Land Log VI - St John Island

Though the log title mentioned St John Island, most of our time was actually spent on another island. An island that is not as well known. Don't ask me where is this, I will tell you naturally in the near future, or you can try guessing from the photos, it is quite easy.

We did not go straight to this place as we were trying out around the island. And as what you can usually expect from Singapore southern islands, your line can be easily snagged especially when you cast it out from a rock wall. Most of the islands' perimeter were reclaimed and because of the reclamation design, it is not so friendly to anglers. There are piles of rocks beneath the sea surface that create a slope surface. They function to prevent the sea from wasting away the sand or soil, and also to rob your sinkers.

It was a good start when we first reached the spot. A sizable parrot fish was landed.

Most of the fish were small, but from the fact that they were coral fish, coral life should be quite healthy here.

 

Other than some of the fish which were being fed to the abundant hungry cats on the island, all the rest were released. This was kept fresh to be cat food.

Once a while, there would be yacht sailed over to berth and if we were lucky, the yacht would be loaded with bikini babes.

Everywhere I went, I could find this puffy friend of mine. I suppose it will be worth it for me to learn how to prepare fugu - Japanese term for puffer fish and fugu is their delicacy.

And to illustrate the dozens of hungry cats there, take a look at this photo. If you observe carefully enough, there is an odd one out inside.

And I really wonder how this cute creature can survive on this island with so many of its naturally predators around.

I suppose when a man is on a bewildered island like this, the survival instinct will get stronger. Here is a good example.

And just for the record, the "sea grapes" tasted great. I later found out that they were served in a high end Japanese restaurant too! The negative reaction was not due to the food but what was wriggling on it after taking the bite.

Land Log V - Big Sister's Island

Big Sister Island was chosen as my next island hopping destination.Since we would be chartering a ferry, so I was thinking we might as well camp overnight on the island and could try out the night fishing there.

Finally I could test out my 6-man tent which can easily sleep 10 adults.

It took us quite some time to set it up though. After setting up, we took a walk around the island to look for potential spot for fishing.

And in the end, most of our catch was at the jetty itself where we alighted.

The first fish was non other than one of the most popular fish you can find in Singapore - Todak.

Some of us tried our luck at catching bait fish and there were periods of frenzy when we could catch enough for dinner to feed 10 people.

 

Another usual suspect caught - Garfish.

There were quite a few strong burst off before we managed to land this deep sea bass.

Frankly, I was quite surprised to find this species here. This is a potential good spot but there are simply too many under water structures to properly fight and land a sizable fish from there.

Not long after, we caught this fish from the snapper family which I cannot identify the name.

As the sun set, the bites were getting less, we decided to move on to preparing our dinner with our catch - one of the most look forward part of the day.

Preparing the cooking utensils such as stove and wok to deep fry the fish.

 

We also used some of our multiple purpose baits like prawns and squids to cook instant noodles for supper.

The night fishing was not productive. The jetty spot became a quiet town, so we decided to concentrate our efforts in the early morning. There were mostly small nibbles from fish like this.

But once a while we were rewarded with better edible fish like the silver moonies and rabbit fish.

After our morning actions, we decided to pack up early for the day as there was going to be quite a bit of packing to do. The island is very peaceful and even without the fishing, one can easily find enjoyment in the scenery and the environment.

After bidding farewell to the local inhabitants, the hungry monkeys, we set sail our way back to city life.

I will come back again, and next time it will be on my boat.

Land Log IV - Kusu Island

I have been living in Singapore for more than 3 decades and fishing for more than 2, but I have yet to set foot on our very own southern islands. So I decided to start with Kusu Island - the land of the turtles.

Without doubt, I brought along my fishing gears to try my luck. As I was unfamiliar with the terrain around the island, 90% of the time after I cast out my sinker, I would not get to see it again. Now I understand why the other group of fishos were all luring instead of targeting bottom feeders.

Fed up of tying knots after knots, I decided to just drop my line at the jetty. I suppose that would be a safe bet of not getting my line snagged again. There were plenty of nibbles at the jetty but nothing landed. The size of my hooks that I used for my rigs were getting smaller and smaller as the day went by, until I was using the smallest hook that I brought for this trip. And finally I was rewarded with this - a baby wrasse I think.

It was not spectacular but at least I know what was feeding on my bait. Anyway this was all for the day. Next time I think I should be more sincere when praying at the temple on the island.