A site about my fishing journey across Singapore & Malaysia since 2006, places like Bedok Jetty, Labrador Jetty, Ford Road Jetty, St John's Island, Ubin Island. I crossed the border to Desaru, Mersing, Batu Pahat, Port Dickson, Malacca and as far as Terengganu at Kijal. Here also feature the stuff I made, the Bait Launcher, the Intex Seahwak II Inflatable boat etc.
A DIY project that I had made in 2009, the Fishing Rod Building Jig or Fishing Rod Guide Wrapping Jig. Back then whenever my rod guide broken I needed to send it to the tackle shop for repair which is a distance away from where I lived. Most of the time it also took quite a while to repair and I was forced to stay dry (no fishing) during the wait. Besides the long wait, the repairing cost of the rod guide is quite expensive too, I once broke the rod tip and it cost me $50 to had it replaced.
Broken guide
I decided to do some researches on how to repair the fishing rod guide on my own. When I realized that it isn't that difficult to do it I began to practice on one of my fishing rod which suffered broken rod guide. Very soon after I found out that the wrapping work was quite a tedious job and I figured that a fishing rod guide wrapping jig might be helpful, it would also make the wrapping job faster.
Commercial Jig
Pro DIY Jig
Complicated DIY Jig
Again more studies and researches was made, the ridiculous price tag for a commercial rod building jig forced me to start another DIY project, which was the Fishing Rod Guide Wrapping Jig. I went through the junk collection of mine and came out with a prototype of this fishing rod guide wrapping jig. It was made from a pair of Shower Sprinkler holders, a small AC fan motor and some other miscellaneous items.
Shower Sprinkle Holder
Small AC Fan Motor
Push Button Control Switch
The Prototype
After some test on the prototype I began to build the jig using some plywood, the end result was satisfying and I managed to increase the wrapping speed by ten fold! I started to proceed onto the next project as soon as I done the repair.
Groove was cut
Fan Motor Mounted
Rubber Band as Belt
The First Model of Completed Jig
A Pioneer thirteen footer surf casting fishing rod was bought some time ago during the sales promotion at this tackle shop, it was a impulsive purchase and it was meant for the spinning reel. The rod was under utilized as most of the time I would prefer my old pal, the Loomis & Franklin, another reason was I began to fall in love with the multiplier reel. When I received my newly acquired toy, the Abu Garcia 6600 C4, which is a multiplier reel, I tried pairing it with the Pioneer thirteen footer, the result was bad. I couldn't really cast far and I spent most of the time clearing the "Bird Nest" on the Abu during fishing.
Abu Garcia 6600 C4 with Upgraded Mono Mag and CT Cage
The thought of buying a new fishing rod couldn't materialize as I was out of budget after buying the Abu. After some thought I decided to convert the Pioneer fishing rod to suit for multiplier reel. I had read about some anglers converting it and it's workable. So the new project began, I downloaded the data sheet for rod guide placement from a famous UK Rod Builder and I had learnt on how to determine the backbone of the blank. The Pioneer was striped naked and new coating of paintwork was given. But as I started the rod guide wrapping, another issues surfaced. I found that the jig that I had made was limited to the smaller size rod, it couldn't fit in the thick long surf casting rod like the Pioneer.
I had to halt the Pioneer rebuilding project and switching to yet another project, the Upgrading of the Fishing Rod Guide Wrapping Jig. The old jig was given a complete makeover and my daughter's old stroller was dismantled. (When I found it covering with dust in the store room) It's wheels were made into good use, three wheels were grouped to form as the blank holder, the top wheel was fitted with a arm made out of wood, it was then fitted with a small spring to give some strength for it to claim down the blank. The AC fan motor had a speed controller added, with that speed controller I could set the pace according to my need, it was extremely helpful on the Epoxy drying process too.
The Stroller's Wheels with Wooden Arms
Constructing the Jig Table
Added Speed Control
Three Wheels Clamp
The Blank
New Position New Wrapping
It was Converted from a Spinning Reel Rod
Almost Complete
And there you have it! The new fishing rod guide wrapping jig was born, as you can see in the video, it spun smoothly and silently, which also gave me an advantage to work into the late night. I continued on the Pioneer rebuilding and two weeks later the Pioneer was reborn!
On the 10th of October 2009 the All New Thirteen Footer Surf Casting Fishing Rod which paired with the Abu Garcia 6600 C4 made it's debut at the Air Papan Beach, Malaysia, since then the rod roamed together with me until today.
It was 8th of March 2009, Colin rang me and asked if there's any fishing activity over the weekend, he told me that Kiat Hong was interested to find out the fishing spot we went previously. They were talking about the spot that I frequent the most, the Air Papan Beach. I wasn't that keen initially as I needed to work on the next day, I told him I would get back to him later. My workday continued with the images of the Air Papan Beach flooded my mind. That evening minutes before I knock off from work Colin received my reply and the rest was history.
As always they came to my place and we left Singapore at around 2am. I always prefer to travel during late hour, other than avoiding traffic jam at the custom, the traffic will be lighter along the journey in Malaysia. One has to be careful though when traveling on the Malaysia road at night, especially on the Jalan Kota Tinggi, you would be greeted by long trailers and timber trucks. At night they are the biggest gangster on the road, handle them with extra precaution.
The Air Papan Beach
It was around 150km for the journey towards Air Papan Beach. We en-routed Jalan Kota Tinggi and after about 100km we reached this town called Jemaluang. Turned right at the junction into Jalan Mersing for around 40km and we arrived at Mersing town. Upon reaching Mersing town we took the second exit at the Mersing Roundabout and continued into Jalan Endau-Mersing for another 11km. A signboard written "Pantai Air Papan" told us to turn right into Jalan Air Papan for 5.5km and at last, we met this beautiful Air Papan Beach.
Sunrise at Air Papan Beach
The time was around 5:30am nearing dawn. We wasted no time and quickly set up our gears and as soon as it was done, we cast the bait out as far as we could into the South China Sea.
An interesting tip I learned from some anglers sometimes ago. I was told that fishes are more active during the first light of the day so you will have a better chance to hook up a fish during that period of time. On numerous occasions I tried to focus on that specific timing but so far I never landed any fish. Anyway, as the Sun gradually appeared at the far east horizon, we enjoyed this magnificent Sun rising scene while waiting for the bite.
The baits that we were using were the left over from the previous trip, they were loosing their freshness and they were tasteless. They remained fully intact when we reeled back to check on them, it was obvious that fishes were not attracted by them and we expected this. Thus, short fishing rods were brought here to hunt for bait fish. We were targeting the Whitting aka Swa Chiam.
The Whitting aka Swa Chiam
These fishes are very greedy and you can find them at most parts of the sandy seaside. The Sabiki hook set of size 3 was used and for quicker result a tiny piece of bait was added. They took anything from prawn meat, fish meat, worms or squid. The Whitting is one of the best bait to catch a Stingray, another tip that I learned from a fellow angler.
The Sabiki Rig
This rig is easily available at any fishing tackle shop for the price of $0.90, some anglers made their own but I would rather save the time as it didn't cost a bomb.
The first light of the day didn't bring us any fish and our activities slowed as the Sun rose high above us. We hung on and endured the blazing heat with the hope of landing a trophy for this trip. Colin and I were almost on the verge of giving up, Kiat Hong as the new comer didn't. He made full use of the remaining bait fishes caught over the night and he even took over Colin's fishing rod. It was around 10am, Colin and I were hiding underneath this huge shadow under some trees. Somewhere far, around fifty meter Kiat Hong was busy replacing fresher bait on to the hook. My rod has been left unattended for the past thirty minutes, I was about to bring it back and call it a day. I highlighted my intention to Kiat Hong and he requested for one last cast. As he walked up to the shoreline with his fishing rod both Colin and I sarcastically wished him good luck. Kiat Hong didn't respond, he raise up his arm and show us a V sign. Kiat Hong is not really a keen angler or I should label him as a casual angler, he joined us about few months ago and he was those type of angler that always don't like to do his own baiting and rigging. We were quite annoyed by this behavior and were teasing him all the time. When we saw the Whitting that he cast out landed just somewhere thirty meter of range, we laughed and commented on this poor cast. "Hey! Are you trying to hunt for Giant Whitting?" Colin was the first to make the remark. "Oi! Never eat ah?" I shouted Kiat Hong didn't reply but he showed us his finger. We laughed non-stop and continued the teasing. Suddenly Kiat Hong dashed forward to his fishing rod and grab it, he struck it with some force and the reel went screaming. We were stunned but immediately broke into laughter again as we noticed that he struck it without tightening the drag tension. "Wow! Hit a monster ah? So fast and so furious... Hahaha!" We just couldn't stop our laughter and when we saw Kiat Hong's silly face, it gets even louder. "Bloody hell! I thought got fish. Wahahaha...." I almost went out of breath. "Kan Ni Na lah! Just now the fishing rod really bend down." Kiat Hong was a bit annoyed. "If really got fish just now, it is now on it's way home lor." Colin added.
Who has the last laugh?
Kiat Hong was snubbed and stopped his argument, he turned his focus back on to his rod. Without any warning, his rod suddenly bend down and the reel screamed out loud again. Only for this time it is for real! We were all stunned and the reel continued the screaming until... "Grab the spool! Strike it!" I called out to Kiat Hong. Kiat Hong responded and followed my instruction. Fish On! Colin and I ran over to his side and assisted him. Colin told him to tighten the drag tension and lifted the rod high so the pressure could be applied to the fish. I asked Kiat Hong to strike the fish again as his first strike was weak. The fish was strong and it kept running even after the drag tension was tighten. The first two minutes was furious but the run slowed down eventually. The fishing line continued to be dragged out at a slower speed, it was almost like inching out. We were quite puzzled and began to wonder if a fish was being hooked up. I was recording the footage using my Nokia C6 and as I did the close up shooting I noticed something... "Did you tighten the drag tension?" I asked Kiat Hong "I did! But can not too tight as the fishing line is very weak, it will burst." Kiat Hong told us. Then, we knew why the spool never stop spinning, the drag tension was too loose. Kiat Hong carried on by telling us that his fishing rod was too weak and it might break as well. Colin and I began to get frustrated, Kiat Hong seems to be dragging his feet to retrieve the fish while we were exposed under the scorching Sun. "Shall we set up the tent and prepare for a overnight fishing? Colin." I deliberately made the comment in front of Kiat Hong. "I really scare it might break! Look! My fishing line is very thin." Kiat Hong refused to step up another gear and continued his bla bla bla... "Let me try." Colin stepped forward and took over the fishing rod. We were almost certain that a Stingray was being hooked up and as usual the fish started it's usual trick by buried itself into the seabed after some run. Colin held his cool and carefully pulled back the fishing rod, he was applying the pressure onto the Stingray. Bit by bit the drag tension was tighten, we have to be careful as the fishing line was weak. Brute force was not an option and the keyword was patience. This Tug of War ended when the fish panicked and began to move again. "Keep the tension! Tight line!" I reminded Colin. The Stingray made it's first run after almost five minutes, it was resting at the seabed and regained some of it's energy. The run was not that strong though. However, it still managed to strip out some lines. The weak fishing line was given a full test but it didn't break, credit goes to the experience angler.
8 kg Stingray
The fight was over in around fifteen minutes and the Stingray weighed around 8kg.
The Air Papan beach is a very peaceful and relax place for holiday goers as well as anglers. Many Stingrays were reported caught here and I always placed it as one of the top destination to fish. Another place I visited frequently is Desaru. A 12kg Stingray was caught there on my 2011 adventure. Check out the story here!
October 30, 2009
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