Yan Fishing Round One 15th December 2007

Date : 15 December 2007
Venue : Tuas(Yan,Kedah)
Weather : Overcast from morning until afternoon and cloudy in the evening
Anglers : Team Longkang Gang(Bigbite88,Lannun,Culky,Jeymatt)
Species & Method : 9 Tenggiri (5 on balloon drifting, 4 on kembung casting), 1 Dorado (Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 80), 1 GT (Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 115), 1 Jack Trevally (Yozuri popper), 1 Baby Shark (bottom,paternoster rig), 3 Ketang (mid-water,apollo rig), and 3 Kerisi (bottom,paternoster rig)

Time on the clock showed it was already 3.45 AM.That's right!It's time for WAR!!!Feeling disgusted on our failure to land more Tenggiris(we only managed to land 4) 2 weeks back,Lannun suggested today as our revenge trip.Feeling sleepy(did not sleep the previous night as I was busy tying my tenggiri hooks and tying FG knots) yet excited,I quickly loaded my things into the car and drove to Latok Culky's place which was situated at the foot of Penang Hill.After picking up Latok,I drove to Lannun's place before hopping onto his Nissan Frontier to meet up Jeymatt who was waiting at the toll area.Soon,Jey hopped onto his "Pirate Ship" and off we went to Yan.

The journey took us one and a half hours to get there.When we reached,the boatman was already there having his Nasi Lemak at the kopitiam just by the sea.We sat down,chow down a couple of packets of nasi lemak and had a few glass of teh tariks.Man,the mosquitoes here are crazy!The mosquitoes here are different compared to the ones from the normal ones we usually get bitten by.The ones here have long needle like penetrator which penetrates clothes and even JEANS!

In upbeat mood for a great day of fishing.

We finally left the jetty at around 6.30 AM. and everyone were in high spirits.Round Faced guy is Jeymatt,Misai guy is Lannun and Old guy is Latok.All posing with our signature Longkang Gang pose.

Can you thumb your own eye?

After 30 minutes into our journey,the boatman stopped by one of the unjams(FADs - Fish Attracting Device) to fish for baitfish(kembung) which we will use to fish for the Tenggiris.

While everyone's busy trying to get the live baits,Latok quietly sneaked to the back and took out his Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 80 and casted towards the direction of the small Dorados.According to him,the whole group of Dorados were chasing and scrambling to take a bite on his Minnow.Plenty of hook ups but lost one after another.Finally,after much patience,Latok finally landed the first fish of the day(Don't count the bait fish).

After landing enough bait fish,we headed to our destination which took us another 45 minutes or so.We used two rods to drift at the back of the boat while the rest of the rods we used it to cast dead kembungs.

Lannun registered the first Tenggiri of the day one hour after we parked our boat and with his newly bought rod.Wow!First trip already broke the rod's virginity.

In deep concentration while fighting the fish.

Testing the rod's ability to the limit.

Finally rewarded with a very good sized Tenggiri which turned out to be our biggest for the trip.

Fishing was slow after that so Jey went for bottom fishing with kembung fillet.

Jey's ability to adapt to different situation landed him a Baby Shark which he said provided him a good fight on his Thomas Stroker rod.He also landed a few Kerisi during the process.

A while later,the reel from the drifting setup screamed ferociously."FISH ON!",shouted the boatman.Boatman set the hook and asked who would like to fight the fish.Jey took the offer and fought the fish.While we were on our way to Yan,we've already agreed on taking turns in landing the fish had the fish hooked onto the drifted bait.Latok then came up with this "brilliant idea" which whoever that lands a fish,has to gut the fish.Sweat...

Jey in action with his very own setup.

Pumped up to the surface...

LANDED!An exhausted looking Jey with the second Tenggiri of the trip.

The reel of the drifting setup screamed again not long after Jey landed his fish.I wanted to fight the fish but DAMN!Latok with his lightning pace managed to get to the back of the boat first and he later fought the fish.He landed it with ease.Skillful or the fish weak?Only God knows.Hehe.

Still haven't fought any Tenggiri for the day,my hands already started to feel itchy for some actions.Seconds turned to minutes.Minutes turned to hours.It has been more than 3 hours since the last Tenggiri was landed and I'm really afraid that I won't be getting any action for the day.Lannun already gave up casting and went to take a nap.

Tried to take a picture of him sleeping but just like a cunning pirate,he flashes the international language to me.Hehe.

SCRRRREEEECCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!

That was the sound that woke me up from my day dreaming.I was like "YES!A Tenggiri to fight!".Went to the back,took out the rod from the rod holder and fought the fish.Line were peeling out gradually while I was trying to control the fish.

Take it easy fishy!

What fish was that?

To my dismay,it was a Ketang.Definitely not something I'm hoping for as I was the only one on the boat who was yet to land a Tenggiri.Feeling disappointed and I could feel the pressure mounting on me.I wouldn't want to go back without a Tenggiri and join the ranks of Jackpot who is still a Tenggiri Mangkor King.

Right after I removed the hook from the Ketang,Lannun registered a strike from a Tenggiri after constant casting of the dead kembung.He handed the rod over to me,I looked at him then he said,"Go fight the fish".For a moment,I FROZE!He hooked set it with his own setup and he let me fought the fish?!Damn what a really great guy!

Half an hour later,the GTs came out to play.The calm sea ERUPTED with big splashes and bait fish were seen scrambling to break loose from the attacks from the predator chasing it."GT!GT!",shouted Jey.Off he rigged up his popping setup but by the time he was ready,the GTs went back down to the sea already.He felt the GTs will not come up again sometime soon so he continued his bottom fishing.

5 minutes later,the sea were full of GTs whacking bait fish and Jey grabbed his rod which was quite near to him and cast.Pop,pop,BOOM!The fish missed the hook.Guess the GT a bit blind.Latok soon joined in the casting while I can only watch as I didn't bring my popping setup along.
GTs were everywhere!

Latok himself did not bring his popping setup as well.He grabbed his ever-reliable Berkeley Cherrywood 4-12 rod paired with a Shimano 1000 reel spooled with an 8lbs braided line and casted to the boil.Is he crazy or what?First cast,no hit.Second cast,his Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 115 had a strike and it's fish on!The fish were heading straight towards the unjam.Knowing he may lose his fish and lure,he pumped the fish vigorously and gave the fish no chance to dash for escape.

The fish,seemed to have surrendered but somehow managed to stay close to one of the unjams.Latok opened his bail arm,let out line and soon he managed to get the fish out of the snags.

YES!It's in the landing net!

Lucky,skillful,macho old man with his prized GT using light setup.

Best way to keep the fish fresh is by cleaning it as soon as it's landed.

After numerous casts but registered no more hook ups,Jey went back to do bottom fishing while I was kembung casting.The boils came up again.Lannun instructed me to go pop.I took Jey's rod and cast.First cast,no fish.Second cast,with a sudden gush of wind,I caught birds.Tried freeing it but ended up breaking the line.Felt so guilty to Jey as that was a very exotic popper that Jey greatly treasures.

I put away my kembung casting rig and asked Jey for a popper.I told him that I will give him a Tenggiri later if I land a GT.He borrowed me his Yozuri popper and I started casting right away.Cast,and cast,and cast.No strikes.The GTs were whacking left,right,center but they were just not interested in my popper.

Undeterred,I kept casting and FINALLY,I was rewarded with a hook on!Fought the fish for awhile.Like Latok's case,the fish somehow managed entangled itself but luckily I managed to free it with the help of the boatman when he pulled the boat nearer to the unjam.

First Big Eye Jack Trevally and I finally broke the virginity of my setup after more than 5 trips.WOOHOO!Told Jey to grab my Tenggiri he said,"It's OK.I'm just kidding".Damn,these guys are really,really cool!

Before we left the place,we managed to haul in a few more Tenggiris before we called it a day as we could see the rain was coming.

On the way back,I took the opportunity to take a nap as I didn't sleep the night before.These bunch of jokers took their opportunities as well to take pictures of me sleeping.Haha.

We reached the jetty at around 6 PM and we decided to eat the Laksa at the kopitiam.The Laksa was a bit different to the Chinese ones as the soup was a bit tasteless.But then again,we were so hungry that anything that goes inside our mouth,IT'S GOOD!

We hit the road again right after our meal and we managed to take a picture of our very own LKG sleeping beauty.Hehe.

Finally we reached Penang at around 8.30 PM and after a few hand shakes and good byes,we went seperate ways with plenty of great memories to take back home.Great company,great catch,great food(the nasi lemak we brought up to the boat).Now that's what I call FISHING!