KurauKing’s Fishing Journal

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“Woi… Sapa nak pi Pangkor? Aku nak buat trip nih…”. Dah berpuluh kali aku taip menatang nih kat thread tapi takde sambutan. Dah berbulan lamanya. Maybe takde sapa berminat ngan Pangkor yang nama kawasan memancingnya tidaklah sehebat kawasan2 jirannya seperti P9 atau Jarak. Erm… Takpa lah… Aku jemput sendiri jer lah ahli2nya… Aku taip satu sms kepada seorang rakan. “Wei terubuk. Aku nak pi Pangkor awal April nih. Ko kena ikut gak. Aku tak kira. Ini satu paksaan. Kalau tak ko takleh paw rokok aku lagi… Keh keh keh…”. Laju jer terubuk reply dan bertanyakan baper haribulan nak pegi. Aku cadangkan 5 April tapi terubuk tak boleh join sebab dia ada tugas untuk melaksanakan satu pertandingan memancing untuk pejabat dia bekerja. Adoi… Camtu plak… “Takpa… Aku tukar tarikh jadi 29 Mac. Takdak alasan dah… Hehehe…”. Satu lagi sms aku hantar kat dia. Jawapan hanya satu perkataan sahaja yg membuatkan aku tersenyum… “Ok”. Tu jer dia taip. Hahahahaha… Ahli seterusnya… Aku jumpa masa minum petang kat Kolam Memancing Danau Biru, Bangi… AbangLongBangi dan mata kail. Hari terasa begitu cerah walaupun dah nak maghrib bila dorang dua2 setuju tanpa sebarang ugutan dari aku… Yes!!! Misi berjaya… “Nak target apa kat sana nanti?” tanya mereka… “Hehehehehe… Kita pi mancing rilek2 dah la… Takda target, takda syarat. Semua bedal. Apa dapat pun takpa. Nak pi rehat2 ja…” aku jawab dengan muka bodo… Semua setuju ja. Hehehehe… Nasib ler…

Masa bergerak begitu pantas dan tarikh yang dirancang semakin hampir untuk tiba. Ahli bertambah dan berkurang kerana hal masing2. Cuma 4 ahli terawal masih dengan pegangan masing… Bila tarikh semakin dekat, KerangKing memohon untuk turut serta. Aku ok jer… Yang lain2 pun takda masaalah. So, bedal jer la… Dan beberapa hari sebelum bertolak, mata kail terpaksa mengundur diri atas masaalah yang kami semua boleh terima. Urusan dia adalah lebih penting. Jadi, tinggal la kami berempat jer… Bot pun memang best2 jer kalau naik 4 orang. Lapang jugak la dengan barang2 kami yang macam nak lari rumah je. Hahahahaha… 29 Mac pun tiba tapi kami bergerak secara berasingan. Aku dan terubuk tunggu di rumah mertua aku kat Tapah dan AbangLongBangi dan KerangKing pula akan bertolak dengan kenderaan yang lain. So, perjalanan pun bermula…

Lokasi: Pulau Pangkor.
Tarikh: 29 Mac – 30 Mac 2008.
Ahli: Aku, terubuk, AbangLongBangi dan KerangKing.
Acara: Memancing dengan sesuka hati… Hehehehe…

Beberapa keping gambar di ambil masa AbangLongBangi tiba di rumah KerangKing…

Berenti kencing pun nak amik gambar ke???

AbangLongBangi dan KerangKing tiba di rumah mertua aku jam 7 pagi. Kami sarapan dulu la… Mertua aku dah suruh makan… Hentam sajalah… Bila semua dah makan, kami pun bertolak dari Tapah pada jam 8.00 pagi untuk menuju ke Setiawan, tempat di mana kami menyewa bot untuk trip ini.

Keter aku sebagai penunjuk jalan walaupun aku pun tataw jalan. Ikut signboard jer la… Hahahaha…

Sampai di Pekan Air Tawar, kami sarapan sekali lagi. Gila ah bebudak nih. Makan banyak kali. Perut tak penuh2 ke apa? Hahahaha… Sambil tu beberapa bekalan lain turut dibeli… Kang senang dah atas bot tak kelam kabut…

Tiba di Setiawan pada jam 9.30 pagi…

Antara bot yang disediakan…

Punggah barang masuk bot la… Suda lambat lorrrr…

Beli udang hidup la dulu buat umpan…

Ketam pun ada tapi kami tak beli la… Hehehehe…

Setelah semua urusan di jeti selesai, kami pun bertolak ke Pangkor dengan tak berharapan besar lansung. Hahahaha… Dah kata pun nak rilek2. Apa mau risau… Tapi hati sangat senang dan teruja… Boleh naik bot pun dah seronok. Kena lagi dengan kawan2 yang kepala sempoi… Mau tak kecoh… Hahahaha…

AbangLongBangi a.k.a si tukang sauh… Hehehe…

Tekong kami… Tuan terubuk… Keh keh keh…

Aku sebagai organizer yang baik hati. Hahahahaha…

Gambar encik KerangKing a.k.a tukang ambil gambar aku dah amik tapi dia pi delete ke apa aku pun tataw. Takda pun dalam simpanan. Hehehehe… Dia malu agaknya. Muahahahaha… Perjalanan mengambil masa agak lama so, banyak la gambar2 yang di ambil…

Antara gambar yang diambil semasa dalam perjalanan…

Sebelum sampai ke Pangkor, kami berhenti di kawasan Lumut terlebih dahulu untuk layan gelama sebagai pemanas badan… Saja nak basahkan set pancing terlebih dahulu… Kalau dapat banyak boleh buat ikan masin. Hehehehehe…

Lesen pertama oleh AbangLongBangi… Kerapu 5kg. Eh silap… 0.005kg sebenarnya. Hahahaha…

Tadi nampak cam besar tapi inilah saiz sebenarnya… Wakakakaka… CnR jer la…

Aku masih membangau tapi terubuk dah naik beberapa ekor gelama…

Gelama yang dijadikan umpan oleh KerangKing… Tapi hampeh… Keh keh keh…

Dah dapat gelama beberapa ekor, kami pun terus ke Pangkor untuk acara seterusnya… Kami cuba untuk mencari spot2 yang agak menarik di pandangan mata kami dengan berpandukan sedikit klu yang diberikan oleh seorang sahabat. Terima kasih diucapkan kepada nakdesa atas klu itu… Tapi nak ambil semua pun maybe tak sempat. Cuba yang mana ada jer la… Di spot pertama, kami layan bottom dan drift…

Spot pertama yang dicuba…

AbangLongBangi kini sudah menjadi penternak lembu… Keh keh keh…

Ikan yang boleh berdiri tegak… Hahahahaha…

Penternak lembu yang ke dua… Hencik terubuk… Hehehehe…

Mooooooo… Wakakakakakaka…

Tengah syiok layan lembu, tiba2 sreeeeeetttt… Umpan drift dah mengena… Semua terkejut dan menunggu mangsa menonjolkan diri. Reel terubuk berbunyi bising tapi berjaya dilayan dengan baik… Ikan menjulang ke udara beberapa kali untuk melepaskan diri. Asakan ikan agak kuat namun berjaya juga ditewaskan…



Banang yang berjaya ditewaskan oleh terubuk… Banang terbesar trip ini…

Selang beberapa minit mesin AbangLongBangi pula mengena… Juga dengan teknik drifting… Syiok wooo dengar mesin dia berbunyi… Layan punya layan, banang kedua berjaya ditewaskan… Semasa KerangKing nak amik gambar, umpan KerangKing pula diragut pemangsa… Tak jadi nak amik gambar… Hehehehe… Kesian AbangLongBangi. Takde la gambar dia ngan banangnya… Jangan marah. Hehehehehe…

KerangKing layan banang pakai bc lorrr… Apa ada hal??? Hehehehe…

Strike berikutnya dari terubuk lagi… Kali ini tarikan lagi berat katanya… Banang tersebut melompat keudara… Memang lebih besar dari yang tadi… Sedang dia melayan, umpan aku juga disambar… Juga seekor banang yang tak berapa nak besar la… Banang terubuk masih belum dapat naik… Nampak macam teruk gak dia kena… Tgh syiok2 layan, perambut mono putus dikerjakan banang… Aku yang baru nak layan tiba2 terasa longgar. Banang tersebut menjulang ke udara sambil mengucapkan selamat tinggal… Bila karau balik, rupanya tak strike lansung. Umpan udang hanya tinggal badan. Dia tibai kepala jer la… Adoi… Aku dan terubuk sekali lagi lepaskan umpan drift tapi terubuk kali ni pakai perambut steel. Akhirnya dua2 takda strike. Hehehehe…

Semua dah rasa banang… Aku bila lagi??? Isk… Kumpau kot… Apa ikan pun tak naik lagi… Telinga dah berasap kena bahan. Jap lagi kuar nanah la… Adoi… Dengan muka bodonyer aku buat2 tak dengar dan layan appollo… Baru la dapat lesen… Keh keh keh…

Aku pun nak jadi penternak lembu yang berjaya juge… Hehehehe…

Mooooo… Hehehehe… Lembu pun lembu lah…

Memang macam lembu la muka dia… Keh keh keh…

Hasil untuk sesi pertama…

Kami terus bergerak ke lokasi kedua. Nampak macam nak hujan jadi kami menghampiri pulau agar senang jika apa2 berlaku… Port kedua memang la cantik. Rasa macam nak mandi plak. Hahahaha… Port kedua ni kami mencuba2 untuk casting dan bottom. Casting memang tade hasil lansung… Cuma bottom yang banyak menaikkan ikan… Aku cam biasa la… Layan appollo berumpan…

Port kedua yang indah…

AbangLongBangi menjalankan tugas dengan baik…

AbangLongBangi dengan kerapunya…

KerangKing dengan kerapu bottom…

Lagi kerapu…

Aku dengan tetanda karang guna appollo berumpan slice sotong…

Pindah port lagi la… Saja nak cuba macam2 spot berhampiran… Sambil2 nak pindah tu, aku dan KerangKing layan trolling jer la… Mana la tau kot2 ada ikan yang sudi menjamah gewang kami. Lama juga tapi masih tiada sentapan. Tiba2 gewang KerangKing tersangkut apabila melalui kawasan yang sangat cetek… Kami pun berhenti dan berundur untuk menyelamatkan gewang tersebut… Aku mengarau kembali gewang yang aku lepaskan… Bila gewang dah dekat baru aku perasan… “Eh… Ada ikan la… Keh keh keh…”. Tapi kecik jer la. Mungkin sebab tu lansung takda tanda2 gewang disambar. Tapi dah dekat nak koyak mulut ikan tu kena trolling… Isk isk isk…

Kerapu yang menyambar gewang Strike Pro yang di trolling…

KerangKing terbakar gewangnya tak disambar. Muahahahaha… Dapat batu karang jer la… Keh keh keh… Selepas itu kami tak jadi nak tukar port. Perut dah lapar… Pegi cari tempat makan la plak… Masing2 perut dah kosong… Ikan tak banyak pun takpa… Kata nak santai2 ja… Makan la baru santai. Hahahaha… Kami pun terus ke Teluk Nipah untuk mengisi perut… Dah kul 3 dah wei…

Eh… Sapa yang kena berenang tu? Keh keh keh… Konon2 suruh aku la terjun. Wakakakaka…

Di Pantai Teluk Nipah…


Spisis ni terdapat banyak di Teluk Nipah…

Kami makan nasi goreng ayam dan bedal air kelapa muda… Syiok wooo… Tapi tak amik gambar makanan la… Perut dah lapar sangat… Memang menyeronokkan memancing di Pangkor. Nak makan atau nak buang, darat dekat jer… Semua ada. Awek pun ramai… Syiok cuci mata. Har har har… Semua pun jenis tak mengharap hasil tangkapan sangat. Asal dapat release tension dah la… Memang semua yang join cuma nak rilek2 jer. Tengok pemandangan indah di perairan Pangkor dan dapat bersama kawan2… Nikmat dunia… Keh keh keh…

Selesai makan, kami menuju ke spot seterusnya… Ada yang bottom, ada yang appollo dan ada yang drifting… Aku mula2 sampai aku layan appollo… AbangLongBangi dan terubuk pun sama… Mereka berdua banyak menaikkan ikan kunyit dan selar. Ikan kunyit sangat banyak sampai jenuh nak melayan tapi saiznya agak kecil… Selar pulak dah sampai saiz dewasa tapi hanya ada beberapa ekor sahaja. Unjunan appollo pertama aku sangkut… Tarik punya tarik putus… Tekanan la pulak… Aku amik ikan kunyit yang dah separuh nyawa, aku driftkan dia… Pastu sambung appollo. Unjunan kedua juga sangkut. Aku pun tak tau kenapa aku labuhkan di tempat sama walaupun terubuk dah mengingatkan. Weng kejap kot. Keh keh keh… Lansung dah takde mood nak appollo. Dah dua bijik batu lebur… Appollo bersaiz kecik pun dah takde… KerangKing layan tido jer… Hehehehe… So, takda la gambar layan appollo… AbangLongBangi dengan terubuk layan appollo sambil gelak2 plak… Mentang2 ikan banyak… Ceh… Menyampah den!!! Keh keh keh… Dalam bosan2 tu layan isap rokok jer la lagi syiok… Tiba2… Sreeeetttt… Umpan drift aku mengena… Yes!!! Tak kumpau banang la gamaknya… Keh keh keh… Selamat pakcik… Hahahahaha… Dan acara bottom juga menghasilkan beberapa ekor kerapu…

Banang untuk aku… Paling kecik la pulak… Syukur…

Macam rupa burung plak dari depan. Keh keh keh…

Antara kerapu hasil membottom…

Cuaca pun dah agak gelap… Senja hampir tiba dan kami ke satu lagi spot untuk mencandat sotong. Nak guna untuk malam ni la pulak… Candat juga tidak berhasil… Tapi terubuk tetap setia… Aku pun boring2 layan la casting menggunakan gewang micro… Cuaca memang dah agak gelap. Tapi aku buat2 tak tahu dan terus casting. Tak sangka pulak ada makhluk yang sudi nak menyambar dalam keadaan yang samar2… Hahahaha… KerangKing makin terbakar. Casting dia kumpau. Trolling pun kantoi. Hahahahaha…

Kerapu yang menyambar gewang micro jenama Yozuri…

Lepas tu jer terus kami berpindah ke spot lain… Kali ni kami ke satu spot yang mempunyai dasar berbentuk kawah yang agak dalam. Kami melabuhkan umpan bottom. Baru jer umpan cecah dasar, dari jauh kelihatan cahaya kilat yang bersambung2. Adoi… Nak kena lari nih… Bintang sebijik pun tak nampak… Takda rezeki la nak try kat situ… Joran pun dinaikkan beramai2. Joran pertama aku dah dinaikkan. Masa nak naikkan joran kedua, umpan udang hidup yang aku guna terasa berat. Tapi takda pun rasa unsur2 seperti disambar ikan. Aku ingatkan sangkut sampah. Bila dah sampai permukaan, rupanya seekor sotong katak. Hehehehe… Maaf takda gambar. Takda masa nak ambik. Dah nak ribut. Nyawa lagi penting… Masa cari sotong tak dapat pun. Dah nak cari ikan baru naik sotong. Hahahaha…

Gambar selingan… Pangkor yang indah…

Kami pun terus merempit ke kawasan muara Lumut balik… Laju gila KerangKing rembat. Sejuk satu badan. Hahahaha… Tiba di spot pertama berhampiran Jambatan Bainun, kami melabuhkan umpan dalam gelap. Nyamuk punya la banyak… Hasil belum ada tapi badan dah berbintik2. Cabut jer la… Pindah port lagi la kali ni ke kawasan luar sedikit. Hasil hanya beberapa ekor gelama, dua ekor duri dan seekor ulat bulu. Sapa la yang dapat ulat bulu nih… Nasib baik takda gambar. Hahahahaha… Spot ditukar lagi tapi masih berhampiran… Kali ini takda hasil lansung. Hanya nyamuk2 sahaja cuma tak berapa banyak. Last2 semua layan tido dan berembun… Tiba2 KerangKing mengejut semua orang. “Blah… Blah…” katanya… Dah nak ribut lagi nih. Kami bangun. Angin terasa sangat kuat… Kilat pun sambung menyambung… “Nak pegi mana nih?” tanya KerangKing… “Balik Terus jer la” jawab kami… So, keputusan dah dibuat. Kami terus merempit ke jeti bot semula pada jam 3.00 pagi… AbangLongBangi sorang ja yang lansung tak bangun2 dari tadi. Tak peduli lansung keadaan sekeliling… Isk isk isk… Tiba di jeti kami lepak2 jer la. Ingatkan nak sambung esok pagi. Bincang punya bincang, kami sepakat untuk balik jer… Lagipun tangan terubuk dah terkena duri ikan duri. Malas pulak nak sambung… So, balik jer la…

Kami tiba di rumah mertua aku jam 7.00 pagi. Selepas rehat seketika, kami pun membahagi hasil tangkapan sesama kami. Hasil dibahagi ala kadar asalkan semua merasa. Lepas tu main ambil2 gambar la apa lagi. Hahahahaha… Kenangan tuh…

Tiga ekor lembu yang sedang meragut rumput di kediaman mertua aku… Wakakakakaka…

Sesi memotong mulut yang jahat. Keh keh keh…

Empat pemancing terlampau… Hehehehehe…

Selesai semuanya, masing2 pun dah penat, kami pun balik jer la… Walaupun hasil tak berapa menarik, kami tetap puas dan berasa sangat gembira. Memang trip yang menyeronokkan. Tiada tekanan lansung. Tujuan nak rilek2 pun tercapai. Sekian, terima kasih kerana sudi membaca…

Written by Burned Steel

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 DocSyed dream came true when a few of us decided to go hunt for the elusive Port Klang Threadfin Salmon aka Kurau on 14/03/2008. He managed to haul up a whooping 1.5kgs Kurau on this trip. Kurau is regarded as a true sporting fish with great fighting ability and speed. They are as fast and can turn and jump with even more style and grace. Once on the hook, they perform an amazing display of acrobatics that will give any angler a run for their money.Kurau come in a few different colours including silver, golden and blue and are covered in small scales. Their tail and large second dorsal fin are darkly edged and they have a blunt nose and four threaded pectoral fins. In terms of size, the smaller ones tend to be blue and weigh in around 1 to 5 kgs. Whereas the larger ones tend to be golden and silver and weigh in around 5 to 20 kgs or more. Threadfin Salmon make excellent table fish.Normally we would use live prawn as bait. Night fishing with live bait close to snags or banks is another successful method, especially if you want to catch a larger fish. Baits of live prawns or small fish work well. These fish have large mouths and have the ability to throw the hook so once the bait is taken ensure you wait until the fish moves away and swallows it before setting the hook. They tend to keep close to the coast line along beaches and in bays and estuaries with an attraction to mud flats, muddy rivers and creeks with sunken timber. Mouths of creeks or channels inside river deltas are also prime locations to fish..More Pictures at Photo Gallery

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Thanks for the memories

Fishing kakis are getting harder to come by don’t you think? I don’t mean someone to simply tag along and share the sometimes hefty cost of a fishing trip. I am thinking more along the lines of someone you can bear to be cooped up for three or more days with in the middle of the ocean on a leaky piece of flotsam. (This, lets face it, is what some fishing boats can barely pass for at times) Someone who is upbeat when there are no fish around, willing to help you unhook your catch in the middle of a frenzy, does his or her share of the loading and unloading, understands that sometimes the fish just aren’t biting, willing to jump into leech infested waters to net a fish.. Well you get the idea, someone fun.

I had such a kaki, in fact we have known each other for going on thirteen years. Longer than I’ve known my Girlfriend by just a little. We both went to the same University in Perth and developed our relationship through what else but fishing. This guy was everything a fisherperson should be. A consummate gentleman angler who practiced C&R long before it was fashionable to pretend it was hip to do so. We learnt a great many things about our great sport together and from each other. We amassed countless fishing stories that we still look back and laugh about.

My earliest memories are fishing for Cobbler (an awful looking catfish relation that tastes great however you cook it) in Fremantle using precious bloodworms bought using money that was supposed to be for groceries. You see, we had a great plan to convert the slimy wriggling things into, well.. other slimy wriggling things that could provide us poor students with some much required protein. We never were good at filling our bellies in that way but being a little above our ideal bodyweights at the time it was probably a good thing. Thankfully, after losing our last centimeter of bloodworm to a 500g puffer fish, a famous spot for catching King prawns was only a stones throw away according to my kaki.

Of course a stones throw meant a short walk to the nearby traffic bridge and a precarious 40 foot balancing act across a 3 inch plank with no guard rails, and a spider man crawl around a pillar all the while balancing a 15 foot prawning net, bucket, lamp, thermos etc. whilst trying to ignore the dark raging waters of the Fremantle river 10 feet below. Oh and did I mention that you catch prawns at night, and of course the walkway was pitch dark. Lights? Don’t be silly.

Having reached the prawning spot and rested a while to steady the hands and heart rate, we would set up, and between hanging on for dear life from the gusts of wind (Perth is the third windiest city in the world) and avoiding the beer bottles thrown by the friendly but drunken Aussies walking on the bridge overhead, we would sometimes catch enough for the most luxurious Maggi Mee ever.

Needless to say we survived these prawning adventures intact and between inconvenient lectures managed to get quite a bit of fishing done. Speaking of lectures this kaki of mine was never able to attend morning lectures in a lucid state, but mention a 3a.m. start to catch Tailor off the beaches, no problem. 5a.m. for a charter boat? He’ll pick you up. 4.30a.m. for a dawn start during the short abalone season? Breakfast will be waiting.

It was while hunting for abalone that I first came the closest to losing my fishing kaki. Abalone hunting and collecting is allowed on a designated weekend morning, twice a year. Abalone are of course great to eat but abalone guts are one of the best fishing baits around which was a major motivation for us. They are found on rocky reef tables slightly away from the beaches of an island near Perth. You basically walk in water that varies from ankle to chest deep looking for likely candidates that are of legal size and wait for the waves to recede enough for you to use a screwdriver to lever them off the rocks.

Well my kaki found a whopper and was so excited he forgot the first rule of abaloning: (If that is even a real word) Never turn your back on the waves coz Mother nature can be a real unpleasant at times. Well, he remembered that number one rule very quickly a moment later, even as I yelled out a futile and largely belated warning as he was engulfed in foaming green seawater. As the water receded I searched frantically for my kaki, where he was a moment ago there was only rock and some scrape marks on the coral. Expecting the worst I turned only to find him 30 feet away, bruised, bloodied but resplendent and triumphant and clutching his prize. This was the kind of person he was, never losing sight of the good side of things. This was even after the Great White Shark incident on the same day, but that is another story.

Strangely it was a shark that showed me how dedicated my kaki was to C&R as well as his respect for the many creatures that suffer for our sport. Three of us, my friend and I, and a good friend Thomas had gone for a much anticipated four day fishing trip to Rottnest island off the coast of Western Australia. Staying in a backpacker dormitory, fishing for food and living off the land so to speak. Well, we overestimated our fishing abilities somewhat and here we were, three starving (as usual) Malaysian Students with nothing to eat between us but an absurd half watermelon that we had thought to bring. Resolute we were determined to seek out a rock ledge and catch something to eat in the next few hours, or die trying. No way would we be eating fruit for dinner tonight! No way.

Whilst sharing the watermelon that night we decided that we desperately had to catch something the next day coz there wasn’t a seven eleven anywhere in sight. Luckily a guy who had just returned on his boat took pity on us and offered us a small piece of Yellowfin Tuna he had caught that day. Rottnest Island is famous for its Quokkas, which are small creatures that are something of a cross between a wallaby and a large rat. Extremely cute, intelligent and oh so cunning. Friendly they were as they approached us whilst we sat on the terrace eating our meager dinner. Little did we know, the ones that approached us were an advance party of the cutest in the herd. (Or family, school or whatever) Their task was to distract us as the less attractive of the bunch quietly made off with the rest of our food. Stomachs rumbling and dreaming of nasi lemak we went to sleep thinking of the next days fishing and that stolen piece of watermelon. Be thankful of what you have. God has a sense of humour too.

The next day we set out with slightly diminished enthusiasm but determined nonetheless. To be brief we caught a large Wobbegong shark of about 15 kilos. These sharks are considered very good eating and are especially good as fish and chips or made into a curry. Whilst pondering on the best way to dispatch our catch my kaki made a proclamation that we should release the magnificent (but ugly) creature. Well we thought that this must be hunger induced mania talking and Tom headed off to find a good sized rock to do the deed. Patiently but somewhat dramatically my kaki threw himself in front of the shark and explained that us three could never possibly finish eating the shark and that we had no means of keeping the excess and that most of it will likely go to waste. Grudgingly we did release the shark and just to us show that He (The almighty) not only has a good sense of humour but is also fair we did catch other things to eat that day.

My kaki lived and breathed fishing, friends and family. (In no particular order) This was a guy whose sole criteria for buying a car was that it had to be able to fit that famous 15 foot prawn net and his one piece rods. To top it off he was quite intelligent and we both managed to graduate eventually.

Well what is the point of this posting I hear you tiredly moan. For those of you who have stuck it out this long I offer you, along with my thanks, THE MEANING OF LIFE. Well not really but at least the reason I wrote this. I no longer get to go fishing with my kaki, but this is not being selfish nor is it the reason for the post. My kaki no longer gets to enjoy his favorite pastime. I hesitate to call it a pastime because it is, or was, a lifelong obsession with him. His partner in life hates fishing and hates him going fishing. When he does very rarely get to go fishing, the catch he brings home is never big enough. As far as I know his contact with fishing of late has been a few day trips, sometimes quietly, and some postings on MFN. Yes he is a member but I will not reveal his identity.

I lament the loss of this fishing kaki very much not because I bear his partner any ill will for her views on fishing but because an enthusiast such as him has been reduced to sneaking out whenever he can to cast a line alone. I cannot pretend to understand the wrongness of our hobby though, after all, what is the harm in fishing. What is so bad about it? I am sure it is much more preferable for him to be fishing at sea rather than on land if you catch my drift.It is just FISHING. Nevertheless I have faith that you can’t keep a good fisherman down and that he may be back someday.

As I write I have just received (unsurprising) news that he will not be able to join me once again for the next fishing trip in November planned by my girlfriend and I. It’s OK though; I will still keep the space open in the hope that he can make it. If not, the first one I catch will be dedicated to a great fishing kaki come and gone.

These memories are thanks to him and even if I have described them overzealously they are as I like to remember them. Thanks for the memories buddy.

Written by izzy

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