6. Mobile network is available. You can roam from there.

Normal fishing activity

You can get fishes anytime. But the best times are in the evening 5-7pm, and early in the morning 5-7am. This is the golden period when the fishes are hungry and will usually go on a feeding frenzy. Fishing varies with the current, and water clarity. Also, the moon phase will play a part.

Things to bring for simple fishing

1. Rod
2. Reel (with lines, 15-20lbs more than enough)
3. Sabiki hooks (packets of line with 6 hooks with green and white feathers)
4. Apollo hooks (packets of line with 2 hooks)
5. Squid jig (looks like an articifical prawn with hooks at the back)
6. Float (for targetting surface fish)
7. Sinkers (size 1-2 enough)
8. Scissors and pliers
9. Misc like hooks, leaders (loose roll of transparent fishing lines), swivels
10. A icebox or stryofoam box to bring back your catches.

Things to do if not fishing

1. Play mahjong.
2. Eat and sleep and grow fat.
3. Enjoy the scenary.
4. You can request to visit Sibu Island.
5. Sun Tan.
6. Watch TV.
7. Karaoke.
8. Play Playstation.
9. Take pictures.
10. Read a book.

Safety on a kelong

1. Don't stay at a place where no one is around. Fall in the water, no one will know.
2. Don't use hands to touch any sea creature/fish that you are not familar with. A common poisonous fish is the Rabbit Fish. Always use a plier if you are not sure.
3. Don't walk bare footed. There are always loose pieces of hooks around.
4. Don't fish in the thunderstorm. Your rod is an antenna. (made of graphite)

Rakit Pulau Layang

Jess out of the blue SMSed to go JB last night for Skudai Bak Kut Teh. Even though it was a late night already, I agreed. But we were quite tired out and couldn't quite wake up that morning. Luckily we weren't too late and Jess said to wait for us.

BKT shop. Die die must try


Strange car contraption


Meeting her at Danga, we set off for the newly opened BKT shop around Skudai. It turned out that the shop belonged to her JB uncle. And truthfully, the food was indeed good. But the area was a newly developed one, so the traffic was slow.

Jess cousin asked where we heading next, and Jess hinted that I was probably looking for some fishing spots. We were told then that there was a lake behind the shop and we could go check it out.

That sounded interesting, and I was ever game to try out new areas. While Jess's car was being snow washed, we all bunked into my car and took a ride to recce the lake.

The lake looked interesting enough, but the ground was rough. My Pica had to run on undulating ground to get near the edge of the lake. Walking from there, the ground was soft and muddy. I told the rest to return to the car, and ventured out on my own to get some pics and look see.

The scenic looking lake


I just "crawled" out of the soft sands


Where are my $30 sandals!


Alamak, got swallowed again


But as an ultimate hint of my being overweight, I walked into a soft sandy muddy patch and my entire leg sank into the soft mud. Attempting to lift myself off the ground with my other leg, it too sank into the soft mud. There I was, practically swallowed into the ground up to my knee level. Shawn came over to help and took my camera from me. With a stick that he handed to me, I tried to free myself from the predicament. I realized that I couldn't lift my feet up with my sandals still attached, and had to leave them stuck in the mud to move my leg out of the ground. With my hands, I managed to crawled away from the "quick sandy" area and free myself. Now sandaless, I walked away from the area and found myself sinking into another patch. But luckily, the ground here was not as bad and I eventually cleared away from the danger area. Now my legs were entirely encrusted with mud. Good thing that I had water in the car for washing.

So despite my valiant attempt, I couldn't manage to get near to see the lake after all. There were no other way in and with no choice, we decided to head for some shopping.

I suggested TESCO, somewhere in the Seri Alam area. I was comtemplating to bring them to visit Rakit Layang or not but left the decision till later, pending the weather. From TESCO, Rakit Layang would be quite near.

But due to some freak coincidence, my GPS couldn't power up. Therefore, I had to depend on Jess's phone to do the navigating. And then due to some aweful luck, Jess's phone ran out of battery juice. Therefore, we were entirely GPSless that day, and had to rely on plain old memory for remembering the way.

Luckily the route to TESCO was quite simple, with ample signage on the way. From there with some simple shopping and a much needed coffee, we decided to head for Rakit Layang. In my heart, I was thinking that the fishing would be quite bad, and may end up being a boring activity. But Shawn was keen, and off we went.

Reaching there, the wind was strong and the water choppy. There was a slight drizzle. All signs of bad fishing day. I decided to try out the other floating farm, and called someone by the name of Wak Ju.

Lots of folks today






Hmm..saw some fishing people alighting from this floating platform


Beware of cats


Practically the full view of the Rakit


The toilet


Boat came to pick up and off we go. This farm was further away from the Salleh one. When we set eyes on it, we were quite disappointed. In terms of facility, this was a far cry from the usual Salleh farm. There was only a small shelter, and the place was a shamble. But talking to the people, apparently there were fishes. We checked out the icebox of the various group and saw brimful of various good catches. Wow, I was impressed. But an uncle told us that we missed the fishing window, and that time wasn't a good one. Fishes all gone.

First Tamban, by Shawn


I too got a string of catches


Shawn on a roll


This lucky chap got a Queen


Jess doing weight lifting


Rare catch!


So shiny


A demonstrating her DIY rod


Which GOT a fish


And kept our mouths shut


Plentiful of catches by others






Nevertheless, I rigged up 2 tamban jig. One for Shawn and one for me. While Shawn set off fishing and I was setting up the other, Shawn got some catches of tambans. I thot I saw it wrongly, but they were really Tambans. And Selars and Kekeh. There was something very strange about this place, as I thot it was more of a river kind of water. Later someone else also caught a small Queenfish. Wasn't that fantastic or what?

We jigged for about 2 and half hours and in that period, caught a total of 90 bait fishes. Not bad, I would say. Shawn even had a very good catch of a small ribbon on his jig. :)

Around 6pm, we left the place. I didn't want to return too late, due to the darkening sky. That stretch of road wasn't too safe to drive in the dark. From there, we headed for Permas Jaya for a good dinner, and then to the checkpoint. But to our horrors, queue to checkpoint was a longish jam, and the lorry checkpoint wasn't open. I decided to lead the convoy towards 2nd link. It was a much better choice, and traffic was smooth as anything.

All our catches for 2008