Ah Chong Boat on 15th Nov 2007- CHANGI

Offshore Fishing at Changi on Ah Chong Boat

Time: 0800am ~ 0600pm
Tide:
15Nov07 0250 2.5
15Nov07 0745 1.6

15Nov07 1313 2.9

15Nov07 2003 0.5

Chinese Calander: 十月初六

The Diamonds

After reaching home from Airport on 10th Nov from my NZ trip, I straight away logon to FishingKakis to check for any available boat trip which I’ll be able to join in. I was really lucky that there will be a Thursday Changi offshore trip with Ah Chong which is a very precious chance not to be missed. All the while had wanted to join Ah Chong boat as the catch rate on his boat is pretty good and all the catch report posted in FK had Chermin(Diamond Trevally) landed. Immediately, I PM the thread starter, Sebastian and got a confirmation with him on the Thursday offshore boat trip.

At 0730, I reached CV to have my Prata with Teh-Tarik breakfast at the hawker center. At 0755, Sebastian (the organizer), Desley, Linus, Kai kin and his dad met up at the Changi Jetty and all of us headed off to our battlefield with a strong determination on conquering the land or maybe sea of Chermin.


Sebastian with his big Gu-hook

Around 1100, our first fish of the day was landed by Sebastian who caught a big 1.3kg Gu-hook (Grunter) with his handline. At around 1130, our first Chermin, the biggest one in our trip was landed by Linus. As the "man of the match" was using light spinning tackle, a good fight was performed between the big fish and him at the boat rear. The strength from the 2kg fish was indeed powerful as the reel was screaming like mad and the line was peeling off like no body business. While Linus was busy fighting his big fish, Kaikin’s dad who is using hand-line also had a strong tug on his line. Our boat had hit a small school of Chermin but only 2 lucky guys manage to get a bite from the fish. After around 10 minutes, Linus’s fish was landed and Keiken’s Dad fish was also landed after that. No escape for both the fish.

A 2kg Chermin for Linus

Kaikin helping his dad on the Chermin

My 8 years old Abu 6000C


As our boat is drifting, Desley who wanted to get some Ang Kuey (Crimson snapper) had his chance to land it. However, the snapper was not very big and hence, it was not much of a challenge for him. My line finally had some response and without much hassle, a 1kg Grouper was landed with my Abu 6000C pairing with a 6ft Shakespear Contender. In fact, my aim on this trip is to catch nothing but the Chermin. Landing a big fat grouper is indeed a bonus for me. After landed my grouper, I drop my line back into the water and immediately, I felt something on my line but the fish managed to escape whereby it could be the reason that the hook was not set properly on the fish’s mouth. How unlucky for m....Hiazzz. After a while, Uncle Chong, the boat man landed a decent size grunter and Desley landed a decent size Duri. Strangely, there is no bite from the deep and its became so quiet than most off us almost give up.


Happy Desley with his Duri


Captain Chong's Gu-hook

Yum..yum..1kg fat grouper

At around 1500, Ah Chong parked his boat at the spot where we are able to see CNB and the white lighthouse. Besides us, Raju’s boat had already anchored at that spot before us. Not long after we parked our boat, Ah Long and Ah Fong’s boat also join in. With four boat fishing on the same spot, the surrounding was a bit tense and everyone on the boat fishing is hoping to be the first to land a big one. The Angler’s in Ah fong’s boat seems to get bored in waiting for the bite as they started to fillet their Queenfish which they have caught earlier. At 1530, the weather was unfavorable to us as it started to rain. The rain was on and off for nearly an hour. After the rain, Sebastian was being waken up from a tug on his handline and our organizer managed to land the third Chermin on our trip and for me; I landed another grouper as well. Since then, there were no response from the deep and we call it a day at around 1800. Uncle Chong told us that, the catch rate for other boat was not very good and one of the boats was zero-fighters throughout the day.

Another Grouper for me

The last Chermin caught



Is this good enough...?

Our Sexy and Charming...Captain Ah Chong

It was really a much enjoyable trip compared to the last Changi offshore boat trip which I had few months back. The catch on this trip was pretty decent and the fishing spot was indeed better....hohohohoooo, maybe it’s my luck. Anyway, it’s a rare opportunity for me to fish on Ah Chong boat and especially one thing I would like to emphasis is that Uncle Chong boat does not have any GPS or Fish Finder which you can see in most fishing boat. However, with his “Fish Finding” instinct and all the wonderful Catch Report from all the anglers, you will never ever give his boat a miss.

New Zealand Fishing at Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu

Time: 2pm - 5pm (NZ) [SG time= 9am - 11am]
Date: 7th November 2007 [Day 6 in NZ]
Location: Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, New Zealand
Fishing Method: Lure Trolling

New Zealand is such a wonderful and beautiful place to live in and its very much a heaven compare to where i'm living in currently. In New Zealand, you wonldn't feel any stress or pressure at all. Life is really carefree and its the best place for retirement.

Boatman explained on using the equipments

DownRigger and my rod

Seriously, I had never ever thought that i will have a chance to fish Salmon or Trout in my whole life but this day finally arrived and i not miss the chance to catch one. Since i'm having my honeymoon trip in New Zealand and my CO (Commanding Officer) gave her greenlight to fish on the 6th Day so as to prevent me from disappointment.

My first Salmon fight...Easy job

As i will be the only one fishing, i paid NZ$100 for a 2 hour trip and my wife as an observer will have to pay NZ$50. I was really excited as this is my 1st time catching Salmon and Trout and my target is to get a big juicy fish for my sashimi dinner. The main reason why my CO allowed me to fish during our honeymoon is because she will be able to eat the freshest catch from the lake and this reason is enough to lure a Sashimi lover...hahahahaaaa.

Knock out the fish before taking out the treble hook

Trolling fishing is pretty simple and not much experience is needed. All you need is to release your line to the required length and a downrigger is used to set your line to the specific depth.

With all this done, all you need to do is to wait for the fish to strike. As i'm pretty lucky, my fist catch came within 5 minutes. The fight was not much for the salmon as is not really big and less than 2 minute, the fish landed. Another thing to take note is that when fighting the fish, do not strike too heavily as the salmon has a soft mouth. Hence, got to fight with care to prevent fish lost.

My very 1st Rainbow trout

Cleaning up the fish

Total catch

A big brown trout surfaced for food

Big Eel are hungry too!

Within the 2 hours time frame, i landed 3 Salmon and a decent Rainbow trout. It is pretty fun and a wonderful experience for me which i will not forget in my whole life. When the Boat reaches the Jetty, the boatman helped me to cut and clean the fish so that i'll be able to bring my catch to the local restaurant to cook. The intestine of the fish was thrown into the water and immediately, a big brown trout surfaced and grab the food. The boat man told me that Fishing near the Jetty was strictly prohibited and all fish at the Jetty are protected by law. Indeed, fish in New Zealand are really lucky ...if it is in Singapore...hohohoooo!

Rainbow Trout Sashimi for dinner...anyone?

As my wife loves Sashimi, I bought my catch to a Japanese Restaurant to prepared it for Sashimi which cost me NZ$15. The Texture of the Rainbow trout was superbly tender and the fresh taste really sweet without any soya sauce and Wasabi. My wife and i cleared up everything and nothing was lefted behind. Hahahaha...This is what i call fresh Sashimi. The 3 Salmon were brought back to my motel for my next day breakfast, lunch and dinner. The fish were cooked with salt and pepper using microwave and all i can say is wonderful and delicious.