2011 ~ Fishing Adventure of NorthernHardcoreFisherman

Monday, April 25, 2011

Malaysia Fishing Trip: 12kg Stingray caught at Batu Layar Beach, Desaru | FishingAdvNHF

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Batu Layar Beach is located at South-Eastern Coast of the Johor state in West Malaysia, it's around 15km away from the famous tourist place Desaru. A great fishing spot that produced many good catches and it is easier and faster to reach thanks to the new Senai-Desaru Highway.

The New Route via Senai-Desaru Highway

The Old Route via Kota Tinggi

In the past travelers who wished to visit Desaru or Pengerang they needed to en-routed the Jalan Kota Tinggi, the distance and the time consumed had stopped some, that included me as I didn't really pay much attention onto this spot in the past. When I learned about the new highway had been completed in 2011, I decided to find out how fast I could reach Desaru using this new highway. The Senai-Desaru Highway reduced the distance by a mere fourteen kilometer. However, the traveling time could be shorten as the speed limit is higher than the Jalan Kota Tinggi at 110km/h and of cause, I wouldn't waste the opportunity not to do some fishing at Desaru.

Colin was equally excited when I mentioned my plan to him. So on the night of 24th April 2011 we left Singapore and began our exploration cum fishing trip to Desaru. Entrance to the highway is at Ulu Tiram and the distance towards the Penawar is 51km, it is also where the highway ended. Fifteen minutes was all I needed on the highway as I was traveling slightly over the speed limit. : ) I was very impressed by the amount of time saved, the traveling time is being shorten almost by half! Back then almost two hours was required and the old route is not as user friendly as this new highway.

At around 2:30am Colin and I reached Bandar Penawar, a small town beside Desaru. We headed straight towards Desaru but were stopped by security personnel, we were told that due to some robbery cases reported recently, visitors were not allowed to enter the beach during the night. I tried to negotiate with them and even offered to pay for the access but to no avail. When we were making our way out I told Colin that on my previous trip here I was told by the locals about this place called Batu Layar, the locals said that the spot is more productive than the Desaru. I didn't visit the place back then as I was advised not to do it during the night. I suggested to explore the Batu Layar and find out if it is really live up to its name.

Colin didn't object my suggestion as he too like to try out new spot. I followed the direction given by the locals and entered to this pitch dark road at the first roundabout, we were traveling southward on this old coastal road. Fifteen minutes later we saw a signboard written "Batu Layar Beach Resort", we went into the place but to find out it doesn't match the description I was briefed by the locals. We continued further on the path and eventually we found the beach.

The Spot

The spot we went is accessible through a small narrow mud lane, it was quite windy that night but we were not deterred by it. It matched the description from the locals, long and wide stretch of sandy beach facing the mighty South China Sea. It was around 4am and it was really dark here, with the help of our headlamps we set-up our gears and we were ready for some action.

Some frozen bait were brought and after we had done on the long surf casting fishing rods, we shifted our focus on hooking up the small fishes here for bait. Many years ago when I was fishing at the Air Papan Beach, Mersing, I was taught by an angler there on a "Stingray Killer" tactic. According to him Stingrays love the Whitting, a common specie that can be found at most of the seaside. When the Stingrays roam around the shallow water near to the shore, they are searching for Whitting. He told me to prepare another fishing rod and hunt for the Whitting, a Sabiki multi hooks rig would do a good job. For quick result tiny bait such as shredded prawn meat or sea worms could be added. Once the Whitting was hooked up, cut it into half and cast it out immediately. This tactic was proven as a 8kg Stingray was landed back in 2009 at Air Papan Beach, Mersing.

The Whitting

It was no different here as the Whitting was hooked up as soon as the Sabaki Multi Hooks Set was cast out, within half an hour we managed to gather around twenty pieces of Whitting for bait. We figured that it should be sufficient for both of us throughout the trip and decided to pause the action.

Breaking Dawn

It was about to break dawn, both Colin and I sat down on the beach and waiting for the magnificent sunrise at this eastern coast of West Malaysia. The skyline gradually brighten up which signaled the beginning of the new day, this breath taking moment always gives some inspiration and motivation. While we embracing the warmth from the Sun we restarted our activities after the break.

Sunrise at Batu Layar Beach

Bait was replaced with freshly caught Whitting every twenty minutes and Colin picked up his shorter rod and began to hunt for Whitting. I decided to change my rig onto the Apollo style Double Hook set and hook line was shorten to one feet, hook size was remained at size 0/3.

The Converted Pioneer 13 Footer Multiplier Surf Casting Fishing Rod

Busy Man

Waiting for Action

Long and Wide Beach

As the day gets brighter the temperature went higher too, our action were slowed down and Colin started to loose faith on his rig setting.

Preparing the Secret Weapon

I began to feel tired as I was working for the whole day before I came here. I decided to stroll around this spot and it was then I found out that beside having beautiful beach, this place has more natural beauties which were not visible during the dark night.

Selfie at Batu Layar Beach

Rocky Beach at the Far Left

Incoming Tide slowly Submerse those Rocks

Another Beach on the Left

The Tropical heat is unbearable even for the locals and we were wearing out faster than we could imagine. We hid ourselves under the shade of some large trees and we agreed to call it a day an hour later. The sea breeze cooled down my body temperature slightly and I slowly switched my sitting position into laying position. I found it difficult to maintain on the awaking mode and I could feel my eye lips were getting heavier too. The constant rhythm of the wave resembled Lullaby to my ears and I was slowly but surely fading into my la la land....

"Your fishing rod! It fall down!"

What?! My fishing rod fell down? The yelling from Colin was like a electric shock struck on me and I stood up immediately to search for my fishing rod.

Rod Holder Down

To my shocking, I couldn't see my fishing rod and the image of the fishing rod holder fallen was terrifying. Trail mark was spotted towards the sea and as I ran over I finally saw my fishing rod, it was being dragged on the beach and it was on it's way into the mighty South China Sea. The pace of my fishing rod was not very fast but as I was thirty feet away from my initial position, it outrun

me and I could see the first section of the fishing rod was already inside the sea.

Miraculously my fishing rod stopped while I was still ten feet away, the longer power handle which I replaced on my "Abu Garcia" saved the day. Not only it caused resistance as it was dragged on the beach, it jammed the movement of the fishing rod as the sand on the shore line is more solid.

The Fight is On!

I sprinted over and grabbed the fishing rod from the ground, when I lifted up the fishing rod immediately strong tug was felt. Without hesitation I whacked the fishing rod backward hard and strong to set in the hook, the creature over the other end panicked and dashed out vigorously. Man! She was strong!

Let It Run

By now I had found out why the fishing rod fell down and was being dragged away, the reel's drag tension was set to the maximum when I did the casting and I forgot to loosen it. The force over the end of my fishing line was so muscular that I needed to loosen the drag tension quickly to prevent this 18lbs fishing line from bursting. Almost instantly the spool of the "Abu Garcia" spun like a Gasing (Top), the fishing line was stripped off and within minutes the diameter of the winding lines was reduced significantly.

Recover Some Ground

"Abu Garcia" is a very good surf casting reel as it is light and easy to maintain. I am using the model 6600 C4 which is a birthday gift from my sister. The reel was modified with Mono Mag Braking System for better control, Tournament Brass Bullet and Rocket Bearing for smoother casting and the chassis was modified onto Open Cage or CT Cage to minimize resistance, Fishing line Guide and Clicker was removed as well. But it is quite weak on it's drag system and that is the area that I didn't pay much attention. I always thought that it should be capable of handling the monster fish found on the seaside, I never expect something as strong as a Blue Fin Tuna to be hooked up.

Although the creature that I hooked up was not into the category of Blue Fin Tuna but she is definitely the strongest that the "Abu Garcia" had faced. The Star drag tension was loosen by one and a half round, fishing line was stripped non stop. I had no choice but to carefully increase the Star Drag tension, the fishing rod was lifted up high and firmly held at around eighty degree. I needed to ensure the fishing line was tight so that the pressure could be applied onto that creature.

The pace of the run slowed down after a minute, sizing the opportunity I rapidly turned the power handle clockwise to recover some fishing line, while retrieving the fishing line I lowered the fishing rod but kept the line tension high. When my fishing rod reached around thirty degree I pumped the creature back by lifting back the fishing rod to around eighty degree. I managed to pulled the creature closer to the shore and I was both excited and puzzled.

"It surrender so easily? The run earlier was so scary and I thought I had loss it." I told Colin who was just beside me

"Maybe the initial sprint exhausted it." Colin replied, he was using his Iphone's camera to record the footage.

"Maybe.... What the...! It stuck!" I was not able to lift my fishing rod and the resistance resemble the snagged line. The creature had resorted to the survival tactic of buried itself onto the seabed.

"Confirm is the Stingray! Hold on to it, don't let the fishing line slacked." Colin got excited as this should be the largest Stingray we landed judging from it's run. He kept walking up to the shore line and I had to remind him to point the Iphone camera on me.

Five minutes of eagerly waiting and withholding later the Stingray loss it's cool and began to maneuver. I kept my calm and waited for the run, my fishing rod was held at the same position and the fishing line was tight.

"Eh? It is gone? Why I can't feel it?" I tried to lift the fishing rod to a higher point and found there was almost zero resistance from the other end.

"Hurry! Reel back! It might be making a U-turn." Colin was almost shouting at me.

I thought I had loss it

Never heard before a Stingray would make a U-turn back to the shore line, what was happening? Or the Stingray had broke free? I asked myself.

No! It didn't! It was still there and it was not making the U-turn either. The Stingray was shifting itself towards the right side slowly, not sure if it was the wave or itself had loss it's direction, the Stingray was getting closer to the shore as it trying to move away towards the right. That explained why the line was slacked and luckily the Stingray was swimming rightward, the loss of tension on the fishing line was unnoticed and maybe it was too afraid to make another run.

The depth here is quite shallow and when the Stingray was around twenty meter away from shore, this shallow water level made my job easier. You see, the shape of the Stingray is like a pancake. When it is swimming in the deeper part of the sea, we will have to fight against not only the weight of the fish but also the pressure from the sea water. As a result of this the wide and flat body make the Stingray extremely difficult to be pumped up compare to fishes that has slim and round body.

Another element that assisted me in the fight against this creature was the wave. As the Stingray gets closer to the shore line, surging wave caused by the sandbar at the seabed pushed the fish. The initial run and the struggle made the Stingray somehow weaker, with the combination of the shallow sea and the wave, I firmly stood on the wining ground on this battle.

More and more fishing line was retrieved, the fish was tired. The Shock leader began to surface which tells me that the fight was about to end, the length of my Shock Leader is almost twenty feet. Colin started to shift his focus on the sea and not long after, he yelled.

"It's here! I can see it! It's humongous!" Colin reported back to me from the front line.

"Darn! This is heavy!" I could feel the sourness on my both arms, the "Low Rider" reel seating is good for casting but tiring for fighting the fish. When I rebuilt this "Pioneer" thirteen footer surf casting fishing rod, I removed the fixed reel seat and replaced a pair of Coaster to have the adjustable reel seating position. Most of the time or should I said all the while I fixed the "Abu Garcia" at the "Low Rider" position, it is much more powerful on casting and I could achieve greater distance with it, this tactic is also practiced by many Tournament Surf Casters around the globe. I did construct a Extension to be used for fighting the fish but most of the time it was left at home.

She weighed 12kg

I hung on for another two minutes and the Stingray was landed. She was a beauty which weighed twelve kilogram. The fight lasted around thirty minutes which exhausted both the angler and the fish.

The Trophy

The Trail

One of the best moment in my fishing adventures throughout the years, it is dramatic but it is definitely memorable for the rest of my life. I went back to the spot several times but to find the place contaminated, black oil stain could be spotted on the surface and the beach, it stained my feet too when I fished there. It is a shame for such a great fishing spot to be destroyed, poor governance holds the biggest responsibility for the disaster. Recently I returned to the spot but was chased away by some military personnel, the place is now a restricted zone and it is occupied by the Royal Johor Military Force.

Another Stingray caught at Air Papan Beach near Mersing, Check out the story here.

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Always Tight Line, Hardcore is the Spirit!

Malaysia Fishing Trip: East Coast Cross State Fishing Road Trip REMAKE | FishingAdvNHF

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This is a Remake of my previously uploaded video, added new videos and an extended version. You can check out the previous version by clicking here.

Back in 2011 I decided to make a long distance fishing road trip which crossing a few states of Malaysia. It is the first of it's kind for me and it is also my first encounter with the Kijal Awana Jetty.

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I never had a fishing trip that is beyond the Johor state until that year. As I was considered a greenhorn I made use of the experience that I gained in my past fishing trip travelling to guide me there.

I began the road trip from Johor Bahru and en-routed the Jalan Kota Tinggi towards Mersing, it is a 150km drive through many steep corners and bumpy road. At around midnight I reached Mersing and as usual I took a break at one of the many Indian Restaurant here. I continued the journey towards Endau and then Pekan. At around 6am I reach Kuantan of Pahang state, I was worn off by the travel and decided to head for a rest. The best accommodation was my car as it's safe (I get to look after all my gears) and it's cheap (basically free).

That morning around 8am I reached Cherating, found Club Med but was denied entry. Explored the area and found a peaceful spot. Some fishing were made here and I took the opportunity to regain some of my lost energy.

Nothing was produced there and I left the spot towards Terengganu that afternoon. Along the way I stopped by a few places to do some exploring, no fishing was made and it's just for the purpose of scouting new spot. Eventually in my future trip at 2012, 2013 and 2015 I revisited most of the places I marked in my brain.

3pm on day two of my journey I reach Terengganu, a most Malay populated state and a very conservative Muslim place as well. Behavior and speech needed to be careful as I was told before coming here, yet it turns out that all are just rumors. A very friendly and warm place that made me felt at home, food are quite different from what I used to have at the southern part, other than that it is not as hostile as what other described.

Many missed turns and lost of way here, it's the first time I came here after all. Call it fated or predestined I came upon this place by error, the Kijal Awana Jetty. Upon reaching there I was stunned by the beautiful South China Sea and over at the far horizon there stood a majestic lone concrete jetty. Extending from the beach towards the open sea, it measure just 400 meter and it is not as wide as Bedok Jetty or Woodlands Waterfront Jetty at my home ground Singapore. What caught my eye balls rolling was the area surround it, the vast wide beach with only the Awan Kijal Golf Resort on the far left side (It is now called Resort World Kijal), this is a wild wild land with deep seabed and huge wave. I was so excited and began the fishing here, it ended with just a 500 gram of Diamond Trevally caught.

The trip had it's closure on that night of the second day, although nothing significant was caught but I was very satisfying overall. Not only I get to see the many beautiful beaches along the east coast, I managed to discovered another great fishing spot like I discovered Air Papan in 2006 and I revisited the Kijal Awana Jetty thrice in future.

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Always Tight Line, Hardcore is the Spirit!

Malaysia Fishing Trip: Fishing Expedition 2011, East Coast of Malaysia | FishingAdvNHF

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Many years ago when I was still schooling, I joined the school organized holiday trip to the Langkawi Island. We were told that we would have the chance to meet the Greenback Turtles which would come on shore to lay eggs. Too bad it didn't happen although we spent the whole night staring on the beach.

Toll Ticket of East Coast Highway Malaysia

As times passed, I had my own family and two lovely children, the Greenback Turtles somehow came across my mind when I brought my family onto a holiday trip in Malaysia. It was a free & easy trip and we didn't really had any plan of going anywhere. We started off from Johor Bahru to Malacca, visited a few museums and continued to Kuala Lumpur, we spent the Christmas inside the Time Square Theme Park. The journey continued further north to Ipoh, where we visited caves and old temples. At Perak, We heard about the Tsunami disaster while we on our way towards Penang, many people were killed. That was in the year of 2004 Christmas day. We crossed the West Malaysia Peninsular horizontally from Penang via Kedah, visited Alor Star and entering Kelantan & Terengganu, the two Muslim populated states. I suggested visiting Rantau Abang, which is located in the state of Terengganu and it is the breeding ground of the famous Greenback Turtles. I was left with disappointment yet again due to the monsoon season, the area was closed as the high wave was not over yet and we were told that the Greenback Turtles wouldn't be there as well.

The following year we went on for yet another family holiday trip and we listed Rantau Abang as our first destination. That trip didn't fulfill my wish of meeting the Greenback Turtles either, so I guessed we were not fated to meet each other. I was so fascinated by the clear blue sea of this northern east coast beach during the trip and since then the idea of fishing here slowly overtook the wishes of meeting the Greenback Turtle.

I've been telling myself that one of this day, I should come here for fishing. However I was held back by other commitment and was not able to travel. It was not until six years later. On the 13th of March 2011, I finally made the long awaited fishing trip to the North-Eastern Coast of Malaysia. I planed to make Air Papan beach at Mersing my first destination and followed by Cherating beach at Pahang, lastly I would visit Rantau Abang beach at Terengganu. It would be a cross-state expedition which covered some 1000km in total distance.

As this would be my first ever long journey fishing trip, I spent nearly one whole day to decide which gear to bring along. In the end, five pieces of fishing rods ranging from six feet to thirteen feet were selected, three Spinning reels and two multiplier drum reels to pair with them. I brought as many different sizes sinkers as I could and a tackle box full of hooks and swivels, a twelve feet Gaff and a ten feet nets were added. I even had a sleeping bag and a portable gas stove to tag along.

After the packing was done I went to take a nap and woke up at around 2am, as soon as I finished loading all the gears into my car I set off to Johor Bahru, it was already 3am in the morning. I went to the Pandan wet market which was still operating and bought some small fishes and prawns as baits. I began my journey towards my first destination Mersing, which is some 140km away from Johor Bahru. I reached Mersing at around 6am and decided to have my breakfast here, a bowl of Mee Soto was ordered at this Indian Eating house near to the Mersing round-about.

The initial idea of making the Air Papan beach my first fishing destination was abandoned, I decided to head straight to Kuantan instead. Had a short break at Endau before I continued the journey. On my way I passed by Rompin and Pekan, two famous fishing ground for Sailfish. And finally after almost three hours of non-stop driving, I reached my first spot the Cherating, it is also where the Club Med is located.

Stopped by at this Malay Eating House along the main road here for my second breakfast, I ordered the traditional local breakfast, Nasi Lemak. (Coconut milk rice with chili paste)

After the breakfast I went on to explore the Cherating beach and found the Club Med. Too bad they don't entertain walk-in guest, I couldn't get inside to have a look. I drove off from the place and came upon this spot, it is situated along the same stretch of the beach where the Club Med is.

Decided to do some fishing here with three fishing rods set up, a Bottom Feeder rig was used on the Loomis & Franklin ten footer. A half cut small fish was hooked up and it was tossed into the South China Sea. The other two rods were on standby and I proceeded on to make my favorite beverage, the "Renggit White Coffee"

Gentle sea breeze from the South China Sea made me sleepy, the swinging tree branches seems like singing "lullaby" to my ear...

I would have to agree that this is definitely a fantastic place to relax, not for fishing. It is so peaceful and I was half asleep over the past three hours here, nothing was produced and I decided to move on.

I continued the journey up north and followed the signboard which lead me to this stunning place, Kemasik Beach. The breath taking clear blue sky and the fine clean sand make the place a popular choice for professional photographers.

It's landscape seems like a carefully crafted master piece, huge rocks scattered along the shore line with some unknown greenery planted on it. The white cloud that hovering over the sky looked soft and gentle. As I walked towards the beach I was caressing by the warm sea breezes, it seems like delivering a message of welcome to me.

It was so peaceful here that I didn't even had the thought for fishing, I chose to relax myself at a shaded spot and lazying for the whole afternoon. Reluctantly I left the place in the evening and headed to town for dinner, I was too tired to continue after my dinner and I decided to spent a night here in my car.

The next morning after my breakfast I drove up further north and came to this town, Kijal. Throughout my journey of fishing trip over the past years I always love to explore new places, this has become a routine for me whenever I travel and I had been doing this since 2006. I always look out for signboards for beaches and I did discover many beautiful places through this way.

Certain time I seek out on small roads or lanes which it's direction are leading towards the sea side, it could be a no-through road or just leading to a village, but I never stop trying. Places like the Punggai, Batu Layar and Kampung Gambu were all discovered in this way, my all time favorite fishing spot, the Air Papan beach was spotted when I travelling from Endau back to Mersing.

In this long journey fishing trip cum expedition I found this fascinating spot when I made a wrong turn, while doing the U-turn back I saw this narrow lane towards the sea side. Without hesitating me and my car bashed into this small lane and after a couples of turns I encounter it, the Kijal Star Cruise Abandoned Jetty.

P.S. Some updates on the Kijal Star Cruise Jetty, in 2012 I was told by the locals that this jetty was now belongs to the Awana Kijal Resort and was renamed Kijal Awana Jetty. In 2015 I made a returned visit and found out that the Awana kijal Resort was bought over by the mighty Genting Group, it was renamed as Resort World Kijal. Not sure if the jetty was renamed too, is it called Resort World Jetty now?

Another breath taking spot that I discovered and this is the spot that I revisited in 2012 and 2013. (Click on the highlighted link for the trips) I didn't make it on 2014 but I returned to the place in 2015. The Jetty is about two hundred meters long and it stretches out towards the South China Sea.

I was stunned by the beautiful crystal clear sea water and the strong wave that was pounding hard onto the jetty constantly. As I stepped onto the jetty slight tremble could be felt from my feet, the roaring of the huge wave was kind of scary and intimidating.

From this angle the sea might looked calm, but deep down under the strong current was creating a turbulence which pushed up the sea water, eventually huge strong wave was formed. As it swept closer towards the beach it gather more momentum and finally smashed onto the beach as hard as it could.

I walked towards the end of the jetty to get the up close encounter with the Almighty Mother Nature creation. A larger platform was built here and two staircases were found on the both side, looking at it I wondered how the passengers managed to use it.

A huge but corroded warning signboard was found here at the edge of the jetty, it stood tall and lonely to deliver the message, PRIVATE PROPERTY, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. In 2015 when I returned to the place, this signboard was nowhere to be found.

An extension platform from the jetty looked idea to fish from there, in fact I spotted a few huge shadows right underneath it. The thought of walking over to that platform was abandoned as the pipe was wet and slippery, not worth to take the risk.

The Loomis & Franklin 10 footer was set up and paired with the Shimano Aero Symetre 4000, I set up another six footer to jig for some bait fish. I didn't have to wait long for some action, a Diamond Trevally a.k.a. Chermin or Ebek was hooked up on the six footer. It was weighed around 500 gram but it gave some fierce fight and gave some excitement.

My first ever long distance fishing cum expedition trip ended here at the Jetty. Although I didn't manage to land any monster fish at this fascinating spot, but I was excited for the discovering of this spot and the sightseeing along the journey would definitely worth for the effort here.