KFC - Ah Fatt With New Friends

The last time I had been here was actually a long 6 months. Probably the longest time period that I have clocked for the return trip. Therefore, this trip was long awaited. However, it was unfortunate that many of KFC members couldn't make it for this. There were new faces for this trip though from ChiewSim and ChinHua who joined us today with their little princess, YenHan.

After a brief exchanges of greetings under my block, the jolly bunch consisting of IZ, Pat, myself and A with the above new fiends set off to Carrefour Mac to rendevous with Yew and Family. They arrived rather punctually I must say. Therefore, we made good time reaching Leman Jetty. In fact a bit too early that we had to wait for the boat.

Reaching the Kelong, I was immensely happy that we had very clear water for this trip. This was by far the clearest water I had seen. It made me just happy to look into the water column and see plentiful of fishes swimming around. Such water clarity was rather rare and perhaps only during this time of the year. Weather however was burning hot. Kelong itself was moderately occupied with about 64pax. Not too bad and we still have ample fishing space.

We set up quickly and started fishing. CH with his cheapo rod set managed to get some good cactches. Tambans however were conspicously missing. We only managed to get some decent bait fish. IZ quickly used some and hit on his favorite Todak rather quickly. That done, he went on to target other species of fishes. (at the end of the day, he got bored with Todak fishing).

The other folks were just simply relaxing and enjoying themselves fishing with no pressure whatsoever. It was easy to get some thing on simple Tamban jig baited with sotong. Soon the make shift aquarium was filled with assortment of fishes. However, we were indeed very low on fishes suitable for live baiting. Seeing that, I bought from Ah Yong (Ah Fatt's Kelong manager/boss) some live prawns. But using live prawns were trickly as they would be quickly killed by all the peckings from the small fishes. Therefore, they don't last very long.

I was also glad to see people getting squids, no less in the day time. Encouraged by their results, I also did some squidding and managed to break my long standing squidless period of close to a year. In fact, the rest of the folks too managed to get one or two squids. They were indeed coming into the season.

Night came and I tried out luring to see if the Parangs were around. And to my utmost gladness, they were indeed. I had many strikes until I finetuned the technique and landed one. Followed by another. CH and IZ got excited and tossed out L-minnows as well. IZ finally managed to score his first Parang on lure. CH came very close and had a hookup. But it dropped on the way near the kelong. Other than that, there were plenty of Lorongs to catch during the night.

Early next morning was however a great disappointment. I woke up at 4.30am and couldn't get any action. This was so due to the abundance of Jelly fishes all over. it was so thick that my lures would occasionally scope some gooey bits of Jelly fishes. Rather irritating.

The next morning, the Jelly fishes started to disperse and the water got a bit better. However, we start cannot get enough of Tambans. From the little we got, these were quickly used by Yew and others to try out Todak fishing. And it was very successful. Todaks were rather dumb here and they would go for the live bait in a short waiting time. CH and Yew with Family had good fun catching them.

We packed rather early as most of us were quite tired from the fishing under the blazing hot sun. After a hearty lunch, we departed from the trip with some pleasant memories. Although not a fantastic trip, it wasn't too bad and a rather enjoyable one due to the great company of new and old friends.

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KFC - Kelongs around us

There are quite a few kelongs around us, not just the Sibu ones. However, in terms of time and cost, my personal view is that the Sibu ones are the best, and easiest for a weekend getaway.

To start with, in Sibu, there are actually 4 Kelongs. While it is an authentic looking kelong, they do not function like a real kelongs in terms of harvesting fishes as their primary livelihood. The kelongs here actually function more as a fishing resort, earning their keeps by providing food and board for visitors staying over for relaxation or fishing.

Hotboys


Ah Yew


Ah Ngan


Ah Fatt


The four kelongs here are Ah Fatt, Hotboys, Ah Ngan and Ah Yew. From hearsay, the malaysia govt will not extend any more lease to any more new kelongs. So, that all you will get. The kelongs here have actually been here for a long time. I was once chit chatting with Ah Ngan himself and he was sharing with us on how big and plentiful the fishes used to be. The fishing here have definitely gone downhill over the years. But still, there are the occasional big catches here. On a good day, the fishing can be a fantastic experience.

Kelong Acheh


Another place to look at for kelong fishing will be further up North, at Kelong Acheh. Kelong Acheh has the unique feature of having running fresh water from taps placed around the kelong. This enables fishing folks to wash their hands after handling their baits. The fresh running water is possible as the water is piped in from the nearby island. Therefore, there is no need to ration the water. But that also means that the island is not too far away, and the water here is shallower. Kelong Acheh also have individual rooms for more privacy and is a little more upmarket than the Sibu ones. With that, the price is a little steeper. The drive up to Kelong Acheh is also an interesting one. My last trip there, I counted 10 different kinds of animals that I drove past...let's see, there were cows, goats, horses, sheeps, buffalos etc etc..

Near to Singapore itself, there is actually a very near Kelong called Chai Soon Kelong or Pasir Gogok kelong. I personally have not been there yet, as it required advance bookings and will only accept a minimum of 12 pax. However, since the water is just near to our own P.Tekong, the fishing will be more estuary type ie not that great. Going there, all you need to do is to catch a bumboat at Changi Ferry terminal. I shall try to visit there one day and report to you how it is.

Rakit Pulau Layang


Another not to far place is what I call Rakit Pulau layang. Here, it is not so much of a Kelong but a floating farm. This place, there is no need to stay overnight, and a short day-trip is possible. Fishing here is so so, but could be fun when the fishes are in. The fishing here is heavily dependent on the tide to bring the fishes in. Oh, did I mention that it is very cheap fishing here? Only 10-20RM per visit.

Kelong Paradise


The last kelong that I know in Malaysia is Kelong paradise at Sabak Bernam. However, this place is a very far drive (about 6-8 hours), further than KL itself. The fee is also not cheap. When i was there, the fishing wasn't great either. The water itself was more estuary (mix of sea and river water), hence the fishes you get are quite different. However, that place can get the rare catch of a threadfin (Kurau). One of the most expensive fish in the market.

Elly Kelong


Away from Malaysia, you can look downwards towards Batam, Tg Pinang. There are some resorts operating in the east coast of Tg Pinang. There is the Ocean Bay resort, Elly Kelong and Gurindam kelong. However, note that these are more resort than fishing. The fishes here are actually kept within a netted area, and not from the open sea. This is akin to pond fishing. However, if you are just relaxing, fishing here could be fun too. Being a resort style kelong, you get individual rooms and good services. But everything is in Sing dollars.

There is another Kelong down in Batam that is run by a missionary. It is known as Blue mountain Kelong. Nice name. I once checked on the fee, but it was quite expensive..somewhere about $200 for a 2D/1N per pax. I have yet to visit it. Maybe soon.

These are currently the Kelongs that I know. I will try to explore some other places where I have the time to further expand this list of possible places that we could try.

Ah Yew Kelong - 2nd Day of Lunar new year

The common thinking was that the kelong would not be packed during the lunar new year. But boy, were we wrong. In fact, all the kelongs were booked fully except for Hot Boys, which was closed. We were originally booked for Ah Fatt, but I decided to make a last minute switch to Ah Yew as when I called, it was only half full.

This trip, I brought along TK, a long time friend. He and family met up with me at the ungodly hour at 6.30am and we made our way up north to Leman. Passing custom was a breeze and we reached Tg Leman at a good time of 8:50am. Eric almost couldn't make it for the trip as he couldn't get the van transportation. But around 10pm, a good news SMS informed me that he finally got a contact, and would be on the way.

"Young man, let me tell you about the ones that got away..." Edwin thinking, "here he goes again..."


The power of marketing


Prison break. "Let me in! Let me in!"


Why you taking picture of me eating my burger? I break your neck then you know.


This girl is a rock collector. R O C K rock!


Arriving at the Jetty, we settled down to have a spot of breakfast. Unknowingly, the boat for the Ah Yew left and left us without informing. Anyway, Eric group came a little later. But then for some unspoken reason, no one was boarding the ferry. We waited till about 10am, and we felt something amissed. We were later to find out that the maritime police were disallowing any ferry to leave without the proper licence and safety procedures. The stringent check was due to the a recent incident with the ferry to Tioman where 7 people died due to a fire on the boat.

All thinking the same thot...."Stupid maritime police."


So none of the boatman dared to proceed to ferry the fare to the kelong for fear of being fined. Alas, we were told to wait, until we were informed later that the trip could only proceed at 2.30pm. The Kelong staff later got around this by getting a speedboat with lifejackets to transport us over. But speedboat, although fast, was quite a rough ride with periodic waves of saltwater splashing onto us. TK and I were drenched to the skin as we were seated in front. Later on the way back, I was again drenched even though I was seated at the back. *grumble*.

Yay, finally we are inside the Jetty. The air so fresh here


The speed-boat, before the speeding


Like taking some roller coaster ride in the theme park. So exciting


The trip therefore started rather badly and we had to waste some precious hours sitting at the jetty with nothing to do except to eat an eat and to play scrabble. Reaching the kelong, it was quite relief to finally make it there. The Kelong manageress assigned the beds behind the TV to our group. Although the noise from the TV was quite a nuisance, I thought it was quite alright given that we would be away from the main crowd of smokers.

However, one thing that was going for us was the weather. Throughout the 2 days, weather was nice and breezy. No hot sun whatsoever. It must be one of the few times that I came back without looking redder from UV overdose.

My first fish!


Double hookup of Emperor


So heavy you know? My arm going to break..


So crowded fishing


The first thing to get to was of cos fishing. I assigned TK, PK each a rod, as well as the short one for Vera, their daughter. Using tamban jig without bait, we jigged a little, BUT nothing was biting. At that time, there were hardly any tambans. We changed tactics and I told them to bait it with sotong strips. And soon, they were catching their first fishes, and posing for photos with their catches. Even Vera was doing well and did managed to catch some fishes. She seemed to enjoy the process very much and fished more than the other children who were more concerned with making a monkey of themselves on the Kelong.

My first Tamban!


I caught more fishes than my daddy! (Daddy thinking, "yeah yeah..")


My first Tamban too! (bigger than his)


The wave of Tambans came and soon TK and PL also started to get some Tambans on jigs. Their insy bitsy icebox was soon filling up with their own catches. Not bad at all. :)

My first Selar Papan on lure


Not an everyday catch


A shark


Glued to a two letter word. T.V.


Ann with a big Selar


Night came, and I tried to do some squidding. Moving around, I tried a few areas but nothing was biting. Squids didn't seemed to be in season and I didn't have any luck with them this time. I tried luring also, and had a very lucky and only catch of a Selar Papan on my L-minnow. But after that, nothing at all too.

Fish that thot it was a squid


The next morning, I woke up at 4.30am and tried luring again but was unsuccessful. No Parangs, no Barras, no Sotong, no Trevallies for this trip. But my short attempt at squidding again saw a small snapper mouthing the whole jig and being caught by it. A first for me to be catching a fish on squid lure.:o

Waiting for the bite


The girl and the sea. The fish and the pole


Jim and wife. *psst*...he is the real fishing expert here




A big Selar


Buy 1 get 1 free




The morning was quite a pleasant one and TK went around taking some artistic photos. I was to learn that he was quite into Photography. Well, fishing and photography goes very well hand in hand. The Tambans wave came in and soon everyone was jigging tambans and getting huge selars. Eric setup a rig for TK to try catching fish with Tamban meat. More fishes were added to the fish counter and overall, TK family did quite well for a first fishing outing. Even Vera was saying that she caught more than 13 fishes together. Including one very rare catch of a leatherjacket. :)

The Sat group came in early around 8.30am, to avoid the maritime police. Due to that, the Kelong was packed with 2 groups all aboard together. I packed early seeing that there were too many people. After lunch, we again got on the speedboat for a saltwater drenching experience all over again for me.

I like this T-shirt!
"The charm of fishing
is that it is the
pursuit of
what is elusive
but attainable -
a perpetual series
of occasions for
H O P E"


Terrors of the Kelong


Yew can cook/ I definitely can't


Rabbit fish food, other than you know what


"Face your fears. Bring it on!" (about the vegetables)


Change in the Kelong rates :O


With a pailful of reels like this, he meant business


All preparing mentally to get wet


A reward for the Jetty cat. For scratching the maritime police


Reaching the Jetty, I washed up a little and bade Eric's family goodbyes and we made our way back to Singapore. We stopped by Jusco for a tea break, but it was crowded like anything with CNY shoppers. The way back through the custom was very smooth with no jam.

Not a bad trip, despite poor catches for me. And despite the false start of the whole issue with the maritime police. Overall, TK was quite happy with the trip and he should be visiting it again quite soon in the near future. Perhaps during the sotong season in May. :)

Monsoon Fishing - Ah Ngan Kelong

At the office on Thurs, I got a sudden SMS from Eric to go Kelong this Sat. Just the day before, it was raining cats and dogs, with news about Johor flooding. Naturally everyone else that I asked to come along probably thought that we were crazy to fishing at the Kelong under this kind of weather condition. Truth be told, I was a little worried myself. But kelong in a Monsoon is safe, acting as a shelter from the elements. Only worry is the boat ride there. If the waves were too big, the ride would be very bumpy. And also the drive there in flood prone JB. I saw it as kind of different experience, and was keen to try how fishing in a full blown Monsoon would be like.

To beat the jam, we woke up early and crossed the causeway at 6.15am. But to my chagrin, it was already jammed starting from the turning after Woodlands town centre on the ramp. But the jam was moderate and we got over like in 20 minutes. From there, a quick change of Ringgets and we were on the way.

Heavy rain on the way there


We stopped here for toilet break


True to the weather report, it started raining, and was this way mostly along the way to Leman. We took the Sedili way, which I knew to be more flood resistant. Although it was raining and at parts quite heavy, we didnt' have any problems reaching Leman.

Gloomy weather over the kelongs


Reaching Leman, the rain subsided. We met up with Eric's family and were soon on the boat to Ah Ngan. Eric came with his Dad, Ann and husband (Another Eric) and their son, Edwin. The kids were glad to meet each other again and after that, fishing was secondary for them. In fact, they didn't touch the rod at all and spent all their time playing in the Kelong, with another newly made fish, ZhiAo.

Reaching there, we unpacked. And again, the Kelong helper came to say that we had to sleep on the upper and lower deck, citing that the Kelong was full. I was annoyed as everytime I came, I get the same old story, even though it couldn't be that the Kelong was full. Ignoring him, we took the other bunk instead and he relented and prepared 3 beddings for us.

First Selar


Ann husband (Eric)


Ann with one of her many Leng Chiams


Ice now come in this packaging


Eric's dad


Tiniest Leng Chiam (Emperor) I ever seen. Released


To our utmost surprise, the day in the kelong was not raining at all, and in fact, it even gotten hot. Actually, I came back from the trip with a little suntan. However due to the strong winds, the water was not clear, with alot of sediments being kicked up. Visibility was poor, and we could hardly see the fishes from the top. First fishing saw tambans on jig, and that was a good sign. In fact, Selars were in season and for the whole trip, everyone was getting them like in pailfuls of it.

Salty Rubber


I didn't do any jigging for bait fish, spending my time instead trying out all my lures. I had brought along some flies and wanted to test them out in the Kelong. But first experiment was with my Salty Rubber that I got. But try and try, nothing at all.

This was taken by a Todak


Next, with my flies, I cast out a grasshopper and tried luring with them. I got a good hit, and the fish was running away with my flies. I was trying to control it and got down on my knees to get a better leverage. But the excitement was short lived, and the line snapped. Later inspection showed it snapped at the leader. Signs of a toothy critter. My guess was that it was a todak. Leader only 8 lbs.

Waiting


Waiting


Waiting


After that, I changed to a Bee fly but that didn't worked. Bees just not popular here. So no action for a while. Seeing that I didn't have any results, I started parking my rods with bells, and caught my first 3 tambans to use as live bait.

This Emperor took my Tamban bait meant for Bigger fishes!


Of the 3 rods, one went on a sporadic spasm of twitching. Checking the line, in came an Emperor (Leng Chiam). Goodness, this fellow was ambitious enough to go for my live tamban.

Came back with this after rod took 2 serious dip


The other rod (my black rose) took 2 sudden serious bents. But by the time I got to the rod, fish already gone. What a waste. 3rd rod, no action at all.

Somebody caught a slipper fish


Someone from another group got a Slipper fish. Quite a big fellow, and his line was spooling out as it dived into the water. Caused quite a bit of commotion.

So came dinner, I only caught 5-6 tambans while the rest had already plentiful of Selars and Tambans to bring home. A was fishing and leave that collection in that department to her.

How many Kelong helpers to change light bulb? Two, one to change and the other to throw it into the sea


After dinner, night started to fall. I tried some squidding but no action. No one else was getting any squid. I gave up and started to use my L-minnow to Lure. But the water was very murky, and visibility was poor. Due to that, hardly any taps. And also the rowdy all night long Karaoke, wasn't helping either. On one badly executed cast, reel accidentally locked and lure flew into the darkness.

Rare catches on jig


Night Selar jigging


Kunings at night


Future Mahjong Kaki


Everyone else was jigging for Selars. The Selars here seemed never ending. A got lucky and got 2 trevallies. She was to get another smaller one, and also a big eye (Selar looking fish)

Next change of lure, I used my Crystal Minnow. Around 10pm, I was just sitting at the edge of the Kelong doing my mindless cast and retrieve routine. Well, no fish, exercise also good. Some small taps started at the surface from todaks and small barras. The usual gang of predators on a dark windy night.

So about cast #3478, I got a sudden take. At first I was thinking a Parang. The tug wasn't that strong, but when I tried to retrieve it to the surface, the pull got stronger and stronger and it started spooling my reel. I was shocked and realized that the fellow at the other end was a huge fellow. The fight was strong and mean, with it spilling my lines effortlessly many times and lasted about 5 minutes. My curiosity was piqued and I really wanted to see what this was, before my lines were to snap. I was using my regular Record with 10 lbs on my Regno. Not heavy duty tackles.

When the fish broke surface, I saw it to be a big Barra with my lure nicely hooked on the lips. I looked around and couldn't see any of Eric's people, nor A or the children. I started shouting for help and someone to bring a gaff. From where I was sitting, I could see the Kelong manager just 20m from me. But either my shout wasn't loud enough or he was ignoring me. Seeing no response, I started screaming for someone and a man and a girl came running towards me. They were to tell me later that they thought I had dropped into the water and was screaming for ambulance. :P They asked what they could do. I shouted, "use the gaff, use the gaff". In my heart, I was worried that the lure would give way and I would lose the fish if they couldn't gaff it up in time.

Luckily, the gaff was just right in front of me on the Kelong floor. But the man didn't know how to do it. I was shouting, "get the Kelong helpers". But the helpers were no where to be seen. Man tried to gaff the fish but missed a few times. Each time, Barra would respond by swimming away and doing acrobatics on the water. Each time it did that, my heart would miss a beat. If Barra teeths were just to touch my 20lbs leader, it would be "bye bye" fish.

Me with my Barra


Eric with Barra (somehow it looked bigger)


Group pose with all the children


After about 5 times, the man finally got the hang of it, and successfully gaffed the Barra and brought it up. Once on the floor, it was mine. By now, the commotion had attracted lots of people, and I was naturally a happy man. I thanked the man and girl who came to my help. Without their assistance, I would have lost the fish. After this episode, I was quite angry with the Kelong helpers for their nonchalant attitude. The manager even had the cheek to tell A in malay that this fish this kind of size, no need to shout one. From now on, Ah Ngan certainly had dropped a level in terms of my preference for Sibu Kelongs.

Fish was weighed to be 2.8kg. My record for being the biggest fish on lure. The fight was memorable, and I was close to losing it. If I had not shouted and basically made a din, that was likely to happen.

I got the children over to see first hand a big Barra. ZhiAo said the funniest thing to me, "uncle, release the fish later. This kind of fish, not nice to eat". I looked at him unbelievably.

My Ribbon!


Ribbon with lure


After rounds of phototaking, things quieten down again. I went back to my luring at the same spot and carried on with the exercise. About 15 minutes later, I got lucky again and hauled up a catch. Fish was light and near the surface and it easily lifted out of the water with it's shiny body flashing. I first thought Parang but on closer look, a Ribbon! Wow, luck was with me for sure. My last Ribbon (also on Lure) was about a year ago.

Sea snake!


It got late and I went to sleep thinking to wake up at 5am. Eric was trying out his newly bought pole rod, and A wanted to copy and I rig up a line with a fly for her. But that didn't work and she didn't get anything on that. Eric managed 2 small barras with this new Technique. Some of the other old hands at this game was pulling up Trevally with this. Rather amazing.

It drizzled


Kelong at 5+am in the morning (my hot tea on the counter)


My only catch in the morning


Strong wind in the morning. Floor a little damp from the rain


Next morning, I woke as planned at 5am. Surprising, Eric and his Dad were up much later. It rained a little, although only for small periods. I tried luring a bit, but didn't get anything. I dropped a first strike of a todak(?) and another with a small Barra. Just in front of our bunks, while talking to Eric, I got a take that felt like Parang. 2 minutes later, that was confirmed when I pulled up a Parang from the water. But the hook set wasn't firm and it dropped back into the water.

Difficult pose to take


All crowded around this area


Flocks of seagulls


So many Selars


Long queue


When daylight came, flocks of seagulls visited our Kelong for their breakfast. It was nice to see such activity, as it was indicative of fishes in the sea. But water was still murky as the day before. The rest of the people were busy catching more Selars at the back of the Kitchen. A got quite a bit and managed to fill the icebox to the brim.

Sotong


The sun came out and it soon got hot again to fish. I tried to squid and managed to catch one and only sotong of the trip. Seeking shelter from the hot sun, I climbed down the landing area and did my squidding there. But jig got stuck under some structure and I couldn't free it. So, another jig donated to the Kelong.

Leaving Ah Ngan


The "lighthouse" looking structure at the Jetty


A red flag warning was issued


D lost her slippers somehow, and we had to wrap up her foot


The Kelong helpers said that we had to go at 11.30am due to the tide. Tide would get too low for the boats to reach the Jetty. So, everyone packed early and waited for lunch. After lunch, it was back to the Jetty. Eric (Ann's husband) followed me back via the Sedili way and back via Lorry checkpoint. After that, we bidded goodbye and hoped to see one another at another trip in the future.

Our small catches (all by A)






The device that scared away all big fishes


Naughty children in the Kelong


Spot where I hit the Barra


Barra in the daytime


Closeup