All about fishing..

Shimano Features translation

2007-02-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Shimano technology had evolved so dramatically for us keen fisherman. To those who lost, here is the compilation of the features and logos that you migh encounter

Abu Garcia Cardinal 300

2007-02-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

This is the reel that was responsible to hook me up onto fishing. Received it as a gift, like it, love it and has been with me in most of my fishing occassion. There are a lot of likeable features on this reel. Abu Garcia had built this reel with a lot of thought and plant with a lot of emotion element onto the design. Here is what I meant:
1. The spool is made from aluminum and have 'drill' hole around it, which
make it light.
2. Abu is giving 7 ball bearing for undeniably smoothness for its size.
3. Wooden handle design, which give it class and attitude
4. Spare spool were not forgoten.
5. Reasonably priced.
I tend to be much more optimistic when talking about this reel. Bare in mind, this is my first reel ever. There are minor dissatisfaction, but it does not bother me at all.
1. Abu no longer giving embossed plate for the brand mark.
2. The golden color chip-off after some time.
Despite it small size, I had it spooled with 20 lb braided Power Pro line. It is a bit too much for its ability, but I just like to have it because I often visited paid pond with this reel. I even took it on boat fishing and match it with light duty rod. Do not be mistaken, this reel's resume was quite ok, there were a lot of barramundi from 2lb to 7lb, 7lb carps and lots and lots of shore fish.

Daiwa Saltiga SA-Z

2007-02-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

Spinning reel does not get any better with Daiwa Saltiga. This reel is specifically built for serious angler with serious spending money. This is the Ferrari of the reel. You would get power, high speed, flawless refrieve and long lasting built material. The design is stunning with its blue trademarks is jaw opener for others. The maximum drag rated at 30kg (60lb) which will fly a kid straight out of the boat an a big bite. This reel would definitely quench the thirst of power for spinning reel as previously only delivered by the conventional type.
Seeing this reel performing in video by angler was spetacular. The selected location was Maldive for Yellow Fin Tuna and Bali for Aya Budak as the main target. Big catch after big catch, the reel does not show any failure neither fatigue.

Observe the feature list Saltiga SA-Z:
Digigear(tm) - Digitally designed stainless and bronze alloy gears
Dual, full-time Infinite Anti-Reverse
Zero Friction Mainshaft design for smoother, more powerful retrieve
Nitrided lip
Twist Buster® line twist reduction
Oversized, Titanium Nitrided, ball bearing line roller
Rigid aluminum alloy body, sideplate and rotor
Tubular stainless Air Bail(tm)
Ultra-tough, machined aluminum alloy handle
14 ball bearings plus roller bearing
Bail lock prevents handle and rotor turning during a cast
Machined ABS aluminum spool with Titanium
Manual bail rip for reliability
Sealed, water-resistant drag and body
This is almost a full list of what Daiwa could possibly offers for its reel. It is truly an amazing machine and a dream reel for the anglers. No matter if it is Cristmast, Valentine, birthday, anivesaries or any other occasion, this reel is always on top of anglers' wish list.

Shimano Symetre

2007-02-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

The newly redesigned Symetre require a lot of effort from Shimano. The reel is built on a solid, lightweight aluminum frame that keeps the stress of fighting big fish, the effects of heat and cold, and years of hard use from moving of any of the interior components, so every gear, bearing, and shaft is where it's supposed to be. The new Cold Forged aluminum spool to reduce weight and provide more strength and resistance to nicks and scratches that can make the rim rough and drastically reduce the distance of your cast. You'll find all the other great features you expect from the industry leading Shimano reels, too, include Super Stopper II for instant anti-reverse, Fluid Drive II and Dyna Balance for smooth, wobble free operation, and Power Roller for reduced line twist and smoother operation. Symetre also offers the S-Arm cam, which keeps your line from wrapping on the bail, which can be a problem with other spinning reels. Symetre also features Super Slow Oscillation, which lays the line on the spool in an almost parallel pattern, which reduces friction when the line comes off the spool on the cast and eliminates spaces and gaps which can cause your line to ‘dig in' and stick on the cast. Symetre offers a fast 6.0:1 gear ratio for the 1500 and 2500 sizes and 5.7:1 for the 4000.

Daiwa Regal Xi 2500

2007-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

Exceptional reel value from Daiwa. I can't say much about this reel. I think it is too cheap. Haven't got any problem from it. Retrieval is smooth (not super-smooth as Daiwa Exceler). But I heard that this reel is planned to be discontinued. This Regal Xi is very much different from its inferior sister model, Regal which giving much less ball bearing and even cheaper too.

Feature List
Aluminum ABS spool
BailSafe™ system locks bail open on outcast
Up to ten ball bearings plus roller bearing
Ball bearing line roller
Infinite Anti-Reverse
Twist Buster®2 line twist reduction
Gyro Spin® balanced
Right/left reversible folding handle
Advanced Locomotive Levelwind for even line winding
Lifetime® bail spring
Free spare ABS aluminum spool

Penn Spinfisher 8500SS

2007-02-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

This reel have 'power' spelled all over it. Not my favorite reel as it is heavy and have a slight freeplay on the handle turn. Other than that, this reel truly deliver the power when demanded. To anglers that prefer spinning reel compare to conventional, this is the right reel to buy.
Below is what Penn is saying about this reel.

"Spinfisher® SS MetalThe Penn Spinfisher® SS is by far the most recognized spinning reel on the market. With its deep-black aluminum frame and rich Penn Gold anodized spool, the Penn Spinfisher® SS is available in four sizes perfectly geared for any of your saltwater fishing applications. All Penn Spinfisher® SS Reels feature a super-strong stainless main shaft, supported by bronze bushings; ensuring your Spinfisher® maintains alignment even under intense loads; a nice feature when hooked into 100lb-plus fish. Three* Stainless Steel ball bearings provide consistent and proven performance, while the new sealed drag knob keeps contaminants from affecting drag performance. Spinfisher® SS Spools are designed to accomodate longer casts and greater line capacities, something important when targeting trophy fish. Maybe other companies forgot that big fish are the target and line capacity is crucial, but maybe they just don’t think about landing big fish."

Daiwa Exceler 4000 - with DigiGear

2007-02-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

Excellent features for affordable price. Initially, DigiGear only been honored to Daiwa top of the range product such Saltiga. Daiwa had been kind enough to introduce an affordable range with their innovation. DigiGear perhaps is the most distintive feature of Daiwa to stand at par if not better to its closest and superior rival, Shimano. Daiwa Saltiga that priced pretty much at par with Shimano Stella and Van Staal using Digigear as their main selling features. Daiwa Exceler does not only come with DigiGear(tm), but HardBodyz(tm)(computer die cast aluminum alloy body), seven ball bearing including 2 CCRB(corrosion resistance bearing) at key locations, machined aluminum ABS spool(+ extra free spool) and machined aluminum handle. At price tag at about 8 times cheaper that Saltiga, I just have to get the reel into my collection. First thing that I would eagerly trying to find out is if it is super-smooth as it what DigiGear suppose to deliver. Even when I have it spooled with Berkley Ironsilk monofilament, I would be able to tell that there are something special about this reel. ABS features enable perfect spooling (my older Shimano had uneven thickness of spooled line, concentrated more at front side).
Digigear performance show its true value when I started casting. I know the the 10lb Ironsilk line may have contributed to the distance and castability, but I doubted that it by much. I had my Shimano Symetre 4000 spooled up with 20lb Power Pro braid, even with much thinner diameter I did not be able to get the same feel and distance as what Exceler deliver. Dragging the fish out of the hiding also proven with less effort. Perhaps this is due to the direct power transfer to the shaft as demonstrated by Daiwa with the Digigear evolution. I truly think that this reel is probably the best value for money. I have the 2500 series in mind for my next purchase.

Buying the right Rod: Fuji Guide

2007-02-13T04:17:00.000-08:00

To choose the right rod will depend on the rod specification itself. The first thing that came to my mind is the guide. Line manufacturer had outdone themselves on providing us with varieties of super line. By the word super line, it usually translated to strength, abrasion resistance and low diameter. Thus, not all the guide would be able to take the pressure of this line and will resulted friction line, unsmooth and could cause line snap.
Guides are synonyms with name Fuji. Typical anglers would settle down just with having Fuji mark printed on the guide. Many does not realise the variation that Fuji offers. Other than Stainless Steel, other Fuji guides that I know is made from ceramic. Ceramic often preferred for its hardness, smoothness and long lasting.I think there are 4 main grades for ceramic guide that Fuji have. By rank from strongest, smoothest and also happen to be most expensive are:

SIC (Silicon Carbide) - Hardaloy - Alconite - Aluminum Oxide.

Most of us actually only manage to get Aluminum Oxide and Alconite as these are the typical range for the rod manufacturer to offer at budgeted price. Aluminum Oxide however would give you problem if you are using Spectra Line. If you thinking of getting one on one with the big boys in the deep, make sure that at least you are having Alconite Fuji guides. Should you think of wire line, SIC would take your worries away.
The price tag of SIC is much higher than Alum. Oxide. These explains why the typical rod does not equipped with SIC. A lot of custom rod fan would have at least 1 SIC guide at tip. The tip took most of the beating from line and it is actually a very good idea to have SIC on it. Therefore, you are not spending loads on getting all of them with SIC. It does make a lot of different on the rod budget.
If you carefully observed, there are no actual standards of how many guides should there be on each rod. The count and distribution of the guide along the rod actually depending on the stress load distribution. By virtue of physics, high stress load on a single point would make the weakest link, hence prone to breakage. Reputable manufacturer really have this into the consideration. Just for a general guidelines, there should be a guide per ft length. For instance, 7 footer rod to have 7 or at least 6 total number of guides. Fast action rod will have closer placement from the tips for its curve concentrated on the first third from the tip and Slow Action rod
(power) will have more even placement towards the bottom. By observing the placement, we could actually imagine how the curve would be like under high loads.
Next thing about the guides are the shape. There a double foot guides, single foot guides, high-frame, low-frame, Concept, conventional and spinning guides. Each style of guide has its optimal application.

Come back for the second part..

Shimano Sahara 5000

2007-02-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Shimano Sahara 5000

This probably the most value for money reel that I own. Fixed spool, front drag reel with aluminum body. Look a quite big compare to the 4000 series yet still lightweight for the size. Mostly availbale up to 4000 series but somehow I found this reel in Klang. I have it spooled with 30lb braided line and it works great on various occasion of sea trip. I alway brough along my Penn Spinfisher 850 but this reel deliver most of the time. Its lightweight features may just be the key of reel to use when you to hold your rod most of time. Made in Malaysia (which explain the cheap price) and only equipped with 3 + 1 bearing. I still have extra space for the 300 yrds spooled braided 30lb line. Bare in mind that this reel does not have the ARB (Anti Rust Ball Bearing features), so you have to be extra careful on taking care of the corrosion. What I did was to soak the reel in warm water fro like half an hour after each trips. Make sure it is rinse, drained and and let free dry on top of cloth in open space. It has been almost two years in my custody and still perfectly performed. The strength came from it big shaft diameter. Give and take, I would saythat its maximum drag at about 15 lb but not less.

Fishing for Sebarau in Kenyir Lake

2007-02-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

Tasik Kenyir in Malaysia is one of the top choice freshwater angler in Malaysia. Grade A species such Kelah(king of carp), Sebarau (close relative of mahseer) and toman (snakehead) would be the dream target. Other than the proper bait, anglers must be aware of the right time to fish those species. Located in north east Malaysia, probably the largest lake with blueish clear water, it is a must go spot. Most of the time, however, anglers often held back with dissappointment even after hearing glorious strories from buddies that fished there just while back. I had a chance of befriendly with the locals and shoot the same question, where have the fish gone. Apparently, the answer was so simple, it is not the right time. So when is the right time? Looking at the current weather, rainy and flooding, now is the good time to gear up. What happen there is the flood would fermentized the weeds and
grassed. The grasses would became the food for the Sebarau. When it is fermentized and release its fume in the water, Sebarau would come to shore to feast. This may as well be the best time to hunt for this species. So look up for the rainy season to end. Book yourself a chalet there and get fishing. By the way, if you are looking for boat trip, don't get it through the resorts. Go by the bay, a lot of local fisherman would give you muchpromising services with much affordable rate. Help the locals.

Abu Garcia Conolon 6' 6" MH

2007-02-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

This is a lightweight rod that I bought last year. Slim, 2 piece design which not too hustling to carry around. Carbon blank with cork handle, it grip quite nicely in my palm. There are a few thing that I do not really appreciate about this rod.
1. Handle felt kind of loosen from the blank after a while. I could actually twist it to a minor degree angle. Certainly did not expect this from Abu's Conolon.
2. The deterioration look of the cork handle over time. I don't usually like to liquor the handle. Some people do that to make cork handle last longer and look nicer. I just don't like the slippery feeling. I had my custom rod liquored, I wish I didn't. Despite on the minor complain on the handle, I think overall this rod perform well. The blank stiffness is just about right make it still good for bottom fishing with up to size 8 sinker. It work best for casting. I would really love to recommend this rod, but with the tag, I think there are a lot of other better option out there. By the way, it does not come with Fuji Guide. Until they do and change the
cork handle to Fuji handle.. look elsewhere.

Basic Fishing Tips: Tying the knots

2007-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tying knot is not as easy as it seems. Too many knots for too many different type of applications. Equipped yourself with the basics.

1. Main line to swivel: Uni Knot, Good for both braided and mono line.

2. Leader to hook: Snell Knot, Good strength, require only one end.

3. Leader to swivel: Sergeon End Loop, Very strong and very easy

4. Looping: Dropper loops - Many applications, splitter, double hook, etc

That are the four knots for you to master. I had used other knots and by far, these are the most reliable and most applicable for me.
Tips: Wet the line before pulled, use your suliva. It lubricated the line and prevent after pull wrinkle.

Latest collection: Shimano Exage STC

2007-01-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have a few rods in my collection including a custom rod. Majority of my rods are 1 piece. 1 piece rod might be the best for fishing, perfect bend,smooth load distribution and all but it lack most on the travelling convenience. Had my eye on Shimano's STC (Shimano Travelling Concept) but not quite bought the idea. How would I equalized 1 pc rod perfomance to 5pc. Until I went to a tackle shop in Norwich and have a closer look. Great rod! Even with its tiny diameter, I could still feel the power.The load seems nicely distributed. Thumbs up for Shimano. I waited for the sales and managed to get a good bargain in the end. Mine is 5 piece interchangeable 7ft & 8 ft in length. The only set back is I don't think it is not equipped with SIC Fuji Guide. For all that worth, I think what they give is still decent. This rod come with its nice black, cloth covered hard cylinder case. It is about 2 ft long and it fit nicely in my baggage.
Often when I went travelling before, I had missed the opportunity to fish.it is hard to get 6 ft rod on a plane and carry it around. What is the point of having just a multi-piece rod that are not going to perform. I am sure that I made the right choice of purchasing this one. I might have to let go 1 or 2 of my rod to recover the money. At this point, I am not bothered. I am waiting for the cold weather to ease a bit. I will have this rod to test then. I am sure that I would have a nice thing to write about it.

Tips for today: Get yourself a travelling set or you will miss great opportunity to fish.

Best way of Squid Rigging - Baited Squid Jig

2007-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

Imagine to be able to lift out 1 footer squid out of water rythamically. One after another. Dodging those high speed water jet from its last effort of taking your bait into the deep.
Those who have not tried does not know what they missed. Those who has not try might want to take a few notes for best chance of good fun experience.
Handline could have been the oldest technique but efficient and still be the most popular technique used. However, since most of us already have at least a light spinning set, might as well use that to our advantage. Why..?? Less wet and more fun.
I think best way of this rigging is to use your lightest fishing set. Relatively, if you are a Shimano or Daiwa fan, bring your 1000 or 2000 series along. Scientist says that squid is one of the most intelligent marine creature.Not for fishing. They are the easiest and might be the dumbmest on beingfooled. their greed overpowered their intelligence. Before I forget, I chose to use rod and reel because I don't like to get thewater jet from the squid. Right before you brought it emerged to thesurface, they will blast the water jet and most of time to your face if youusing the handline. It is fun at first, but after a while and with the oceanbreeze, it will get too cold and too wet for comfort. My average catch size were ranging from half footer to 1 footer. This doesnot include the tentackles. Tail to eye measurement. Weight is about 3/4lbto 1.2 lb each. It does make your drag screaming with its propeller and yourrod bent. I had several rig in my tacklebox. Tried each one of them. I am sure you arefamiliar with prawn looking rig with umbrella hook lie at the tail. It surelook nice. But this is not the most efficient rig. The one that always workis the plain umbrella rig with straight middle shaft. What you do is take afresh bait and poke it through the shaft. The heavier the rig is better soit will not be drifted away by sea current. Tie it up to your main line...you got yourself a very efficient rig in your hand. Now you can start rigging. Don't sink your bait to the bottom. Squid emergesfrom the deep. You either catch it in mid water while it emerging or 10~ 20foot from the sea level. Tilt your rod once a while. When you feel somepulling, reel your squid in. Do not stop or will lose it. Squid does not gethooked, it hold on to your bait and not letting go. When you it emerging tothe surface, prepare yourself to dodge the water jet.By end of the session (lasted about 2 hours), half ice box were filled bythe 4 or us.

Pond Fishing - Saltwater

2007-01-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

Many had gone to the pond and bought the ridiculously expensive live bait (prawn or fish) in hoping on hitting the jackpot. Is it really the most effective bait? Nah.. I think not.

Do we really know of where this fish came from. Was it from the wilderness of its natural habitat? Or was it born and raised in fish farming cage. I think most logical answer is cage. What do they feed these fish? Is it live fish or prawn that they can make good dollar out of each of it?

I know some fish farmers. Visited the farm a few times. One of the market is these private pond that you are paying for the admission to fish. These fish never ate live prawn rarely live fish. To cut the cost to the bottom, these farmers would go to the wet market each evening when the fishmonger about to close for the day. They bought or sometime even just helping the monger to clean up the fish remains to feed the fish. So these fish only eat dead fish. Of course its natural instint would remain as predatory and hunting live bait. But don't you think that it would prefer its regular diet?

There is a tip for you. Don't waste your money on buying the live bait.

Shore, boat or pond

2007-01-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

I am more for saltwater rather that freshwater fishing. Basically it is because of the species is wider at most of the place, the fight better and it serve well on the dinner table. Sorry to say, I am not much to catch and release enthusiast.

On my early days, I had encountered with various and countless dissappointment. Most of the time, I know that the fish is there but it does not seems to have appetite to my serving. Even paid pond have it bad days.

On scale, I would choose to the natural habitat rather than man-made. The idea that I wanted to share here is when is which. The joy of cathcing a fish is very match to the dissappointment of spending hours to nothingness.

Sea always have fish. Let us do the basic first. When do we get ourselves on the boat and when to stay inshore. Frankly, whenever that is good on the boat is good inshore and vise versa. This is because it is all about the current... especially when you are doing the most common method of bottom fishing. Bottom fishing basics is simple, get your bait to the bottom or seabed. It is not really enjoyable to fish with weight to size of your fist and have to use heavy duty equipment for a couple ounces of fish. So, watch the current.

The easiest way is to follow the moon cycle. Full moon or no moon means high tide. High tide mean differences of lowest level of water level to the highest level is the greatest. Imagine a pale of water.. better yet your baby bathtub or your own tub. Put the water to half. Imagine that that is the amount of sea water in the world. Tilt it to one side and the water would flow to the other side. Put time constant on it. The faster you tilt it, the faster the water flows. Means, the bigger the difference of level over the same time would mean the greater the current. Narrow the middle section of the tub (imaginary). Now you have a smaller passage. That would be the straits current. It is even greater flow if you are fishing on the straits or channels. Don't get me wrong, the fish is still out there. It is just much greater challenge to get it and often dissappointing. Soft bait would easily stripped off the hook. You will fish blindly. Fish is not dumb to take just the plain hook. Fish bite is hardly detectable mostly because of the enormous weight that you have to put up with. Fish usually does not bite when the sea is currentless. They are resting maybe.

How do you keep track of the moon phase then? Easiest way is to have either islamic or chinese calendar with you. This is because those two calendars are moon base. 1st to 6th is the beginning of new moon, not good. 7th to 12th is good. Don't think of 13th to 17th for that is full moon. Again on 23rd onwards to forget about bottom fishing. Bare in mind that it is only either 29 or 30 days a month in these calendar. You could still do top water technique though. In fact, it is the most efficient time for trolling on the high tide days. We will discuss about that later.

So you got your days to be near see. Keep it in your wallet. If you still want to fish on the 'high current' days, do topwater techniques or just go to your nearest pond.