Royal Pahang Billfish International Challenge (RPBIC)

Fishing Trip, Saltwater Trip, , , ,

Royal Pahang Billfish International Challenge (RPBIC) Through the eyes of Blue Water Anglers Brandon Ho FFI CCI RPBIC is the most prestigious billfish fishing competition in Malaysia and since its inception in 2004, has attracted teams from all over the world, each with one goal in mind, catching, tagging and releasing the magnificent billfish in the waters off Rompin. Being a fly angler, I have been chasing the Rompin sailfish since 2020 and the thrill of hooking and landing one has never ceased to excite me. Chasing these magnificent fish has been on my bucket list since I first heard about their acrobatic jumps and blistering runs which could reach 110km/h. James Isaac was instrumental in helping me land my first sail on fly. Every year without fail, we will book Capt Steven Chong’s boat for our rendezvous with the Rompin sails. With the pandemic closing the borders, we were lucky to be still able to fish locally. Having booked our slot for 17-18 Sept 2022, without knowing that the RPBIC would be held, we were busy tying flies, preparing our fly fishing gear for our annual sailfish pilgrimage. Later, we learnt that the competition would be held and we decided to give it a go. Having only landed one sailfish on conventional gear prior to this, it was a foolhardy decision. With our usual sailfish comrades, a team was formed and after much brainstorming, Blue Water Anglers came into being. James, Clevin, Nic and I made up the team and with Capt Steven as the skipper, we were in good hands. We registered for the event 5 days before the closing date and from then it was a chaotic rush to get our gears ready. Rod and reels were sourced to supplement whatever basic gear we had and Boon Cheng came to our rescue by loaning us some top quality gear from Penn and Abu Garcia. We arrived at Rompin Beach Resort (RBR) on a very wet Friday afternoon. The unusual thunderstorm was not expected and it caused concern for the next two days of competition. Rain was forecast for the weekend and rough sea condition was expected. But from the excited faces of the participants and confident demeaner of the organizers, all looked good. Fishing would be competitive and fun, rain or no rain. After registering our team and collecting our goodie bags, we headed to our homestay, a comfortable two-storey house with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It was perfect for the 4 of us. You know this is a homestay for anglers when you see a large chest freezer on the porch and rod holders in the living room. Dinner was at the famous Rompin Baru Restaurant and the highlight of our meal was the Sizzling Hot Plate Squid, which happened to be in season during this time. After dinner, we were back at the homestay for some last minute preparations. FG knots were retied with fresh leaders, equipment was checked and rechecked. Contents of tackle box were recounted to make sure everything we need for the competition was there. It was going to be hard to sleep that night!! We were up at 6 am and within minutes all our gear was loaded and we headed out for our Nasi Dagang breakfast, a traditional meal that consists of bonito cooked in thick curry sauce, riced steamed with coconut milk and pickle vegetable added to the side. It is one meal I would not miss when I am on the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We arrived at the jetty slightly after 7 to meet Capt Steven. His boat was park a short distance away from the event jetty. A short 5 minutes cruise, we arrived and went ashore to collect our tags and boat stickers. We also had a draw to select our marshal for the day. A fine gentleman by the name of Mizal, who is always ready with a smile. While waiting for the flag off, our anticipations rose. I still could not believe that we were actually part of the RPBIC. Boats were lined up and the captains were in their pilot seat, participants looking at each other, sizing up the competition. This year there were only a total of 14 teams and some came as far as India, Australia, Singapore and of course the host country, Malaysia. The siren sounded and the we were off! We were speeding towards the FAD, locally known as the “unjang”. The first order of the day was to fill up the live bait well. Multi hook jigs or better known as Apollo jigs were set up. The plan was to have 3 anglers jigging for baitfish and one to remove the hook. Every minute counted and when we sensed the boat slowing down, we all jumped into action. There was no time for small talk and jokes. Even fishing for baitfish was stressful. After 30 minutes, Capt Steven looked at the live well and said, “ Ok. Enough. We head out now.” I estimated that there were an approximate 30 or so fish in the live well. The first spot was about an hour and a half away. Fishing for sailfish is like a gamble. If the sailfish are at the predicted spot, you would have a good catch, but if they are not, then it was time wasted travelling. Moving about to find fish is time consuming and will cost you the chance at catching them. Competition like this depends on luck as much as skills. Having a knowledgeable and skillful captain is essential. Half the battle is won when you have the right Captain and Captain Steven is one of the most sought after captain for sailfish in Rompin. On the way to the sailfish grounds, we had a strategy planning and everyone had a clear idea of what to do. As we were approaching our fishing ground, we all scanned the distance to look for birds. Hovering birds was a sign…

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A Sweet Start to 2021

Fly Fishing Trip, Freshwater Trip, Saltwater Trip, , , , , , , ,

Tarpon on Fly with PFFS Brandon Ho FFI CCI After driving for about two and a half hours, I pulled up at the parking lot at the Kuala Kangsar R&R. Sunrise is another 2.5 hours away. Sitting in my car, I noticed a car pulled up next to mine. 3 guys stepped out and from their outfit, they must be fly anglers. I looked closer and the initials PFFS was cleared stamped across the back of the shirt. PFFS is the acronym for Perak Fly Fishing Syndicate, one of the more active fly-fishing clubs that I know of. Every week will be a fishing weekend. Come rain or shine, you can bet your last dollar that the club members are out there on the water with a fly rod in hand. Shortly after, Janice’s car pulled up along our car and Clevin, Darell and Nic walked out. I was meeting the PFFS boys for the first time and today Asrul, Aizat and Khairul were our guides on our quest for the Indo-Pacific tarpon or locally known as the Ikan Bulan. From Kuala Kangsar, it is another one-hour drive to our fishing destination. Our first mission was to fill our growling stomach with the aromatic and spicy nasi lemak from the famed Mayfly Nasi Lemak stall. Unfortunately, the stall was closed and we had to seek for alternative. We stopped at a random stall selling nasi lemak and the local “kueh” or cakes. We bought a variety of nasi lemak with different accompaniments such as beef, chicken, prawn, salted fish… It seemed that we had hit the jackpot with this stall. At only RM1 per pack, it was a steal, considering the side that came with it. Just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, we parked our cars and got down excitedly to set up our gear. From here, we will proceed on foot. The rain from the previous day made the trek difficult. The mud stuck to the bottom of our slippers like a remora fish sucking at the back of the ray. The further we walked, the heavier our slippers became. In this part of the world, slippers were the preferred footwear. It allowed you to inspect for the occasional leech that was waiting to feast on you. The open toed slippers also allowed your feet to dry quickly after wading through the marshy swamps. Well, when in Rome, it is best to follow what the Romans do. The occasional stop and photo session made the trek fun. We chatted like old friends and insights to the feeding behaviour was shared freely by the PFFS boys, a gesture of generosity and trust hard to come by in the modern fishing environment. We were fishing the canals along the river. The brackish water was the perfect habitat for the tarpon. In the early morning, we could see the rises that accentuated the calm surface, indicating that the tarpons were there. At every break in the bushes along the canals, one of us would walk towards the bank and cast our white #6 baitfish into the rises, hoping for a strike. The tarpons have hard bony mouths and the only way to get a secure hook-up is to strip strike. The hooks have to be extremely sharp. I was blind casting into the rises hoping for a take but it was futile.  Every spot looked fishy and soon I was way behind the rest of the group. In one of the opening, the water was boiling. Without waiting for further invitation, I cast my white baitfish towards the opposite of the canal and waited for the fly to sink. Slowly I stripped the line in, pausing occasionally to let the fly sink. After the third strip, the line went tight and shot out of my hand. I certainly wasn’t expecting that and instinctively I stuck and started pulling line in. With a 16 lb tippet, I knew I could outgun the fish. In less than a minute, a gleaming slab of silver was pulled alongside the bank. My first ever Indo Pacific Tarpon! I rejoined the group and discovered that I was not the only one who struck the silver ingot. Both Asrul and Khairul managed to land one each in the deeper waters next to the palm trees. The water was calm and I was surprised it harboured large specimen there. Apparently, the fish were hiding deep in these waters. Roll cast the fly out and let it sink to the bottom before very slowly twitching and retrieving the line. Patience is key here. We walked further to try the other spots. We spread out and cast to all the likely spots. Rises could be seen everywhere but getting them to take the fly was next to impossible. In many spots, the fish seemed to be playing hide and seek with us. They were rising in front of our noses but as we cast, they just moved a little further, still rising continuously. With every subsequent cast, they just moved further until beyond out casting range. We were casting almost the entire fly line but to no avail. By mid-morning, the sun was getting too hot and we decided to take a break under some trees and enjoyed our pack Nasi Lemak. After the short break, we walked further until to come to an opening where we could get down to the bank to cast. I had walked stealthily to a bank to cast when Asrul mentioned that there was a large python in the area. Not wanting to end up as snack, Khairul and I backtracked to the path. From the higher position, we could see two trails in the grass leading to a thick bush by the canal. Judging from the width of the trial, it was almost two third of a foot wide. At another spot, there was a clearing that would allow a caster to cast. I was given the honour to cast first.…

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Eging in Pekan – Beginner’s luck on a Squidding Trip Blog / By flytiecast

Fishing Trip, Saltwater Trip, , ,

Eging in Pekan Beginner’s luck on a squidding trip Brandon Ho FFI CCI The first squid photo appeared on Facebook and then another and another. I’ve never been on a squidding trip before and when the opportunity came, I jumped onto the boat. Did some research and talked to Bong and Otto to get myself educated on this thing called Eging. I was amazed by the depth of the skills required for this game. First thing first, I needed to get my hands on some Egi jig. The first name that came up was Yamashita and they are not the cheapest. I bit the bullet and got myself some of these. After work on a Wednesday evening, I got into the Mitsubishi Prado with Bong on the wheel. After picking up Eric, we started our Eging Adventure. The three-plus-hour drive went by like a breeze with insightful discussion about everything under the sun. After settling down in the homestay, I went to bed, dreaming of the first squid that I would catch. The next morning, after a meal of chicken rice, yes, chicken rice at 7.30 in the morning, we took a leisurely 5-minute drive to the jetty. I saw our boat for the first time. In the morning light, it looked like the sportfishing boat where dreams come true. Equipped with two 150-horse-power 4-stroke engines, it was ready for everything. My hopes for a successful trip soared. Rods were set up as we cruised out of the estuary for the open sea. The muddy estuary gave way to the blue ocean. I was enjoying the trip yet at the back of my mind, worried if I could survive the trip without giving up my breakfast to the fishes. It had been a long time since I last set foot on a boat. The sky was clear but the South China Sea was decorated with white caps, indicating the wind was blowing up  one metre high waves. I managed to doze off only to wake up when the engine slowed down. We have reached our first spot. The boat was tied to one of the floats, a few jerry cans tied together. Coconut leaves were stringed on ropes and anchored to the seabed about 20 to 30 metres deep. This was the Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) made by the local fishermen. Sometimes, several strings were put close to together to form a larger Unjang, the local name for these FAD. I clipped an orange 3.0 Egi jig an lowered it to the bottom with the help of a #3 sinker. I tried to imitate the jigging motion, not really sure what I was doing. The countless videos I watched on Youtube didn’t make sense. Bong, seeing my clumsy moves, came over and showed me how to do it: cast it out a short distance, let it sink to the bottom and make a few short jigs while retrieving the line, lift the rod slowly, let it sink slowly and repeat the process. In this spot, the squids were close to the bottom. Behind me, Eric was hooked up to a squid and he expertly reeled in a good sized cephalopods. The first catch was in the boat. It was beautiful but not totally defenseless. Its first weapon was an injection of ink that spread in the water confusing its attacker and while it was being pulled up the boat, it could shoot out a surprising amount of the black sticky substance. I was horrified by the amount it could shoot and the distance was impressive. The Green Eye squid as locally known is also called the Bigfin Reef squid. They have large oval fin that extends throughout the mantle or the body, resembling cuttlefish. They can grow up to 13 inches in length. They are also recorded to have the fastest growing rate of any large marine invertebrate: it can reach a weight of 600g in only 4 short months. However, they have a short life span, dying usually one year after hatching. Males tend to be slightly larger than females. Their large eyes are covered by a transparent secondary corneas, allowing the greenish based to be visible, hence the name Green Eye squid. Laughter could be heard around the boat as everyone was trying to avoid the ink projections while others were trying to aim the hooked squid at their fellow anglers. It was mayhem and hilarious to watch. Still trying to get a hold of the proper way to jig, I suddenly felt a weight on my rod. Instinctively, I lifted the rod and the rod bent double. I just held one while the line was slipping out from the reel. Was it a fish? Not likely, as I was using an Egi jig. Once the line stopped moving, I slowly and carefully retrieved the line, pausing every time the mysterious creature pulled line out. Finally, I could see the mono line, indicating that I was about a metre away from whatever that took the jig. I peered cautiously over the side of the boat and saw my very first squid of the trip. I peered into a ball of outstretched tentacles, the body of the squid was changing colours, from light yellow to a darker hue of brown. If it could communicate, it was telling that it was not happy being caught. Wary of being shot in the face with the ink, I carefully lifted the squid up from the water and put it into a pail. The angry squid released a barrage of sticky ink, all in the confine space of the bucket. That was the first but not the last. At the fist spot, the five of us managed to land about 90 squids. Enough to fill a 20-litre bucket. Everyone was catching squid, the captain and deckie contributed to our catch. They seemed to out fish me and no matter what I did, couldn’t even come near to their efficiency. For every squid…

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It’s raining poppers!! Testing the FTN Poppers

Fly Fishing Trip, Fly Pattern, Saltwater Trip, , , , , , ,

It’s raining poppers!! Testing the FTN foam popper Brandon Ho FFI CCI At 6.45am, we pulled up at a pay pond in Jugra. James and Than were already there gearing up for the assault on the Barramundi. It was a dark cold morning as the constant rain in the past weeks have lower the temperature significantly but it did not dampen our spirit. The night before, we were tying flies late into the night and with only a few hours of sleep, we were at the pond. The objective for the day was to test out new flies: Poppers, Booby Streamer, Articulated Rattling Streamer. According to Than, the early morning would be the best time to test out the surface flies. At 7am sharp, we walked towards the pond at the back and started to cast. On the very first cast, Than got a hit on his newly tied Booby Streamer. The moment the fly landed on the water, a big splash erupted and his line went tight. Unfortunately, the fish managed to free itself. Standing by the side of the pond, I cast out my Goldfish Popper about 40 feet out and started to pop it back. I was focusing more on how to create a larger trail bubble while maximizing the “popping” sound. Out of the blue, a wave came rushing up to the moving popper and a respectable silver gray torpedo smashed into the orange and fluorescent yellow popper. It pulled the 6 wt line out of my finger, bending the Vision XO rod. A few seconds later, I suffered the same fate as Than. The fish was gone. The commotion got everyone excited and the pond was pounded with poppers of all colours. Otto was the next person to get a hit and he did a great job landing the fish on a Green Yellow popper on Ahrex SA 220 Streamer #2. A few minutes later, it was Nic who got another barramundi from another pond, on a Yellow Red popper. James, who was fishing at the back pond managed to have a solid hook but, unfortunately his 12lb tippet broke. By then the sun was already peeking out from the eastern sky and then surface action tapered down. It was time for some streamer action. I tied a Dark Brown Articulated Rattling Streamer onto my tippet and cast out. I allowed the fly to sink to the bottom before slowly retrieving the line with erratic movement to enhance the action as well as to create the rattling sound. It worked like a charm and within the first 5 minutes, I got a tap. I continued the retrieve but it didn’t activate any bite response. I cast to another spot and this time, a savage bite and the fish took the fly and ran away with it. It gave a good account of itself and was landed after a brief fight. The fly worked. To prove that the fly really works, it must catch another fish. True enough, the very next cast got connected to another good fish. That’s the proof I was looking for. I needed photo evidence and Janice took a good photo of the fish. What a great end to a fun testing trip. ~More Gallery Click Here~

Are All Leaders The Same? – An accidental discovery in Jugra

Fly Fishing Trip, Saltwater Trip, , , , , , , , ,

Are All Leaders The Same? An accidental discovery in Jugra Brandon Ho FFI CCI On the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year, it was time for companies to start their business after the festive holidays and it is customary to do something related to the activity of the business. After doing some work in the office and overseeing some classes,  Nic and Clevin came into my office and said, “ We are starting work today.” I looked at them and smiled. I knew what this meant. We were going fishing. To the two young men who are the team behind FTC, the local dealer for FTN Asia Distribution, to start work meant to go fly fishing or fly tying. “Where are we going?” I asked innocently, my Vision XO wt6 set was already in my car and my fly box was filled with assorted saltwater patterns. “Somewhere near and a good catch can almost be guaranteed!” was the reply. It had to be Kolam Pancing Lepas (Catch &Release) in Jugra. Incidentally, the pond was also having a festive season promotion, RM25 for 3 hours of fishing, catch and release of course. After lunch, with Clevin at the wheel and Nic dozing off in the back seat. Janice, Clevin and I were chatting excitedly on the way there; discussing about the flies and techniques we were going to use. Janice is an accomplished fly caster and could easily out fish us on a good day. After a 45-minute drive from Sunway, we pulled up onto the dusty parking space next to the ponds. Despite the rain on the way in, this place was bone dry and in the heat, we could see the wind blowing up the dust. Reluctantly, we left the cool comfort of the air conditioned car and walked towards the hut which serves as the counter cum resting area and started to set up our gear. I spoke to the person in charge and asked him what fish were active that day and he said the red drums and barramundi were readily taking lures and flies the whole day. Not needing further invitation, we walked off to the barramundi ponds. This pond is located next to a river estuary where the tides would help replenish the water, keeping the fish like barramundi, estuary grouper, red drum, mangrove jacks and GTs healthy and strong. The set up was basic enough, with 5 rectangular ponds open for fishing and two others for keeping juvenile fish to allow them to grow before releasing them to the C&R pond. Beautiful and picturesque are not the type of words to describe this place but hard fighting hungry fish is something most angler can relate to. In less than 5 minutes, Nic was onto an acrobatic barramundi. “ That was fast!” I thought to myself and proceeded to cast into the tea coloured water and allowed the black and yellow baitfish pattern sink to the bottom of the pond. I was using a floating line connected to a 10 foot tapered leader, which should be enough to reach the bottom. With slow erratic retrieve and pauses, the fly was brought back unmolested. It was cast out again and the process repeated. The first hour went past without any take from the fish. It was going to be a very long hot day. Suddenly, my fly line was stopped and I waited for the line to tighten and move but nothing. I cast in the general direction again and the same thing happened. What is happening? I was sure it was a fish but why was today so different. Normally the fish would just grab the fly and sped in the opposite direction. I was determined to give a good strip strike the next time the line stopped and I didn’t have to wait long for it. The moment the hook bite into the hard bony mouth, the line moved towards the centre of the pond and the silvery fish lifted itself out of the water did a somersault before landing with a splash. It would have scored a zero in a diving competition but in the fly fishing context, a perfect 10. The fish was landed unceremoniously and after a quick photo, gently released. This fly works very well in this pond, catching groupers and barramundis like clockwork. Seeing the short fight from the opposite side of the pond, Nic and Clevin changed to a similar pattern and did the same cast and retrieved. Encouraged by the catch, I cast again at the well-known strike zone and slowly retrieved the fly through the strike zone and got hit again. Another feisty barra. After unhooking and releasing the fish, I threw the fly into the water before picking up my rod and stood up. Lifting my rod to cast, I felt a weight at the end of my line and instinctively gave a strike. The line shot out and the fish performed its usual acrobatic routine. Another barra! I laughed out loud only to be greeted by cold stares from the other anglers. I quietly landed the fish and moved on to another pond. Nic and Clevin were not as successful. Same pattern, same retrieve and even same line weight but why the stark difference? They moved on to different ponds and Clevin became the mangrove jack champion by landing 5 of these critters in the span of 30 minutes. I cast to the same place but nothing. I changed flies and the way I retrieve, still nothing. What’s wrong? Janice was still casting to the barras and she was enjoying herself with the fight. In the fading light, the mosquitoes were coming out in hordes. No matter how good the fishing was, the itch from these pesky sting can be unbearable. It’s time to pack up. Our 3 hours was almost up. In the dying evening light, Clevin landed another MJ. On the way back, we were discussing the catch pattern and the equipment…

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