Land Log X - Kelong

This is one of my favourite fishing grounds with countless fond memories. All the previous kelongs that I went to were all demolished. Luckily I still managed to find another one which is still relatively near to Singapore.

A mountainous island formed the backdrop of the kelong. You can arrange to take a short boat ride to go ashore the deserted island. The water that we used for bathing on the kelong was actually from the spring on top of the mountain. It is available for a limited period only as the spring water will dry up during the hot season.

I have learnt a lot on fishing at this place and it shall be the classroom for Captain Q Junior too.

Sometimes when he was in the mood, he would hold the rod longer.

And sometimes he would just enjoy feeding the fish with leftover dinner...

while grandpa tried to catch the hungry fishes in feeding frenzy.

Catching small fish on the kelong is easy. Once a while you may even find some giant monsters lurking around too. My reel got stripped clean a couple of times on the kelong and the setup that I used was not light. I find that there is a lot of joy in catching small fish for dinner too.

As the sun set, the kelong presented a different view which was as spectacular.

The experience of lazing on the chair with an ice cold beer while waiting for a big one to take your bait under the setting sun was priceless.

I hope they will not take away this kelong from me again or the famous 'kelong jump' will not be able to pass down the line. I will definitely enjoy fishing on the kelong for as much as I can while it still last...

Log VIII - Lake Chini

The definition of a captain is the person in command of a boat. The definition of a boat is a vessel for travelling over water. Question is: If you are in a command of a canoe - which is a vessel for travelling over water, are you considered a captain? Whatever the case, I shall put it inside my captain's log.

Lake Chini is Malaysia's second largest natural lake. One of the more famous tales about Lake Chini is the legend of a dragon as the guardian of an ancient lost city which lies in the lake.

We went there during the monsoon season. Though the water area was larger with the heavy rains, the water colour was milky brown because of all the soil  that was washed into the lake. There were many types of aquatic plants growing out of the water.

It was quite an experience to canoe in this kind of environment. It gave us the feeling that we were in some deep jungles. The plants were big and tall, and we had to paddle through narrow water paths with giant aquatic growths beside us. It seemed like we were back to the Jurassic age.

Sometimes the lake opened up to huge areas of vegetation growing on water.

Exploring Lake Chini by canoe was tiring but extremely exciting and rewarding as we were able to access areas that cannot be reached by boat due to narrow straits of water. It was a totally different kind of experience when you are gliding so near to the water surface in the wilderness.

Of course we tried fishing from the canoe but there were no actions at all. We also tried a few casts at the small wooden jetty where we launch our canoe but the lotus leaves kept getting in the way.

Our trip here is to find out whether Lake Chini is a good fishing ground. Though no fish was caught, we gained something else - a very unique experience in nature. And thanks to my co-captain who helped to navigate the canoe while I was taking all these shots.

Lastly, here's a gift to those who have trypophobia (密集恐惧症).

Land Log IX - Mandai

There are many hidden 'treasures' in Mandai. So one fine day, we decided to explore this place to see whether we can find a good fishing spot. I also needed footage for my video - the one that I had posted in my previous post.

The journey was not easy. It brought back memories to the days when I was still in the army.

The difference was, this time I was carrying my fishing rod instead of my rifle and lures instead of ammunition. We passed by a couple of lakes and tested our lures. There were a few strikes on our surface poppers but did not manage to get a hook up.

Diving lures were not suitable at certain places as there were lots of weeds especially at places like this.

Weather was hot and our water supply was running low. We decided to look for shady areas to fish instead of acting hero and fish under the scotching sun.

When we arrived at a shady spot, there were a couple of bright orange gourami playing around in the shade.

They show no interests on any of our lures. After a few more casts, a couple of surface strikes and misses, we decided to call it a day. Though we did not catch anything today, I had a few nice shots and footage of the area. The scenery was nice and indeed it is a treasure. Hope more natural places like this can remain untouch and not develope into another urban area.