Battle of the Tubes

Well not exactly a battle. Just thought I’d do a simple write-up of the rod cases/tubes that I have.

Here are the contenders…

From left to right-

1) Plano Airliner Telescoping Rod Case,

2) Nature Boys Rod Case,

3) Pioneer, &

4) Plano

 

Lets start off with #4 Plano. Latest acquisition to replace #3 Pioneer. I use the Pioneer tube everytime I fly back to Brunei. I’d pack 2/3 light rods to go. But because it’s one of those cheap and happy for a while case, the zipper didn’t last after a few trips. The zippers are still there; it just doesn’t zip. So the last trip back to Brunei, I had to wrap the opening with duct tapes with a pad lock just so people think that it’s securely locked. So once I got back, I went to Sabre to pick #4 up.

At RM195 (prior discount) it definitely gives me much better piece of mind knowing my rods are safe. I think rod cases/tubes are something you don’t wanna stinge on. It’s a necessity. Anyway, here are some pictures…

This is the part that holds the extension of the case; which extends up to 9ft. Which I don’t think it’s advisable as it becomes flimsy like can break anytime like that.

 

And this is the cap/cover.  

Twist and lock mechanism.

And of course slot for your padlock.

Comes with a leather strap to hold the cap/cover to the case.

Here’s the base. Stands upright nicely but definitely not firmly.  

And here’s my gigantic rod case from Nature Boys.

This is the heart of the case; sturdy and solid support throughout.

And it opens and closes like a suitcase. Very functional compared to the normal ones where you insert from top. With this, you can line them up on the suitcase part first. Once done, just slide the top cover and close.

 

Extends up to 8ft+. Weighing in at 5.7kg, (3kg more than Plano Airliner) it’s definitely a heavy weight. But heck… 3kg for additional piece of mind… ok wat…

When I received this case, the first thing I did was stand on it. Something you won’t wanna try on the Planos Airliner.

And this is #1, my Plano Airliner. Been my faithful companion for many trips. Never had a problem with it. Good investment too. But of course, retirement is inevitable, to make room for Nature Boys!!

Crocs

New Crocs!! Dunno what's the model. Can't find it in their website. Wore it to Cyberjaya for fishing few days back. Suprisingly comfy and good grip on wet grass and climbing up and down loose pebbles.

Lace to tighten the grip on your feet.

Non-marking rubber.

Crocs exo-frame.

Spratly 2009 - Jig Fest

While we spend most of our time popping the reefs with the small boats, we jig most of the time while on board Sea Maiden I, and of course bottom fishing. Again, jigging were more productive at Dallas compared to Mariveles. We had several unstoppable trains with Stella 20k and also Dogfight; of which we lost the battle to corals and Barracoutas.

Damn the Barracoutas... they were EVERYWHERE!!! Alan was totally the champion of Barracoutas. The annoying part is, they tend to whack your main lines and leaders. What's even more annoying is, once hooked they fight like dead weight!! It's like reeling in a bag of rubbish!

The Barracoutas were so abundant that, Bruce and I decided to play with FIRE and try our new jig... Sevenseas Hooker, Anatahan... The SUPER ATOMIC DARTING REACTION!! Anyway we didn't use it long. After landing 2 Barracoutas, I retired the jig back to the bag :-p Hehehehe...

Anyway, speaking of unstoppable trains, we had a few from jigging and also live baiting with flying fish. But they were not meant to be... All in all, we jigged the usual Big Eye Trevallies, Barracudas, baby Dogtooth Tunas, etc. Most of the jigging action were at night as we spent most of the days popping the reefs.

There were some decent size fishes landed from jigging and 1 decent size Dogtooth from bottom with a tiny piece of bait meant for Kelisi.

And the same angler, landed a decent size shark on jig.

Andrew once again was the champion of jigging with a 22kg Dogtooth. When he hooked on to the Dogtooth, I heard him shout 'HELP HELP!!'. Straight away, I rushed over with the fighting belt and put it on and start snapping away with my camera.

And then there is DD with his 22kg Yellow Fin Tuna and also a decent size Dogtooth. Overall, DD landed the most fish, and rightfully so!! He's our one and only JIGGING MACHINE that runs on solar during the day, and moonlight after the sun sets.

And later, the crown was taken by Alan with his giant Barracuda!!

And now for the bomb of the trip... 45kg Yellow Fin Tuna!! Please go to Spirit of the Sea for more details!!

To sum it all up, we had an excellent trip with all round thrills. Company was excellent and the arrangements by Michael, top notch. The only down side is the wheather which turn nasty on the 2nd last night onwards. Wind was blowing one side, waves going another side, and current going a totally different side. It was so bad that during the last night, the captain couldn't anchor the boat AT ALL!! So we ended up DRIFTING and REPARKING the whole night through!!

Beside that, we also had a few freak high speed short storm. Freaky because everything was flying around and everyone was running for cover. High speed because it came within seconds and the wind was super high speed. It came so fast that one minute you are jigging with warm mild wind blowing, and next minute the wind turn bone chilling and it just started pouring within seconds. Short because it only lasted for 10 minutes.

SO all in all... SHIOK :)

Now that the trip report is wrapped...

Introducing...

GILBERT!!!!!!! Named by Brewst.This dude flew in the last night out of nowhere and decided to just chill with us all the way to Labuan.