Kype Fishing Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 2
Sam’s back after sailing with his oil rig back to shore and I guess he deserves to do a spot of fishing for all that hard work.
We’ll give the legal grounds at Jurong Lake a go and see if we can hook up a brace or more of Peacock Bass. And if that Jurong Lake does not produce, we just might head on down to good o’l Springleaf to give it a go.
But with the incessant rains we’ve been having, I’m guessing it may just be a good session of walking, talking , casting and then a good cup of coffee to end top off the session.
Oh, I should probably be fishing with rubbers and a spinning outfit tomorrow. Have to give a product a test run and I have not been able to find decent fish to test it on.
The monsoon season is upon us. High winds and heavy downpours are interspersed with short periods of clear weather. It is also during this time of the year that schools of baitfish seek shelter in the calmer waters close to shore at Changi.
With the influx of baitfish comes the predators; Queenfish, Spanish Mackerals and Barracudas. So close that they offer us fly anglers a shot from shore.
I had bought 2 packs of Wapsi’s Gummi Bodies when Coho (www.cohoflyshop.com) first brought it in more than a year ago. With no opportunity to fish for saltwater quarry, I had just dumped it to the bottom of the pile of new materials I had faithfully collected. When the topic of trying for the Queenies and Macks came up, I thought I’d give tying the Gummy Flies a go.
These Gummi bodies are basically a thin rubbery material that has adhesive on both sides. Sold separately are tubes of foil transfers that allows you to give the outer skin your choice of colours. I had a tube of Mother-of-Pearl and Oil Slick each so I used the Oil Slick for the abdominal sac of the baitfish and the Mother-of-Pearl for the body.
I am using the Mustad Signature Series Saltwater Fly Hooks. It is a #1 Shrimp hook which has a short shank and large gape. It acts as a keel to keep the fly upright.
This allowed me to create a very realistic replica of an anchovy.
After tying the basic Gummy Fly, the cranks in my cranium started creaking a little more and I thought I would like to add a little more rattle to this fly. So I put a glass rattle on top of the hook shank and used the gummy to wrap around it. This way, the layers of gummy sort of protects the glass rattle. And to my suprise, the rattling did not sound muted as I had expected. And it gave the fly a rather round tummy. Yummy!
I am going to have to put this baby to the test to see if it turns belly-up on me. The rattle might just be a tad too heavy.
Since I do so much more freshwater fly fishing than saltwater fly fishing, how can I not try to tie some Gummy Flies to try on our Peacock Bass. I have observed peacock bass feeding on juveniles of their own species. So I figured I should tie some 1″ Gummy Flies. Using Mustad Signature Series Freshwater Fly Hooks, I chose a #10 R50 Dry/Wet hook.
I wrapped green 28 gauge wire to give the fly a contrasting belly and also to weight it a little. My first attempt with only a single layer of 0.20″ gummy body left me with a rather flat Micro Gummy Fly. So I took another layer to wrap it over the first and ended up with a rather nice and rounded profile.
Adding red 1/8″ 3D eyes, completed my Micro Gummy. For the last sample, I used a little dab of Loon’s UV Knot Sense to lock the eyes in.
Hopefully, I will get to put a few of these tasty gummi treats to the test soon. Keep you updated then.
I am going to be taking two Scotsman fishing tomorrow. John, who is visiting Singapore, contacted me when he read this very blog and Sam, who I have not met up with since I started working and since he moved over to Johor.
I am really looking forward to meeting these 2 guys over fishing and breakfast tomorrow.
Will we see some nice Peacock Bass landed tomorrow? I hope so.
Singapore had been battered the whole morning by torrential rains and parts of Singapore were inundated with flood waters again. However, by 1pm the rain had petered out to a drizzle. Since no one I knew had tried fishing the platform in the rain, I thought I would give it a go.
Digging out the Gore-Tex jacket I bought in New Zealand last year, I sloshed my way down to the fishing platform at Pandan Reservoir.
The canal situated next to the reservoir had swollen almost to the brim. The flood gates were open to allow the deluge to drain out to sea.
Cresting the raised wall of the reservoir, I was glad to see that I had the whole platform to myself. Despite the rules clearly forbidding the use of baits and encouraging catch & release, fixed fishing platforms attract bait anglers who not only leave behind more rubble than Hurricane Katrina but are also bent on removing every living creature they pull out from the water.
Today, I wanted to leave my educator hat behind and just wear my fishing hat. Everyone needs some time alone to reflect on things.
The waters looked clear with some turbidity at a depth of 1ft. Even though it was an overcast day with rain droplets softly falling all around me, the use of my Flying Fisherman polarised sunglasses helped me cut through most of the surface glare to see what was underneath. Sadly, what I saw was only rocks and muck.
Taking out one of my PeeBee spinner minnow, I rigged up my 4wt Winston LT with a SA Stillwater clear, intermediate fly line. This fly line will allow me to strip the fly at speed and still keep it at depth. This helps to keep the fly in the strike zone for much longer if the fish are feeding deeper.
Some floating wetlands had been created and were added as a means of creating habitat to encourage more biodiversity. These floating mats had in the past couple of months significantly helped increase the number of damselfly nymphs. Some smaller fish have also taken up residency amongst the plant roots and fibers of the mats. However, with such a large reservoir, it will take more than just a few mats to really have an impact on the biodiversity.
Casting next the mat, I worked my fly along the riprap bank. As I inched my way out towards deeper water, keeping parallel to the bank, I caught sight of a sudden swirl just at the water’s edge. By now, the feather spray of rain had increased in intensity. I’m not sure if this was the cue but there seemed to be a sudden spike in fish activity.
Recasting my line just to the water’s edge, I stripped my line in short 6″ spurts. Pausing to let my fly sink and to let the spinner blade flutter, I had to be careful not to let it drop in-between the rocks and risk losing the fly.
By the 4th cast, halfway into the retrieve, I felt a bump and the line went taut. I felt a couple of head shakes and then the line went limp again. A good sign. The fish had taken the fly deep and probably near the slight dropoff. This time, I slowed down my retrieve allowing for a longer drop. The take was aggresive.
The violent headshakes were followed by dashes under the floating mats. There were ropes holding the mats in place and I had to force the fish out from under and back towards the shore. As the fish turned, it suddenly went ballistic and leapt clear out of the water. I could see my fly lodged firmly into the scissor of the jaw. Confidently, I played the fish till it conceded and allowed me to lift it out of the water.
I had brought along the fish ruler given out free by the NZ Fish & Game Department. It was a water proof sticker that was to be stuck onto a board for easy measurement and quick release of trout. Laying it on the wet deck, I placed the peacock bass on the ruler and it was a nice 38cm specimen.
Not the biggest but a respectable size, given the recent mass removal by fishermen. It is rumoured that the largest peacock bass caught, and fortunately released in Pandan, was measured at about 1m or 3ft in length. To date, I have yet to catch or see one vaguely close to that.
After the customary makeover shots, I released the beautiful lady and she gracefully swam back under the platform.
Immediately, one of the indian workers working on the deck came over and asked, albeit indirectly, if I could give him the next fish I caught so that he can cook it. What do you think?
