On Thursday 26 April, I will leave for Kota Kinabalu to fish onboard the Seven Stars Fishing Charter Boat. It will be my first real taste of fishing in KK. The organiser Jeffrey Chan, tells me KK is home to the famous Ruby Red Snappers. I've never seen one before let alone caught one on my line. Well, the seas are flat calm again this time of the year, during the transition from the NE to the SW Monsoon. I look forward to tight lines & screaming reels once again.

A photo I took off a website - Fishing at KK

Fishing North of Horsburgh Lighthouse

I went fishing again on Good Friday. Should have been in church, but found it too hard to pass up on a fishing trip to the wrecks north of Horsburgh. Checked windguru.com and was relieved that the weather would be flat calm. I had enough of rough seas during my youth. I much prefer soft breezes and flat water nowadays.

We set sail onboard a friend's 36 foot Grady at 9am. Although fully loaded, with 1,400 ltres of fuel, water and provisions for 3 days, we still managed to get the Grady to cruise at a decent 28 knots, burning 186 ltres of fuel an hour. In a short two hours, we were past Horsburgh. Then followed 3 glorious days of exciting fishing. The fish we targeted were not big, but they came fast & furious. The main bait was NTUC sotong. It's a popular belief that only kelong sotong works. Well apparently the fish at our spot don't mind the NTUC packaged ones either. The first night's highlight, 2 large Cobias, about 10 kg each.  

In all we caught over 100 fish, mostly small table sized for eating

Thelargest fish caughtm a 12 kg Cobia

A 20 year old LandCruiser for the coming Tibet Trip

Went up to KL yesterday to say hello to my expedition leader Steven Ng.
Since I confirmed my overland trip to base camp Mount Everest, I decided I had better get a proper 4 wheel drive for the trip. My favorite has always been the Toyota Land Cruiser & Prado. I was thinking of gettting the LC80, affectionaltely called the Ninja. The were lovely to look at with their rounded edges & massive tyres. Driving them was another thing alltogether. I couldn;t quite connect with the car and didn't feel in control at all. However, I was pleansantly surprised with the handling of the LC70. Eventhough the 70 series was nearing 20 years old, the car handled like a dream. The engine I choose was the 3.0 diesel turbo. The match with the LC70 shell was superb. It didn't take me too long to decide to go for the LC70s. The one I choose is shown in the picture above. Now I have to wait for the registration papers to be in order before putting in the deposit & taking delivery of the vechicle.

Fishing off Tuas

It has been such a long time since a trolled a Rapala in Singapore waters. The last time was probably in the early 1990s, around Pulau Merambong just South-West of Raffles Marina. I would occasionally hook up Barracudas or Queenfish and almost always during the earlier half of the morning. However my preferred method of fishing is almost always bottom fishing, apollo rigged with live prawns or live tamban. Anyway I thought it would be fun to try the Rapalas again today. This time I trolled along the sea wall off Tuas at the South-western tip, popularly called the "hockey stick" Imagine my shock when the first fish we brought up was a large spanish mackerel. Astonishing. I never knew it was possible, eventhough I've been told time & again that they were present off Tuas, especially around the buoys which are teeming with tambans & selars. I have resolved never to underestimate the potential of trolling again, even in the dark waters off Singapore. BTW, I used a small red/white rapala.

Fishing with Ah Jiang

We left RSYC at about 2.30pm & arrived 25nm NE of Horsburgh on Tues 17 Jan for an overnight fishing in the height of the monsoon. The sea was mirror calm after 2 months of heavy weather & the fishing was unbelievable. Everyone kept their own catch in separate ice-boxes. Here are the fish my group of 3 caught. The calm should last 3-4 days before the winds start blowing again all the way till the 2nd week of March. Then begins another 3 months of good weather before the SW Monsoons reach the western shores of the peninsular.

Kelly's Castle in Ipoh

Fancy visiting a castle in Ipoh,  Malaysia. Its not well known and seldom talked about. But Kelly's Castle was build by William Kelly a British Plantation owner in Malaya in the late 1800s for his wife. Legend has it that he started building it in 1906, but never got the chance to stay in the castle, as he died from Malaria before it was completed. William Kelly was a commoner who became a millionaire through sheer hard work & perserverence. Its a unique story of a 100 year old castle, filled with mystery and contravesy.

Las Vegas Summit & Tour 22 Sep - 4 Oct 2011

First time ever 59 members from Indonesia & Singapore attended the International Summit held at Vegas. Everyone paid their own fare and had a wonderful time touring Vegas, Moab, Page, Flagstaff, Glen & Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu & finally having a whale of a time at the famed Universal Studios at LA. We'll definately be back for more next year. Watch out world, we aim to do great things in 2012.      

WF, Hwang & Hardjanto, the 3 members of the newly formed Presidental Club showing off their Presidential rings. Its was a really neat gift from the company.