Pekan - Part I - 17th & 18th March 2007

1 year ago, the exact same day, my friends were fishing in Pekan for 2 days, and they ran into a group of Ebeks. That was the time when the monsoon is just over and the sea is still a bit choppy and sometimes strong wind. Having tasted the brute strength of the Ebeks, my friend booked a date with 'Ah Keong' or 'Ikan Hantu' or '鱼鬼' 1 month before the monsoon is over. So having said that...this is a trip filled with expectations...heaps of expectations...

Day 1 - Clear sky. Calm Sea. Scorching Heat.

1st catch of the day, by ME :-D
Biggest catch of the 2 days. Jackpot winner!!
The 1 and only 'Ang Kor'.
Baby barracuda. We were swamped by these babies 2 days in a roll. I lost 3 jigs without landing a single one of them.

The other of the 2 fishes I caught on jig :-( (长丝镜)

Another baby on jig...

Day 2 - Lighting & Thunder storm. Choppy Sea. Strong Wind.

Nothing was caught on jig on day 2. The only excitement we had was in the morning during the thunderstorm.

Lighting was striking all over us so none of us was jigging. There was only 1 rod in the water with a dead prawn on apollo rig. It was the heaviest setup of the entire boat. PE 6 Shimano Jigwrex with Shimano Jigger 5000P. I think this setup alone is enough to scare away all the Ebeks :-p The rain was pouring so we were all standing under the tiny roof trying to stay dry. Out of nowhere, the Jigwrex was bending like it was ready to break into 2 pieces! The owner, Mr Johnson, rushed towards his rod and lift it out from the rod holder. For the next 5 - 10 seconds, he could not lift the rod up at all and I could see from the side of his face that he was all red. Why? Simple... Our dear friend, Mr JOHNSON LIM, with his PE 6 Jigwrex and Jigger 5000P, was fishing with full drag on. So lines were peeling out slowly with some really heavy drag. At this moment, the infamous 鱼鬼 shouted from the other side of the boat 'Your tension is too tight!! Loosen it!! It's an EBEK!! Loosen your tension!!!!'. After loosening up the tension, Johnson is finally able to lift the rod. Unfortunately the initial run, with the full drag of a Jigger 5000P, has already straighten the hook... So shortly later, all that was left, was an extremely disappointed Johnson cos he couldn't feel anything anymore with his Jigwrex and Jigger... :-(

Anyway, the above paragraph is dedicated to our dear Johnson Lim. We spoke about it over dinner. We spoke about it everytime another fishing friend call us or ask us about our Pekan trip. So it's only appropriate that I put this in writing :-) You are welcome, Johnson.

Part II