WE ARE ANGLERS, NOT FISHERMEN.

Something to be proud of.....

2012-01-25T09:28:00.003+08:00

Received a SMS from Jepp this morning informing me that my blog was selected as one of the top 75 fishing blog for the year 2011. So, I quickly checked my email and found this :-

The Top 75 Fishing Blogs

Presented by VeteransBenefitsGIBill.com, your guide to The Post 9/11 GI Bill.

For generations, fishing has been a favorite American pastime and one of our most well-loved sports. Perhaps one of the main reasons why fishing is so beloved by millions of Americans is due to its versatility.

Fishing can be as relaxing or as exhilarating as you want it to be. You can spend the day at a local lake or pond relaxing or enjoy an exciting day on a bass fishing boat. As long as there’s a body of water, be it a lake, stream, river or ocean, there’s fishing to be had.

However, any seasoned fisherman will tell you that fishing isn’t as easy as it looks. There are many techniques and strategies involved in catching fish (and especially big fish) and you’ll need the right tackle and equipment to get the most out of your fishing expeditions.

To help your efforts, our team has selected the top fishing blogs to bring to you the very best in tips and tricks on becoming a fishing pro. From learning how to tie knots, to the best local haunts, to what color lure you’ll need to reel in a monster, these blogs have all the bases covered.

We are happy to award badges to each of the bloggers that made the grade, and we encourage you to share our list of blogs with others who also enjoy this incredible sport.

Congratulations to the bloggers that made the list and happy fishing!

The Top 75 Fishing Blogs for 2011

Keep Fishing
http://www.keep-fishing.com/
Fishin’ Topsail
http://fishintopsail.blogspot.com/
A Fish Blog
http://afishblog.com/
Xstreem Fishing
http://xstreemfishing.blogspot.com/
Colorado Casters
http://coloradocastersblog.blogspot.com/
She Loves to Fish
http://www.shelovestofish.com/
Rick Lee’s Adventures
http://ricksreeladventures.blogspot.com/
Northern California Trout
http://shoretroutfishing.blogspot.com/
Bow River Blog
http://www.bowriverblog.com/
Fishing Savusavu
http://savusavufishing.blogspot.com/
Cappy’s Pond
http://kirk-cappyspage.blogspot.com/
Bass Pundit
http://basspundit.blogspot.com/
Dark Art Caster
http://darkartcaster.blogspot.com/
Jeff’s Smallmouth Bass Fishing Blog
http://smallmouthfanatic.blogspot.com/
All Things Fish
http://allthingsfish.blogspot.com/
The Adventures of Stoney the Fisherman
http://bssphoto.blogspot.com/
From the Fisherbabe
http://www.fisherbabe.com/
Nicola Zingarelli : Fishing & Photography
http://nicolazingarelli.blogspot.com/
We are Anglers, not Fishermen
http://tbyrodney.blogspot.com/
Saltywater Tackle
http://saltywatertackle.blogspot.com/
Flowing Waters
http://wolfwaters.blogspot.com/
Sport Fisherman
http://jepp79.blogspot.com/
Bali Fishing
http://balisportfishing.blogspot.com/
The Average Joe Fisherman
http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/
111 Degrees West
http://111degreeswest.blogspot.com/
A Bad Backcast
http://www.abadbackcast.com/
AJ Sutts Blog
http://ajsutts.blogspot.com/
Capt. Gordon’s Fishing Reports
http://captgordon.wordpress.com/
Catching My Fair Share
http://brandon722.blogspot.com/
Chi Wulff
http://chiwulff.com/
Creek Addict
http://creekaddict.com/
Deneki Outdoors
http://www.deneki.com/
The Fiberglass Manifesto
http://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com/
Fishbeer
http://fishbeer.com/
Fly Fish Addiction
http://www.flyfishaddiction.blogspot.com/
Gink & Gasoline Blog
http://www.ginkandgasoline.com/blog/
Glassy Waters
http://glassywaters.blogspot.com/
Headhunter: Missouri River Fly Fishing
http://www.headhuntersflyshop.com/wp/
Journeys Into the Mind of a Fly Fisher
http://mcfluffchucker.blogspot.com/
Michael Gracie’s Blog
http://michaelgracie.com/
Mike’s Gone Fishing
http://www.mikesgonefishing.com/
Moldy Chum
http://www.moldychum.com/
Mystic Waters Fly Fishing Blog
http://mysticwaters.com/
The Ozark Fly Fisher Journal
http://ozarkflyfisherjournal.wordpress.com/
Pike Fly Fishing Articles
http://pikeflyfishingarticles.blogspot.com/
Silk Lines and Paper Hulls
http://www.silklinesandpaperhulls.com/
Sipping Emergers
http://www.sippingemergers.com/
Strid Art
http://stridart.blogspot.com/
Oregon Fly Fishing Blog
http://oregonflyfishingblog.com/
Third Coast Fly
http://thirdcoastfly.com/
Trout Underground
http://troutunderground.com/
True North Trout
http://truenorthtrout.com/
Maine Fly Castings
http://maineflycastings.com/
Urban Fly Blog
http://www.urbanflyy.com/
The Urban Fly Fisher
http://urbanflyfisher.com/
Way Upstream
http://www.wayupstream.com/
Will Fish for Work
http://willfishforwork.com/
Yukon Goes Fishing
http://www.yukongoesfishing.com/
Baktao Heaven
http://baktao.blogspot.com/
Epic Blitz
http://www.epicblitz.com/
Just Keep Reeling
http://www.justkeepreeling.com/
Backwaters, Beaches, and Bays
http://www.b3fishing.com/
Compleat Thought
http://compleatthought.com/
First Light Gear
http://www.firstlightgear.com/team-blog/
Fly Fishilicious
http://www.flyfishilicious.com/
Fly Carpin’
http://www.flycarpin.com/
The Functioning Fishaholics
http://funcfish.com/
Lunker Hunt
http://lunkerhunt.blogspot.com/
Women on the Fly
http://www.wncwomenonthefly.com/index.html
Freshwater Girl
http://freshwatergirl.wordpress.com/
Nordic Angler
http://nordicangler.wordpress.com/
Something’s Fishy
http://www.somefishblog.com/
Tar Heel Fly Fishing
http://www.tarheelflyfishing.com/
Trout Lies
http://troutlies.wordpress.com/
Troutrageous!
http://www.troutrageous.com/

Marbled Goby

2012-01-02T09:55:00.002+08:00

Date : 01 January 2012
Time : 2.30pm - 4.30pm
Location : Sg Kayu
Went to Sungai Kayu yesterday with Jepp. Tried to catch talapia, snakehead and prawn but unluckily there were none of them. I only managed to catch a Marbled Goby which is quite small and two anabas testudineus ( ikan puyu/ karuk ). All of them were given to Jepp to keep in his aquarium. No picture was taken during the 'adventure' as it was raining.
Happy new year to everyone.

Lankayan 2011

2011-12-10T21:02:00.006+08:00

Date : 10 December 2011
Time : 7.30am - 4.30pm
Location : Lankayan
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM205 per person
Members of the trip : Myself, Jason, Amiludin, Khairul, Palmin and the Kinabatangan Anglers.

The Sea Master
Palmin

Amiludin

Khairul

Jason

Amiludin, myself and Khairul

The Kinabatangan Anglers

Selingan Island

Palmin with his best catch of the day

Jason with his trigger fish

Amiludin with his pink ear emperor

The best scenery seen on our way back to Sandakan

My catch

Amiludin and Khairul's catches. The total weight of their catch was 30kg.

Jason with his 8.7kg catches

The best catch of the day, the Jangkarman's 5kg Yellow Fin Trevally

Here are my catch:
1.35kg and 1.2kg Red Snappers

An 800g Japanese Red

3 Juvenile Emperor Fish

4 standard size pisang pisang

900g, 800g and 650g trigger fish

6 dinner plate sized groupers

2 dinner plate sized juvenile GT

6 pink ear emperors with the heaviest catch was 1.1kg

3 coral fish

All the fish were scaled with my digital scale.

It was a successful trip for most of us. Since it's the first time we reached Lankayan Water after several attempts, we felt happy. Will surely go to Lankayan Water again. For 2011, this was a good year end trip and I'm not planning to go for another trip again this year. So, see you all again next year.

Bai Island and Dulang-Dulang Island 2011

2011-11-26T20:42:00.008+08:00

Date : 26 November 2011
Time : 8.30am - 4.30pm
Location : Bai Island and Dulang-Dulang Island
Boatman : Nasip
Cost : RM25 per person
Members of the trip : Myself and the Facebookers' JORAN SANDAKAN team
The weather was quite cloudy in the morning but in the afternoon, it's hot. I had sunburn on my face, arms and legs. Forgot to use my sunblock as I was quite sleepy as the bite rate was not that good.

Heading towards Dulang-Dulang Island

Palmin with his first catch of the day.Palmin's second grouper

Victor with a better catch - a 500g GT

SaudinSaudin with a 400g grouperAndrusI almost fell asleep fishing in Dulang Dulang Island.After not having any catch the whole morning, I was awarded with the biggest and heaviest catch of the day.

A 600g and 550g catfish

Although I did not have any catch the whole morning, I enjoyed myself sharing fishing experiences and techniques with the members of Joran Sandakan. There were a lot of jokes and laughter. Will try to join their trip again in the future.

Berhala Island 2011

2011-11-19T22:04:00.006+08:00

Date : 19 November 2011
Time : 7.00am - 4.30pm
Location : Berhala Island
Boatman : Kim Sui
Cost : RM40 per person
Members of the trip : Jepp, Bakry and myself

The scenery.

Not many pictures were taken in this trip as the bite rate was quite low.

Bakry with his best catch- a flat headed shark

Jepp with another 600g flat-headed shark

Myself with a baby flat headed shark

A Stingray

A 500g GT

550g Agohot

Not many fish were caught in this trip but we enjoyed ourselves fishing together. Looking forward for another recreational trip in Berhala Island with Kim Sui in the future.

Taganak-Pulau Burung

2011-10-21T16:53:00.018+08:00

Date : 22nd October 2011
Time : 7.00am - 5.00pm
Location : Taganak - Pulau Burung
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM1600
Members of the trip : Rodney ( myself ), Bob, Andrew, Amiludin, Ustaz Ismail, Ustaz Razali, Halim and Mus.

Jack's 200hpx2 speedboatMyself and Bob

Mus and Amiludin

Halim and Ustaz Ismail

Mus and Amiludin

Ustaz Razali and Bob

HalimAndrewUstaz Razali and Ustaz Ismail

Some of the scenery along the way from Sandakan to Taganak-Pulau Burung Taganak Island

Halim with some of his first catches of the day

My catch

Ustaz Razali's catch

Ustaz Razali and Ustaz Ismail's catches

Ustaz Ismail's best catch of the day- a 2.3kg red snapper Andrew's best catch of the day- a first grade 3.15kg coral trout

Amiludin and Mus' catch in their first half of this fishing trip

Our catch

Mus and Amiludin with the most catch

Andrew

Myself

Ustaz Ismail

Ustaz Razali

Here are my catch for today's trip.
4 average size japanese red
2 average size pisang pisang

A 800g grouper

A 700g pink ear emperor

5 juvenile GTs

2 trigger fish

The weather was OK but the current was quite strong and we experienced a lot of terrible tangled line most of the time. Most of us were tired but happy.

Stress-Free trip in Berhala Island

2011-10-08T22:11:00.008+08:00

Date : 08th October 2011
Time : 630am - 600pm
Location : Berhala Island
Boatman : Kim Sui
Cost : RM40/person
Went to Berhala Island today with Jepp. The weather was good and we had an enjoyable time fishing.

Members of the trip.
Jepp

Myself Like usual, Kim Sui will go to Tinosan to buy live prawns as bait for us.Some of the scenery while fishing in Berhala Island

Some of the highlights in today's trip

Reaching home at about 630pm, I grilled all the 7 tiger prawns I bought from the local fishermen at RM1 each in Tinosan.

Fishing in Berhala Island with Kim Sui is highly recommended for those who wants to use live prawns as bait.

Pegasus #2 2011

2011-09-29T10:06:00.020+08:00

Date : 1st October 2011
Time : 7.00 am - 5.00 pm
Location : Pegasus
Boatman : Taufu Ping
Cost : RM175/head
Members of the trip : Myself ( Rodney ), Jason, Donny, Jepp, Andrew, Halim, Amiludin and Ismail.

Ah Ping's 200hpX2 speed boatPose by the members of the trip.Some of the scenery along the way to Pegasus. We had a promising start as the first catch of the day was a coral trout weighing around 1.75kg landed by Jepp.A 2kg red snapper by Ismail.A 1kg shark by myself.A 1kg barracuda by Jason.A 800g Gt by Donny.All of us were entertained by different species of fish. Here are some of the highlights in our trip.

Ismail.Jepp Jason Jason and AndrewAndrew Donny Myself Amiludin

Our catch

I was quite lucky that I managed to take this video of Ismail VS red snapper.

This was a very successful trip for us. We enjoyed the trip and we will surely plan another trip to Pegasus again at the end of October.

Pegasus 2011

2011-09-12T19:37:00.010+08:00

Date : 11 September 2011
Time : 7.00am - 5.00pm
Location : Pegasus
Boatman : Taufu Ping
Cost : RM175 per person
Members of the trip : Myself, Donny, Bob, Ustaz Razali, Halim, Amiludin, Eric and Ah Wong

A sudden trip planned by Donny and myself. Most of the boatmen in Yacht Club were not available but we were lucky that Taufu Ping was available on that date. We had problems looking for members of the trip as Jepp, Bakry, Andrew and Jason were not free.

Taufu Ping's 400hp speed boat.

Members of the trip.
Bob
DonnyMyselfThe pictures of the other members of the trip were not taken as they sat quite far from me.
We were quite excited at the begining of the trip when Taufu Ping landed these 2.5kg and 2.3kg coral trouts.

Bob with his 3.15kg Japanese Red

Bob with his 1.35kg Red Emperor

Bob with a 1.7kg Coral Trout

Eric with his double hookup- a grouper and a red emperor.

Eric with the heaviest catch of the day. A grouper weighing around 3.8kg

Eric with a 1kg Red Emperor Fish

Ah Wong's 1.3kg GT

My heaviest catch - a grouper weighing around 500g.

Some of the scenery along the way to Pegasus.

Our catch.

Bob

Amiludin

Myself

The other members of the trip refused to have their photo taken as their catch was not that good compared to Bob's catch. Will plan another trip to Pegasus again next month.

Gobin Rock

2011-08-14T17:44:00.004+08:00

Date : 14th August 2011
Time : 7.00am - 3.00pm
Location : Gobin Rock
Boatman : Kim Sui
Cost : RM70 per person
Went to Gobin just now with Joseph. The weather and current were good but still there was not a good day of fishing as the bite rate was very low.

Joseph

Some of the scenery along the way to Gobin.

Taganak Island on our left.

Berhala Island on our right.

The bait used for today's trip - live prawn.

My first catch for today. A 'giant grouper'.

My second and third catch

My forth and my last catch for today's trip - a baby pink ear emperor. Ah Wong the jangkarman's catch

Ah Wong and his heaviest grouper ( 1.3kg ) for today's trip.

Ah Wong again with a 700g GTJoseph's catch

Kim Sui with his two baby groupers in a single hook.

Kim Sui's 45hp speed boat.

There was not many good size fish caught today. Looking forward to go to the Philippines water after the Haro Raya holiday.

Overnight fishing in Kretam.

2011-07-31T15:28:00.006+08:00

Have been dreaming of getting a Spanish Mackerel for quite a long time. So, Adzry and I planned a trip to Kretam two weeks earlier. Faced a lot of problems organising this trip and I won't be planning any trip like this again in the future.

Date : 30-31 July 2011

Time : 9am ( 30 July 2011 ) - 9am ( 31 July 2011 )
Place : Kretam
Boatman : Bahri
Cost : RM1250
The members of the trip include myself, Adzry, Bob, Jason, Edrian, Vensaid, Andrew, Assan and Murad. There were not many pictures taken as there were not many good catches for this trip.

Bahri the boatman

Edrian

Murad

Vensaid

Vensaid with the first catch of the day.Vensaid with his 5.5kg yellow fin barracuda

Murad

Edrian with a pink ear emperor

Adzry with a 5.31kg barracuda

Adzry posing with Bob's 'selipar'

Adzry with his 'pisang pisang'Assan with another pink ear emperor

This trip ended up with myself and Andrew having no catch at all. While the others had to be satisfied with only a few small sizes fish and best of all, I had finally got the chance to take a picture with this Spanish Mackerel caught by Bahri the boatman.
Having no plan of going for any overnight fishing trip again for the time being, here, my Saltiga and my Slimmax bid farewell for overnight fishing trips. Thank you for the fun and laughter shared among all the anglers.

Taganak - Binawan waters

2011-07-17T21:17:00.010+08:00

Date : 17th July 2010
Time : 7.30am - 5.00pm
Location : Taganak - Binawan
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM1600
Haven't been fishing for almost one and a half month. So, a trip to Binawan was planned. Followed Botak Jack. The members of the trip were Bob, Fendy, Amiludin, Andrew, Jason, Ustaz, Halim and myself.

Botak Jack's 400hp speedboat
Jason and Ustaz

Andrew

Myself and Fendy

Jason preparing the bait

Fendy with his first catch of the day-a 800g red snapper

Fendy in action

Fendy again with a 1kg coral trout
Botak Jack with a 'weird' fish.

Andrew with another coral trout

Jason with another coral trout

Jimmy with a 2kg sweet lips.Bob with a 2kg red emperor.A moray eel by UstazSome of the highlights in our trip today.

The scenery along our way to Taganak - Binawan waters

Our combined catch.

Bob

Myself

Jason

Andrew

Fendy

Amiludin

My catch
a GT

Japanese red

Red snapper

Pisang pisang

Groupers

Silver bream

baby fish

It was not a successful trip. We will be going to Kretam on the 30-31 July 2011. We expect the catch and the fight in Kretam will be better than this trip.

Taganak

2011-05-31T23:04:00.007+08:00

Date : 31/5/2011
Time : 7.00am - 5.15pm
Location : Taganak
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM180/pax.
Went to Taganak today with Jepp, Bob, Amiludin, Bakry and Datuk O.K. Liew and his gang. The weather was fine and the current was good. Unluckily, the bite rate was too low that some of us even felt sleepy.

Datuk O.K Liew and his gang.

A Taiwanese guy with his rod holder.The scenery along the way towards Taganak Island. Some of the highlights in this trip.

The speed boat we used in this trip.

Our catch

Bob

Myself

Bakry

Jepp

Amiludin

My catch
A 1kg and 200g trigger fish.

Groupers weighing around 200-800g.

A pink ear emperor, a sweetlips and a baby coral trout.

This was the worst trip I had fishing with Botak Jack. The bite rate was low but I'll surely go fishing again soon.

Lankayan - Cagayan

2011-05-14T20:46:00.013+08:00

Date : 14th May 2011
Time : 6.30am-5.00pm
Location : Lankayan - Cagayan
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM1800
Trip Members : Jason, Bob, Bakry, Jepp, Ismail, Andrew, Aminudin and myself.

Some of the scenery on our way to and back from Lankayan - Cagayan

Some of the highlights in this trip.
Bakry with a 800g red snapper

Red snappers caught by Bakry at the first spot.Bakry with the best catch of the day.
A 2.3kg coral trout.

Andrew with his 'ikan selipar.'

Botak Jack with his 1kg coral trout.

Botak Jack with his sweet lips.

Bob with a pink ear emperor.

Bob with a good sized red snapper.

Bob with a good table sized grouper.Jason with a table sized red snapper.Jason with a cute little fish. Jason with a red snapper.Myself with a 1.3kg red snapper.My catch at the first spot.

Myself with my very first MJ.
A 800g MJ.

Jepp with his red snapper.

Jepp with his grouper.

Lunch time.

Sleeping time.

On our way back to Sandakan.The boat we used for this trip.Our catches.

Amiludin.

Andrew.

Bob.

Ismail with his 7kg catches.

Jason.

Myself with my 11kg catches.

Jepp

Bakry.

My catch
7 groupers

2 coral trouts.

2 baby GTs

3 pink ear emperors.

3 pisang pisang

3 red snappers

2 trigger fish

An 800g MJ

As a conclusion, I would not recommend anyone to go for a day trip to Lankayan-Cagayan. Anyway, we enjoyed our fishing trip. Will fish in Taganak-Baguan or Kretam next month,

PRELUDE TO LANKAYAN

2011-05-05T21:27:00.006+08:00

Will be going fishing in Lankayan water next Saturday ( 14 May 2011 ). After the first and second attempts going there were unsuccessful, I'm hoping for a successful trip this time. The cost for this trip will be around RM225 per person.

The anglers.
Myself

Ismail, Amiludin, Jepp and Bob.

Jason

Bakry

Andrew

My arsenals.
40lbs Dupond line. It will be used to make apollo.
Gamakatsu and Relix hooks.

My self made 2 and 3 hooks apollo.
300g, 350g and 400g sinkers

Pliers, nail clipper and cutter

80g - 150g jigs..... and I am not sure whether they will be used in this trip or not.

Rolling swivels and snaps

Net, fighting belt, empty spool, line and lip gripper/weighing scale.

All the accessories will be put in this box.My rod and reel.
Lemax Slim Max PE 3-4

Daiwa Saltiga Z30 loaded with 300m 65lbs ajiking braided line.My spare reel
Shimano TLD 15/30 loaded with 300yards 50lbs power pro braided line.

Eupro Hammer Jig pe2-4

Taganak-Baguan

2011-04-17T20:26:00.011+08:00

Date : 17 April 2011
Time : 7.00am - 5.10pm
Boatman : Botak Jack
Cost : RM230/pax
Went to Taganak-Baguan today with Jepp, Amiludin, Ismail, Bob and two other members of another fishing team. It was a very good trip as the weather and the sea were calm.

The anglers - Ismail, Amiludin, Jepp and Bob.

The boat used in this trip.The weather early in the morning.

The bait used in this trip.

The chinaman team.
A 2kg 7-star@coral grouperA 1.5kg golden snapper

Jepp Bob
Amiludin with his best catch of the day- a 2kg red snapperIsmail with his 2kg grouper Myself with a 800g red snapper

2kg golden snapper
Here are some of the jangkarman's catch.
A 4kg grouper and 2kg MJ.

My catch - 10kg

Amiludin's catch - 10kg

Bob's catch

Jepp's catch - 3kgIsmail's catch - 11kgOur combined catch

Here are my catch.
7 groupers

13 pink ear emperor

1 long nose emperor

1 baby GT

3 pisang pisang

1 golden snapper

It was a very successful trip for us. Will surely go for another fishing trip again next month. Anyone who is interested to join me for a fishing trip in Lankayan next month, do inform me earlier with a RM200 deposit. Plan to follow Botak Jack again and the trip will cost about RM230.

Lankayan was unreachable

2011-03-27T18:41:00.005+08:00

Date : 27 March 2011
Time : 7.00am - 5.00pm
Location : Lankayan
Boatman : Botak Jack
My first trip to Lankayan two weeks ago was cancelled due to Tsunami in Japan. Few days ago, Botak Jack phoned me and asked whether I still want to go to Lankayan. The answer was surely a YES. This time only myself and Amiludin went together following the Forestry Anglers. The weather was bad - heavy rain and rough sea. We managed to fish only for less than 1 hour before we took shelter in Selingan Island and few minutes after the rain stopped, we went back. We didn't manage to go to Lankayan but we fished in Bakungan instead.

The dark cloud before the trip.

Bakungan Island.

Amiludin

My catch - a pair of 600g and 500g red snapper.

Golden snapper weighing 450g and 500g

Groupers weighing 450g and 500g

My bonus catch - a Pulau Bai's baby grouperIf not because of the bad weather, we would surely get more fish there. I managed to get all those fish on double hook up. Will surely follow Botak Jack again to Lankayan.

Facing the Tsunami trip.....

2011-03-17T20:02:00.005+08:00

Date : 17 March 2011
Time : 7.00am - 4.30pm
Boatman : Kim Sui
Location : Berhala Island
Cost : RM40/pax
Went to Berhala Island today with Jepp. Live prawn was hard to get this morning. We had to wait until 8.00am to get enough live prawn. We started fishing only at about 9.30am due to heavy rain.

Jepp

Myself

My total catch for today - 2.5kg

Jepp with his catch -2kg.The heaviest catch I've got- a croaker weighing about 400g

Jepp playing with his giant bait - a tiger prawn

My catch

Jepp with his bonus catch - a golden snapper

My bonus catch - a stingray.

The current was quite strong today. Jepp and I experienced the worst seasick we've got in Berhala Island. Will surely go to Berhala Island again once the weather and current are calm.

Abu Record 50

2011-03-13T20:20:00.004+08:00

Trip to Lankayan was canceled due to bad weather. While waiting for another fishing trip, I managed to grab this beauty.With 6.3 : 1 gear ratio and 15lbs maximum drag, hopefully I will get a challenge from the fish here in Sandakan.

Taganak-Baguan trip 2011

2011-02-21T13:47:00.005+08:00

Date : 20 February 2011
Time : 7.30am - 4.40pm
Boatman : Akong
Cost : RM1450
Went to Taganak and Baguan area with Bob, Jason, Jepp, Bakry, Andrew, Juini and Amiludin. All of us had a very hard time fishing as the current was quite strong. This was our first deep sea fishing trip for 2011.

On our way to Taganak - Baguan

The drunken anglers

My first golden snapper weighing around 800g.

A 1kg red snapper.

My bonus catch of the day- a 750g catfish.

Some of the scenery on our way to Taganak - Baguan ocean

The anglers after the trip.

Jepp with his RM185 grouper

Bob

Jason

Juini

Bakry

Amiludin

My catch.

Very unlucky for Andrew as he was not able to get any fish in this trip. We'll be going to Lankayan on 12 March 2011 following Jack. Hope for a better catch for all of us.

Bai Island #2 2011

2011-01-24T14:43:00.005+08:00

Date : 23 January 2011
Time : 8.00am - 4.00pm
Location : Bai Island
Boatman :Nasib

Went to Bai Island again with my friends. A very disappointing trip as the current was quite strong in the morning and evening.

The catch of the day.
Fred with a cute and sexy sweetlips.

Mr PGA with a 750g catfish ( sembilang )

Murad with a 500g catfish ( Bedukang )

My catch- 1.25kg of croakers and bebolos.Zizu's catch.

Murad's catch.

Wish to have a deep sea fishing trip soon. Really miss the fight of bigger fish.

Opening of 2011 - Bai Island

2011-01-21T12:45:00.004+08:00

Date : 16 January 2011
Time : 7.30am - 4.00pm
Location : Bai Island
Boatman : Nasib

Went for my first fishing trip in 2011 with Jepp, Bakry, Raymond and some other friends to Bai island. The sea was calm but the current was quite strong.

The anglers

6 of us sitting at the front of the boat were able to catch these 22kg of groupers, croakers and bebolos.

After the distribution of fish among 6 of us, I brought home these fish.
The biggest and heaviest catch of the trip - a tarpon by Raymond Micheal.

The tarpon compared to my sized 8 crocs shoes.

I really enjoyed this trip so much. Wish to have another recreational trip soon.

2010 closing trip

2010-12-29T08:51:00.004+08:00

Date : 28 December 2010
Time : 7.00am - 5.00pm
Location : Berhala Island
Boatman : Kim Sui

Went to Berhala Island yesterday with Adzry and Jepp. We followed Kim Sui. Due to space limit, Adzry had to become the 'jangkarman'. At exactly 7.00am we went to Tinusa 2 to get live prawn as bait. We were so unlucky that we had to wait for almost 2 hours. We only started fishing at around 9.00am. The current was quite strong the whole day yesterday.

Jepp and Adzry

Adzry, buying ice cube.

Here are some of the scenery along the way to get the live prawn.

Catch of the day, a catfish / sembilang weighing 1.3kg

My heaviest catch, a catfish / bedukang weighing around 600g.

Overall, this trip was not so successful. Adzry only managed to get a total catch of 2kg, Jepp 3.5kg and myself, 3kg. Hope to get a better result in 2011 in Berhala Island.

Berhala Island

2010-12-17T18:20:00.005+08:00

Date : 17 December 2010
Time : 7.00am - 5.00pm
Location : Berhala Island
Boatman : Kim Sui
Went to Berhala Island today with Adzry following Kim Sui. The weather was nice.

The boat and the boatman.

The jangkarman bargaining for the cheapest price of live prawn.

Kim Sui and a local fisherman. Buying live prawn.

Adzry buying live tiger prawns from a local fisherman - RM1 each

The jangkarman with a 800g GT.Adzry with the 800g GT.Kim Sui with a 1.8kg sweet lips.

This trip was a great one. Adzry's total catch was about 5.5kg and mine was 4kg. This trip costs RM40 per person.

trip to Bai Island

2010-12-10T19:32:00.005+08:00

Date : 10 December 2010
Time : 8.00am - 4.20pm
Location : Bai Island
Boatman : Nasib
Went to Bai Island with Amiludin, his friend and Adzry. The croaker, catfish and grouper entertained us so well that we really enjoyed this fishing trip although there were only four of us.

Amiludin

Amiludin's friend

Adzry with his 700g sweetlips.

Adzry's total catch - 6kg

Amiludin and his friend's catch.

My catch - 3kg

Plan to have another recreational trip in Bai Island again before school reopen.

Jipun River

2010-12-09T20:05:00.004+08:00

Date : 8-9 December 2010
Time : 9.00pm ( 8/12/2010 ) - 3.00am ( 9/12/2010 )
Location : Jipun River
Went to Jipun River with Elysius and Reys. Using live prawn and talapia as bait. There were not that much bite but it was OK for us as all of us haven't been fishing together for quite a long time.

Reys

Elysius

Reys with the first catch - a 500g sembilang.

My catch - a 250g otek. I was using a small talapia as bait.

Elysius in action with his 15feet telescopic rod.He managed to land this MJ weighing 500g

Went back home at about 3.30am. Felt tired but happy as we had grilled otek and crab before we went back home.

recreational trip to Bai Island

2010-11-20T21:26:00.009+08:00

Date : 20 November 2010
Time : 7.30am - 4.00pm
Location : Bai Island
Boatman : Nasib
Went to Bai Island for a 'final' recreational trip for 2010 with Jepp, Zizu, Jason, Bob and his friend, Amiludin and his friend and Murad. Had a very enjoyable time fishing with them all.

Planned to follow this ship but we were unable to rent it.
Before the trip, we had our breakfast in Yasin Restaurant.

The anglers for today's trip:
Jepp

Jason

Bob's friend

Bob

Zizu

Murad

Amiludin

Amiludin's friend

MyselfJepp with his special catch- a puffer fish

Amiludin's catch..... a cooler box full of croaker

Jepp, Jason and my catches were divided equally among three of us.

After sharing our catches, I brought home 4kg of fish

no more deep sea fishing for 2010

2010-11-05T21:21:00.008+08:00

Date : Friday 5th November 2010
Time : 8am - 5.15pm
Location : Kretam 80m
Trip members : Myself, Jason, Bob, Murad, Juini, Aminuddin and his two friends.

Aminuddin and his friends.

Murad, myself and Jason

Bob

The highlights of today's trip
Juini with a coral fish which was hooked on its 'belly'

Jason with a trigger fish

Myself with a 800g Japanese Red

Murad with his GTs

Murad, 'enjoying' his first sea sick

Everyone was not in the mood as the current was quite strong in the morning

The jangkarman's catch, like usual the most and the best catch.

Murad, feeling a lot better on our way back to the Yacht Club.

Myself posing for the camera for my last trip to Kretam this year.

Ah Hiew, the jangkarman.

Aminuddin, making the peace sign.

Jason and Juini

Ah Kong the boatman, counting the RM1450, for today's trip.

The 400hp's boat

Our catch for today's trip

Myself

Bob

Jason

Aminuddin and his friends' catch

Juini

Murad

My catch.
Trigger fish

Japanese red

Red Breams

The small and sexy - kerisi, pisang pisang and basung.

Will be back to Kretam next year. For this year, there won't be another deep sea fishing trip. I had a very good time fishing with all my friends and hope to be able to fish with you all again soon.

recreational trip to Berhala & Bai Island

2010-10-23T19:30:00.012+08:00

Went for a recreational trip to Berhala and Bai Island with Jepp, Bakry, Andrew, Fernandez, Jivoh, Murad and Cosmack. The trip was supposed to start at 7.00 am but due to some 'technical error', we left the jetty of Sandakan wet market only at 8.00am.

Buying baits for today's trip in Tanah Merah.Sandakan wet market The anglers for today's trip.
Behind - Fernandez, Cosmack, Jivoh, Bakry and Andrew.
Front - myself, Jeffry and Murad.
The scenery

Our arsenal

Bakry got into a very BIG fight but unluckily he lost and his rod broke into 4 pieces.

Andrew's managed to land this 800g grouper.

Murad with his double hook up

A gelama trying to eat the whole sized 4 sinker.

Jepp in actionJepp with his 1kg gelama

Jepp with another 2kg gelama
Cosmack posing with the 2kg gelamaJepp with a 300g grouper

Jepp with a 500g sweel lips

The 4 of us ( Murah, Jepp, Bakry and I ) sitting at the back agreed to share our catches equally among each other. We were quite surprised that we managed to land 9.5kg of fish.

The back seater - myself, Jepp and Bakry

Feeling tired but happy. Will surely follow Nasib's boat again in the future for another recreational trip to Berhala and Bai Island.

recreational trip to Berhala Island

2010-10-16T23:23:00.005+08:00

Went to Berhala Island today for a recreational trip with friends. There was not that much expectation fishing in Berhala.

The anglers- Jason, Jepp, Zizu, Aminudin and friend.

Murad the first timer and Barth
Leaving the jetty of Sandakan post office.Barth posing with his Lapih.

Jason with his grouper

Ah Kong the boatman with his catch.

Berhala Island

While fishing, we met Yazid and Cosmack on this ship.

Murad and his catch

Myself with my catch

We shared all our catches among each other. Hope to have another trip to Berhala Island again.

popping and casting

2010-10-13T21:29:00.004+08:00

Received a call from my friend few days ago telling me that 'bulan-bulan' is attacking the pond behind his house. So, Jepp and I decided to go there to try our luck.

Fernandez and Jepp in action.

The location

My first bulan-bulan with a small popper

I received some good strikes. The fight was good and the acrobatic jump was magnificent. Will try this spot again in a few weeks time.

Taganak #2 2010

2010-10-03T21:12:00.005+08:00

Went to Taganak with Jepp, Bob, Bakry, Jason, Aminudin and Andrew. Cosmack was not able to join us in this trip today. We followed Jack's boat fishing from 8.00am to 5.20pm.

Jason registering the names of all the anglers in today's trip.

The anglers - Bakry, Bob, Jason, Aminudin, myself, Andrew and Jepp.

My first catch - a 2kg '7-star' blue spot coral grouper

The 'jangkarman's MJ weighing 2.5kg

Andrew with the biggest 'pisang2' in today's trip.

Bob with his 2.5kg kerisi bali

Our catch

Myself

Aminudin

Jason

Andrew

Bakry

Jepp

Bob ( like usual - quantity and quality )

My catches

With my new Daiwa Saltiga Z30 paired with Eupro Hammer Jig PE2-4, I still feel unchallenged. Looking forward for another trip......

DAIWA SALTIGA Z30 - a dream comes true

2010-09-25T10:20:00.003+08:00

Received a parcel from Nationwide Express this morning. It was a parcel sent by Aboy from Sri Kembangan. Finally, the Daiwa Saltiga Z30 I ordered, arrived. Can't wait to use it for my next fishing trip to Taganak on the 3rd of October 2010.

The package - Daiwa Saltiga Z30 with its box, manual and bag.

Daiwa Saltiga Z30 with its quick shift handle.

Star Drag

Narrow Spool

Strong built

Round knob.

Dream comes true .....

Any suggestion on what rod is suitable to suit this reel?

Kretam #4 2010

2010-09-17T06:40:00.007+08:00

Went to Kretam on Malaysia Day ( 16th September 2010 ) with my friends. Followed Kong the boatman's 400HP speedboat.

From left, Sufian, Jepp, myself, Aminudin, Donny, Bob, Juini and Cosmack.

Kong's 400HP speedboat

The bite rate was very low from the morning till afternoon. But at around 1.30pm, the bite rate increased as we moved 2 miles into the Philippine border. Bigger fish began to attack us with some of us encountered broken lines.

Jepp with his 1.3kg grouper

Juini and his 2kg '7-star'.

Myself with a 2kg rabbit fish.

Kong the boatman's parrot fish.

A 750g grouper on jig.

Bob with his lucky yellow t-shirt and a 4kg sweet lips.

Donny with a 1.25kg GT

Myself with the jangkarman's 5kg long nose emperor

Myself with the jankarman's 1kg MJ

Our catch

Jepp

myself

Donny

Juini

Cosmack

Bob

Aminudin

Sufian

My catch

It was a successful trip with some of us got BIG fish. Everyone was happy and satisfied.

Electricity port again

2010-09-15T22:07:00.002+08:00

Went to the electricity port again today with Barth and Jepp. Tried out my new Abu Garcia Promax BC and Daiwa Megaforce 8-17lbs with 20lbs braided line in this port but there were only a few strikes and no hook up at all. It's quite interesting actually casting with BC. The cast is further compare to my Shimano Navi 2000 reel and Venom rod with 8lbs mono line. Anyway, it was quite hard at first. The setting is very important to determine the distance of the cast.

The electricity port.

Jepp and Barth

Jepp with his first snakehead in this port.

The snakehead posed with Jepp's new Daiwa Megaforce Plus BC reel,

Due to the snakehead's medicinal value, it was taken back home :).

electricity port

2010-09-06T20:58:00.004+08:00

Went to cast for snakehead again today with Jepp from 3.00-5.00pm in a forbidden area which we called the electricity port. We've never tried the spot before as it is a forbidden area. Lucky for us as there was no one there that time. The spot looked promising. Like usual, there were a lot of strikes but no solid hook up. I only managed to get 1 hook up.

Lucky for me, as I managed to land this snakehead on my first cast. The fight was awesome.

The snakehead with my Shimano Navi 2000 and venom rod.

Used my spinner bait and there were a lot of strikes. One of the snakeheads there successfully spoilt my day by spoiling my favourite spinner bait.
Jepp

'Roundabout' port

2010-09-05T20:45:00.006+08:00

After not having the chance to go fishing for the past 2 months, yesterday (Saturday), Jepp and I planned to go to Berhala Island to hunt for GT and table sized grouper. Unluckily the trip was canceled at the very last minute due to the boatman's miscalculation on the sea level.
So, here we were hunting for snakehead at the 'roundabout' port this evening. There were a lot of strike but no hookup. Only Jepp managed to land a 300g snakehead. I almost forgot how to cast and I've got problem to adapt to my Shimano Navi 2000 reel and Venom rod.

The promising 'roundabout' port.

JeppJepp with his 300g snakehead.

Not my day, will hunt for snakehead again before my Kretam's trip on the 16 September 2010.

Kretam #3 2010

2010-06-27T19:42:00.011+08:00

As this will be my last deep sea fishing trip this year, I was hoping that by organizing this trip, I will be able to have an enjoyable time fishing with my fishing buddies. Unfortunately, Mr Bob, Juini and Bartholomew were unable to join us - Jepp, Zizudini, Bakry and myself. Like usual, we followed Ah Kong's 400hp speed boat to Kretam.

Ah Kong's 400hp speed boat.

Zizudini
Jepp

Bakry

Mr Chong

The condition of the sea in the morning.

Jepp was rewarded with a Kerisi on 40g jig.

Jepp with an ikan kayu on 40g jig.

Zizudini with 1kg ikan kayu on 40g Hinomiya's jig.

Myself with 2kg snapper.

The condition of the sea in the afternoon. The current was quite strong.Ah Seng with his 4kg ebek.

A 4kg jemuduk by Ah Seng.
The size of the jemuduk' compared to my sized 8 Crocs shoes.

Wong with a 4kg Ruby Snapper.
Zizudini with a 2kg barracuda on Hinomiya's 40g jig.

Our combined catches for this trip.

Myself with the jangkarman's catches.

Mr Chong with his catches.Myself with my catches.

Jepp with his catch.

Zizudini with his catches. All his catches were on his legendary Hinomiya's jig.

Bakry with his catches.

My catches.

A 2kg red bass.

2kg red snapper.2kg long nose emperor.
800g pink ear emperor.

1kg grouper.

Some of my catches were given to Juini who was not able to join us due to some personal problems. I will surely be back for deep sea fishing adventure again next year with better catches. For the time being, I will only go for inshore fishing.

spin fly

2010-06-17T12:35:00.002+08:00

Tried the nymph fly Jepp gave me yesterday. It is cute and I think I need to start and try to make my own fly.

The target - gold fish and Japanese carp.

In less than a minute, I managed to get a solid hook up on the gold fish.
It was indeed my first fish on fly.

Location - fish pond at the compound of my house :).

I am lucky that the gold fish is still alive now. If it's dead, I'll surely get a scolding from my parents. Have to try the nymph fly in the wild soon.

Pulau Bai #4 2010

2010-06-01T17:08:00.009+08:00

As planned few days ago, Jepp, Bakry and I went to Pulau Bai and Pulau Berhala. Fished from 7.30am to 3.30pm. The weather and current were good in the morning. We've caught a lot of golden and silver crocker, ikan jarang gigi, mata kucing, coral fish and also grouper.

We followed Nasib's boat.

The anglers for today's trip - Jepp, Bakry and myself.

Myself.Jepp.Bakry.Leaving the jetty of Sandakan wet market.

Bakry enjoying the scenery of Pulau Berhala.

Pulau Berhala.

Jepp with his ikan jarang gigi.
Jepp with an unidentified fish.

Jepp with a table-sized grouper.Jepp again with his mata kucing.
Bakry with a table-sized grouper.
Myself with ikan jarang gigi.
Jepp's and Bakry's catch.

It was about to rain at about 3.30m. We have to stop fishing even though the bite rate was good. Safety first......

Fishing and picnicking

2010-05-29T22:07:00.008+08:00

Went to hunt for sebarau with Jepp, Bakry and Rasidan. The journey took about 4 hours and it was quite tiring. We started our journey at about 7.00am.

My weapon for today ( Navi 2000 and Alivio 2500FB ).

We followed Jepp's 'Blue Horse' to our destination.

The first spot which was about 2 1/2 hours journey from Sandakan.
There were a lot of strike in this spot but we were not able to get any hook up.

The second spot we went. It was about 45 minutes drive from the first spot.
It was almost 11.00am when we reached there. It was a very potential spot hunting for sebarau ( Hampala Barb ) but the water was cloudy.

Jepp ( doing his fly fishing ) lost a lot of fly lures in this spot.

With an 'in-line spinner bait', Bakry managed to land this sebarau.

After fly fishing and casting at the second spot, we went to 'Sungai Bogel'.
The water was crystal clear and the scenery was awesome.

Bakry, casting under a tree.

Finally, after few hours of casting, I managed to land this kelah with an in-line spinner bait.

Went for swimming and picnicking at Sungai Maliau at about 4.30pm.
It was a very tiring trip and yet, it's worth it. I really enjoyed the chicken wings marinated by Bakry and grilled by Rasidan :) .A lampam jawa caught by Bakry just a few minuted before we ended this trip.

Hope to have another session of fishing and picnicking trip again.

Kretam #2 2010

2010-05-09T21:33:00.011+08:00

Went to Kretam today ( May 8th, 2010 ) with Jason, Donny, Bob, Bakry, Jepp, Bart and Juini. This time we followed Ah Kong's boat. The weather and current were good but to some of us, the rate of the fish bite was not that satisfactory.

From left: Bob, Rodney, Bakry, Juini, Jason, Jepp, Donny and Bart.

Ah Kong's boat with 400hp Yamaha engines.

Myself with my very first 'gerongong' fish.

Red Spotted Coral grouper.

A 1.5kg Grouper.

Jepp releasing his 'gerongong' fish
Bob with his red snapper and red spotted coral grouper.
Blue spotted coral grouper.
Bob and Jepp showing off their red spotted coral grouper.
A double hook up bonus for Bakry. Two 'ikan selipar'.
Bart's GT.
My catch.
Bob's catch.
Bart's catch.
Donny's and Bart's catches.

Juini, Jepp, Bakry and Jason.

Our total catches.
The weapon we used for today's trip.

2KG Snakehead in Sandakan?

2010-04-18T13:49:00.005+08:00

Saw this funny price tag in Indah Aquarium, Mile 4, Sandakan.

Flower Horn RM480 - 1 tails - ? 1 TAILS????

Pirana RM9.50 - 1 tails - ? 1 TAILS??????

Bakry, Jepp, Harun @ Real Snail and myself went to Taman Airport. Met Harun for the first time. We tried our luck to cast for snakehead. Harun managed to get a solid hookup on a baby snakehead and for the rest of us, we've got nothing. The baby snakehead was released.

Bakry

Jepp

Harun @ Real Snail.

Taman Airport. Went to my father-in-law's house at about 8pm. I was shocked to see this 2kg snakehead. It was caught by my uncle in mile 8, Sandakan. I was quite happy to know that big snakehead still exist in Sandakan. Hope to be able to cast for a 2kg snakehead soon.