Shark Gives "Virgin Birth" in Detroit

A female white spotted bamboo shark at the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit surprised zookeepers in July by giving birth to two babies. Why the surprise? It was a virgin birth: She hadn't been near a male for six years. The mother, who has been housed in a tank with a female brown banded bamboo shark for the last six years, laid a clutch of eggs in April.

That isn't particularly unusual, said Doug Sweet, curator of fishes at the Belle Isle Aquarium. Many animals will lay eggs even without a male to mate with, but the eggs are assumed to be infertile and are discarded. Up until now it's been thought that all shark species use internal fertilization through copulation to produce their young. Once fertilized, many shark species birth their young live; others, like the white spotted bamboo shark, lay eggs. Both the females at Belle Isle had laid eggs in the past, despite their celibacy.

But instead of throwing them out as usual, Sweet left the eggs in the tank for a while because he had heard of a bonnethead shark at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, thought to have given a virgin birth last year. He eventually transferred the eggs to a separate tank, and 15 weeks after they'd been laid, the eggs hatched, and the mystery of the virgin birth was repeated.

Rethinking Shark Reproduction

The births have raised questions among scientists as to whether sharks may be able to reproduce parthenogenetically, a mode of reproduction in which the egg is not fertilized. These so-called virgin births are common in invertebrates like snails, but are unusual in higher vertebrates.

"Parthenogenesis has been documented in many reptiles," said Sweet. "There are at least five or six species of snakes, and it's been known in salamanders, lizards, and even a breed of turkeys. But any way you look at it, this is strange." There are possibilities other than parthenogenesis. The Belle Isle white spotted bamboo shark may have been fertilized by a male at a very young age. However, although there have been some random reports of shark species storing sperm for a couple of months or more, six years is a long time, and Sweet thinks in this case it's extremely unlikely.

"We received both of these bamboo sharks from hobbyists, who don't typically keep breeding groups; for one thing their tanks aren't big enough. Usually hobbyists can only buy one egg here and there, and the eggs are typically imported as fertilized eggs. Both the hobbyists who donated these sharks only had one individual. I'm almost dead sure we can rule out long-term sperm storage."

A third possibility is that the Belle Isle bamboo shark is a hermaphrodite, harboring both male and female sex organs, and capable of fertilizing its own eggs.

Hillary Mayell for National Geographic News
September 26, 2002

"Extinct" Coelacanth Hooked in Indonesia

Though he may have only been angling for dinner, the Indonesian fisher who caught a rare coelacanth has instead snagged a barrage of worldwide media attention.
Yustinus Lahama captured the fish—which scientists not long ago believed had gone extinct with the dinosaurs—Saturday near Bunaken National Marine Park, off Sulawesi island.

The four-foot (1.2-meter), 110-pound (50-kilogram) specimen lived for 17 hours in a quarantine pool, an "extraordinary" feat considering the cold, deep-sea habitat of the fish, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas of the local Sam Ratulangi University told the Associated Press. Lumingas plans to study the carcass.

Scientists were shocked when a coelacanth (pronounced SEE-la-kanth) was found off Africa's coast in 1938. They had believed the fish went extinct 65 million years ago, as did a related lineage of prehistoric fishes.

The fish has been a source of fascination ever since. Several other coelacanths have been caught in recent decades, including another in the species-rich waters of Sulawesi in 1998. Coelacanths usually reach five feet (1.5 meters) in length, have limblike fins, and are covered in hard scales and toothy outgrowths that protect their bodies from rocks and predators. Unlike other fish, they also give birth to live young.

May 22. 2007. National Geographic.com

Giant Catfish Protected From Fishing in Thailand

In honor of the King of Thailand's 60th year on the throne, fishers in northern Thailand have promised to stop catching the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish.
The largest freshwater fish in the world, the giant catfish can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh 650 pounds (300 kilograms).

It is found only in the Mekong River system, which runs through China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. More than 60 fishers made the pledge to stop catching the giant fish at a ceremony held last month in the northern city of Chiang Kong. It was one of several events to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's reign.

Fishers in neighboring Laos have also vowed to stop hunting the giant fish. "[This] is the most significant development in the conservation of the Mekong giant catfish in the last ten years," said Zeb Hogan, an associate research biologist at the Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Program. Conservationists say that while the ban is an important step toward saving the giant catfish, more has to be done before the unique species is off the hook.

As part of that effort, Hogan runs a tracking program in which he tags the fish to discover their spawning grounds and to study their migration patterns.
"This project is the first ever large-scale attempt to use underwater biotelemetry to study fish migrations in the Mekong River Basin," Hogan said.

Stefan Lovgrenfor

National Geographic News
July 10, 2006

Petua Tekong- Telefon Masuk Air?

Kerap terjadi pada pemancing apabila telefon selular terjatuh ke dalam air semasa memancing. Bahkan ia juga terjadi pada banyak orang samada golfer, budak2 dsb. Jika tak terjatuh ke dalam air, mungkin terlupa nak simpan masa meredah hujan lebat. Biasanya kalau telefon dah masuk air, alamatnya kena hantar baiki atau kira lupus di dalam tong sampah sahaja.

Walaubagaimanapun, daripada dibuang terus baik cuba cara ini. Ambil telefon yg terjatuh di dalam air tu, jangan offkan ia takut short circuit kat litarnya. Buka & keluarkan baterinya terus. Kemudian lap dan jemurkan barang sepetang telefon dan baterinya. Jika telah malam, letak aje di atas lubang udara TV (bhg atas belakang TV). Bila dah agak kering, gunakan hair dryer dan blow di depan mahupun dibelakang selama 10 minit. Kalau mahu efektif lagi, pakai vacuum cleaner dan sedut dari segala lubang yg ada di fon tersebut seperti di bhg suara, bhg telinga, di tempat bateri dsb.

Lepas tu, baca Bismillah banyak2, pasang balik telefon tu....dan tadaaa ...dah boleh on. Kalau x boleh gak, ulang proses di atas. Tak boleh gak, masuk bakul sampah lah. Cubalah..pokcik dah cuba kerana Ahad lepas fon jatuh dlm sungai. Ingat kantoi dah tapi alhamdulillah, selamat gak ghupanya. Selamat la nombor fon kawan2 dlm fon tu...tu yg paling penting sekali.

Why Is fishing better than sex?

1. You don't have to hide your fishing magazines.
2. It is perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to fish with you once in a while.
3. If your partner takes pictures or videotapes of you fishing, you don't have to worry about them showing up on the Internet if you become famous.
4. Your fishing partner doesn't get upset about people you fished with long ago.
5. It's perfectly respectable to fish with a total stranger.
6. When you see a really good fisherperson, you don't have feel guilty about imagining the two of you fishing together.
7. If your regular fishing partner isn't available, he/she won't object if you fish with someone else.
8. Nobody will ever tell you that you will go blind if you fish by yourself.
9. You can have a fishing calendar on your wall at the office, tell fishing jokes, and invite coworkers to fish with you without getting sued for harassment.
10. There are no fishing-transmitted diseases.
11. If you want to watch fishing on television, you don't have to subscribe to nasty channel.
12. Nobody expects you to fish with the same partner for the rest of your life.
13. Nobody expects you to give up fishing if your partner loses interest in it.
14. Your fishing partner will never say, "Not again? We just fished last week! Is fishing all you ever think about?"

"This joke was ripped of the internet. IT DOES NOT reflects the actual feelings of the owner of the blog."

Patin Bagak Sg Mekong

Senyum kepuasan terukir di muka pemancing. Selepas bergelut dan terpaksa terjun ke Sungai Mekong untuk memastikan Patin raksaksa tidak terlepas, akhirnya patin 60kg berjaya ditewaskan. Ini beberapa report dari pemancing di sana:

.

Brian Lockwood from England came to Thailand fishing last year for the first time and set his personal best Mekong catfish of 40lb at Bungsamran Lake in Bangkok with The Fish Thailand Team. This year Brian came back to Thailand fishing and smashed his previous best with a 93lb Mekong giant catfish. Brian also fished an extra rod to target the giant Siamese carp, although no carp graced us with their presence today - it was this setup that caught the 93lb Mekong catfish. Brian's total for the day was 19 fish - this time averaging 40lb!

.
The Mekong catfish (native to Thailand) were showing early in the day and fed throughout; making for a great fishing trip. Fishing Bung sam lan lake in Bangkok is a notorious big fish fishing venue in Thailand, where the majority of anglers break their PB's.

.
Nick & Kenny were keeping a written record of all the fish caught and their weights. Until 4p.m they were both on about par with each other, with both of them each having landed a 49lb Mekong catfish amongst many other 30's and 40's.

.
Then Nick hooked into one of the Bungsamlan giant catfish - the long and steady run from this fish had Nick straining behing the rod and managed to turn the fish with great skill. The fight was far from over and by the end of an intense 45 minute fight, Nick had subdued the beast ready for Fish Thailand guide - Alley to slip the net over its head. The fish was beaten and so was Nick, his face was an expression of pure relief that he had won this fight & most of all that it was finally over. 25 Fish For 796lb.

.
This was the talley for the day - not many venues in the world can boast this catch rate which illustrates the unbeatable big fish fishing in Thailand with the Fish Thailand Team.

Beberapa gambar pemancing yg berkunjung di sana:

http://www.fishthailand.co.uk/bgallery/index.php?level=slideshow&mode=album&id=7

Jigging Ikan Timah Laut Hokaido

Pulled a 24 hour run to Mie Prefeture this past weekend to get in on some of the country’s best ribbon fish angling. Well, to make a long story short, we came back with full cooler boxes and lots of smiles. Tired out as I am two days after making the trip, I’d do it again this weekend if my friends said they wanted to give it another go.

.
I had never seen or heard of a ribbon fish prior to coming to Japan. As it turns out these guys live all over the world. My uncle back home was telling me he remembered catching a few in some fishing holes back in coastal Louisiana. Another buddy of mine told me that ribbon fish are a choice bait for catching king mackeral in Florida. Well here’s a new twist. Here in Japan, ribbon fish are highly sought after game. They’re insanely fun to catch, and really good eating. As of recent I’ve come to enjoy going fishing for these guys more than seabass.

.
Ribbon fish can be taken pretty much year around, but they depending on the time of year they’ll be at different depths. I’m still trying to get a full sense of where and when it’s best to target them, because I keep hearing completely different explanations from different ‘experts’ I talk to. The thing I do notice about ribbon fish behavior is that they tend to be concentrated at a very thin depth range. For example, if the captain says he sees the fish 10 meters from the seafloor, he means at exactly ten meters, and not anywhere above or below that depth. I’m thinking this is because ribbon fish don’t swim parallel to the seafloor or surface, but rather ’stand up’ in the sense that their natural swimming postion is perpendicular to the seafloor.
.

Anyway, jigging for tachiuo, as they are called in Japanese, is a little more challenging than catching seabass for the above mentioned reasons and a few others. I personally find this species to be a little more selective about what it bites into and doesnt. That could be just my own imagination though.
.

Tacklewise, tachiuo anglers often use heavier jigs which are designed a little different from the types used for seabass fishing. Of course heavier jig weights are necessary in order to get down deeper to where the fish are, but also to keep the attitude of the jig more vertically oriented. Because ribbon fish are concentrated in very specific depth ranges, it’s not necessary to have your jig bouncing as diagonally as ones does with other types of jigging. Intead one simply needs to figure out exactly where the fish are, drop to that depth and bounce the jig around in front of them.
.
Ribbon fish strike the center of their pray basically snapping it in half. Tachiou jigs are designed with rings to attach hooks at both the center and the rear. This is done to have hooks placed near where the fish is likely to strike and to keep the head of the fish as far away from the leader as possible. Their sharp teeth will bite through really thick leader and even braid. Another difference is that treble hooks are used instead of your typical braided assists. If you take a look at the morphology of these critters it’s easy to see why.
.
Ribbon fishing is done with light tackle. Basically the same types of bay jigging tackle I’ve spoken about in previous posts. Most folks use PE in the 0.8 to 1.5 range, but I’ve seen some guys who jig offshore using 1.5 to 3 on Ocea Jiggers and Saltigas. I prefer to use bait reels over spin gear because I can control how fast line comes of the spool and feel more strikes on the drop, which occur very frequently. Spin gear is effective for tachiwo, but I’ve found it to be a little more troublesome.
.
I’m hoping to get out for some more of these guys in the coming weeks. If anyone is interested I may do a follow up post with some more details and finer points of tachiuo fishing. Be cool. Del, Japan.

Aku Bukan Kaki Pancing

Dulu, aku bukanlah seorang kaki pancing dan aku tak faham kenapa orang boleh minat memancing. Ada dua jenis pemancing. Pemancing cari makan dan pemancing cari kepuasan. Mungkin aku boleh terima jika orang pergi memancing nak cari ikan untuk digulaikan, tapi aku tak faham bila melihat ada pemancing yang melepaskan semula semua hasil pancingan mereka.

.

Setiap kali bila nak balik ke Malaysia, mesti isteri aku ajak pergi kedai pancing untuk beli lure yang abang ipar aku pesan. Bukannya murah semua benda tu. Mahal. Walaupun mahal, dia nak juga. Katanya kebanyakan lure tu payah nak jumpa di Malaysia. Membazirnya. Beli beras lagi bagus, fikir hati aku.

.

Gembira sungguh abang ipar aku bila dapat semua lure yang dia pesan. Dibelek-beleknya lalu di susun rapi di dalam lurebox yang dimiliki. Awal 2006. Abang ipar aku perkenalkan satu forum. Malaysian Fishing Net. Aku cuba jenguk forum tu. Meriahnya kaki-kaki pancing Malaysia bercerita tentang pengalaman dan hasil pancingan mereka. Aku masih tak faham. Masih tak minat. Lebih seronok aku tengok cerita Doraemon atau Shinchan di TV.

.

Pada satu hari, isteri aku ajak pergi kedai pancing. Katanya dia nak beli lure. Nak cuba jual pada pengunjung forum tersebut. Terus terang aku tak berminat. Bukannya murah semua lure tu. Boleh laku ke? Ada ke orang nak beli ke? Pelbagai pertanyaan dan kerisauan menendang ruang fikiran aku. Terus terang, aku memang agak kedekut berbelanja. Apatah lagi semenjak berkahwin. Aku tak suka membazir beli barang-barang yang tak perlu. Aku lebih suka tengok duit di dalam bank yang bertambah dan terus bertambah.
.

Beberapa hari berlalu.."Abang, lure yang kita beli haritu, dah habislah orang booked..," kata isteri aku dengan penuh ceria. Ye ke? Terkejut juga aku bercampur rasa hairan. Apalah yang menarik sangat dengan benda-benda ni. Aku cuba belek dan teliti satu persatu. Setiap kali aku sentuh dan belek lure tu, mula timbul rasa kagum dihati aku. Kagum dengan hasil kerja orang Jepun mencipta semua lure tu. Kemas. Cantik. Mungkin aku sudah mula mengerti kenapa orang sanggup keluarkan perpuluh, malah beratus ada yang sampai beribu untuk mengumpul barang-barang pancing yang diingini.
.

Hari berlalu, bulan berganti, aku mula berminat dan serius dengan bisnes ni. Menjenguk kedai pancing mula menjadi salah satu rutin utama bersama isteri setiap kali hari cuti. Mencari stok lure sekenhen untuk dijual. Banyak kedai pancing di sini. Kalau dikira, lebih dari sepuluh buah kedai yang ada. Lure pertama yang menarik minat aku, Megabass Pop X. Satu hari di sebuah kedai pancing, tokeh kedai tu rekemenkan lure Pop X ni. Katanya lure ni memang top di jepun. Akupun belilah seketul. Colour - Karakusa Tiger. Sampai di rumah, aku belek dan amati Pop X tu. Memang cantik. Pada pakejnya ada logo Japan Good Design Award. Timbul keinginan kecil di hati aku untuk mencuba lure tu.

.

bersambung...(sekelumit coretan dari Akapiman yg menetap di Jepun)

Pari Pulau Angsa

Rentapan pari 7 kilo di Pulau Angsa. Untuk slide show sila ke link berikut:

http://crazyfisherman.multiply.com/photos/slideshow/22

Credit: Sharma, Krazie Fishie

Pancingan One Fathom Bank

Penangan memancing di Beting Sedepa atau One Fathom Bank. Untuk ke sana pemancing boleh menyewa bot dari Kuala Selangor, Sungai Besar atau dari Port Klang.

Untuk foto-foto, sila ke link berikut: http://crazyfisherman.multiply.com/photos/slideshow/19

Credit: Sharma, Krazie Fishie

Resepi Ikan Kukus Cendawan

Hai kengkawan. Ini resepi terbaru Chef Selebriti Jun. Nampak cam sedap terutama cendawan yg dimakan panas-panas..

salam pokcik...(salam kembali). still bz ker?(bz giler, kira duit berguni2 tak mau habis2 ni..wakaka) sori la...lambat sket anta. last 2 weeks, anak2 x sihat..demam aje. mood masak ader kureng sket(anak x sihat, maknya pula dpt alasan nak minta abg belanja mkn kat luar...huhu). as requested, jun anta resipi sempoi aje la pokcik. nak jaga badan sket macam pokcik.. (klu nak shape cam pokcik kena main besi hari2). kali ni chinese recipe gitu ye...nnti pokcik balik leh wat ni..senang sgt...leh la bg isteri pokcik relax...wahahaha.....bahan2 dier pon x byk....

1 ekor ikan (pokcik ingat ikan bawal la kot, baru sedap. kalau belacak tah ler..)

cendawan shiitake-hiris2

4 bawang merah-hiris2lobak merah-hiris halus2

5 biji cili api-hiris halus (kalu nak pedas lagik...tambah aje ye)

2 sudu besar sos tiram

2 sudu besar kicap cair

gula n garam (kalu rasa x cukup masin...)

campur aje sume bahan hiris dalam mangkuk ngan sos tiram n kicap cair berserta gula n garam. tabur aje atas ikan tu n kukus dalam 20min. tu aje..senang x?ok pokcik...jun nak masak lagik ni..jap lagi putera n puteri tu balik nak santap...

Ok la, mai cuba ramai2. Klu sedap blh courier kat umah pokcik satu mangkuk...ikan tau bukan courier mangkuk. Klu curier mangkuk, tu kira mangkuk ayun le tuh..

Ikan Apakah Itu?

Ikan 1: Ikan ini macam ikan Kitang tapi agak besar (org putih kata table size -dlm 1/2 kilo). Nak kata bawal, berbintik pulak.

Ikan 2: Ikan ini macam ikan merah. Tapi ada tanda hitam di bawah sirip ekornya macam ikan jenahak. Nak kata kerisi, besar la pulak.

Ikan ini dibeli oleh Chef Jun di Pasar Tani Mega Shah Alam. Sesiapa yg tahu ikan apakah ini, sila catatkan di bahagian komen/gebang. Hadiah istimewa akan diberi.

Anglers Paradise @ Maldives III

We have been there with 4 persons. We stayed at the Vilu Reef Lodge (www.vilureef.com.). This lodge is very beautiful, nice beach bungalows and great food but the drinks are not includedI think that we have fly fished in one of the most beautiful destinations on earth…………...

Fly fishing from deserted islands. Each island had in the middle a dense jungle, surrounded by pure white beaches and by a coral reef. A fly fisherman’s dream. I organised a pilot-trip to see if we can find a new fly fishing paradise. We found a paradise, but the fly fishing was another part. From the beach you will see at the outer edges of the reef, everywhere Jacks, Trevallies hunting. Those fish stay most of the time in the reef and do not come hardly close to the beach. But not every island is equal. Sometimes the reef is very close and sometimes the reef is far away.

From the beaches we caught many small Groupers and Jacks and one Blue Fin Trevally. But the biggest fish are in the reef on along the " cuts " and "edges" on the blue side. We fished from a large traditional Dhoni normally used for diving purposes. We have fished from October 20th to October 27th at several small islands of the Dhaalu Atoll. We chose the islands and flats in relation to our main targets species to catch; Bonefish, Indian Ocean Permit, Barracuda. Jack and Trevally.

The decision what flat or island to fish from was made on a daily basis, mainly by ourselves using our knowledge and experience of similar tropical waters in the Caribbean and elsewhere and by studying the map of the Dhaalu Atoll after the first two days of fishing. During our stay we experienced the fly fishing in general as being difficult and though, because of the conditions that we were facing with and because of the lack of understanding of what fly fishing is all about at the Vilu Reef.

Fishing from deserted Islands: We were all hoping to catch a Bluefin Trevally from a beach of a deserted island. Everyday we saw them hunting far away from the island, in the corals or along the edges in the blue water along the reef. The only possibility of catching them was to swim with all your fishing gear from the beach to the reef and try to catch them by standing (!) on the coral reef and casting to the blue water edge. We experienced this method as being rather dangerous. You simply cannot tell to your clients that in order to catch a fish they have to swim to certain fishing spots.

The last days we spent mainly at Faandhu, a deserted island where the reef is closer to the beach. The fishing options on this particular island were somewhat better but far from ideal for fly fishing. From this island as elsewhere we caught mainly small Groupers between 15 - 25 cm and some tropical reef fish. The very few Bluefin Trevally and Jacks that we managed to hook were all lost in the sharp coral. All in all we truly missed a flat-bottomed boat better suited for this kind of fishing.

Fishing on the flats: We have fished some mornings and evenings on the flats around the local island nearby Vilu Reef where we thought to find Bonefish in large schools. All the flats around the Vilu Reef Lodge are to deep for Bonefishing by wading. We saw very few Bonefish at the local island nearby the Vilu Reef Resort and caught only one (!) during our entire stay. We caught numerous little Groupers and some big Garfish. We found it disappointing to see that the local people obviously don't care about their own environment. The shoreline is a mess and there is rubbish all over the place.

Fishing in the surf on the outer-reef of the atoll: The first day we went to the Sixteen Sandbanks, sixteen deserted islands in a row……….. We tried the flats for Bonefish first, but saw not a single fish. Then we spotted a lot of Jacks and Trevallies hunting in the blue water near the outer edges of the reef. Our video – man fished from the reef over the surf with very heavy spinning gear (not fly fishing) and succeeded in catching some nice fish.

The only possibility left was to cast from a boat in the blue water in the direction of the reef, trying to keep a hooked fish out of the coral reef and playing it in deeper water, with less chance of loosing the fish. However, this can only be done from open flat-bottomed boats, that are suitable for drifting close to the reef. Such boats allow a fly fisherman to cast easily with long fly lines to stalk and hunt the fish. A maximum of two fly fishermen and a guide by the outboard motor is the limit for fishing in the described way. Unfortunately such boats are not yet available at the Vilu Reef Resort.

So we had to make do with the Dhoni. The Dhoni is a nice comfortable boat for transporting passengers but not really a fishing machine. It is to heavy and to large to fish without any problems along the reef in the blue water. It has a roof, making it difficult to hook a fish from a certain distance. Fly fishing is impossible from a Dhoni, because you can not make a decent cast, but the people who had spinning rods, tried to cast along the reef.

The results : we lost one big fish in the coral reef and could not get it out, because the Dhoni could not get close enough to where the fish was stuck. At the end of our stay we lost a fight with a big fish because the Dhoni was not able to turn quickly enough. Another method of fishing can be trolling a lure or an artificial fly, but this is not what we consider to be fly fishing in the real sense of the word. The crew on board was very helpful but they are truly not fly fishing guides. Neither do they have any basic understanding of sport fishing. They know how to get to some of the islands and they know how to drop us off there, but they are certainly not fishing guides. We do realise of course that the staff of the Vilu Reef Resort is not familiar with this kind of sport fishing.

I think this summarize will give you a good impression. The area is unbelievable, but the fishing is tough, but very rewarding if you can catch a Trevally or a big Jack in these circumstances. But I like to be honest with you, and these were the results of our stay at the Vilu Reef. Resort, Dhaalu Atoll. However…………. Sun Travel, Maldives is busy to build a new lodge on a deserted island calledOlhuveli. Olhuveli is located in the South Male Atoll. This lodge is located at very huge lagoon, that is stretching out for more than 10 km…………

The management of Olhuveli told me that all the gamefish are swimming in the lagoon, like Permit, Bluefin & Giant Trevally, Barracuda and Jacks. They have boats and guides that can bring into and even outside the lagoon. I did email them also some pictures of Bonefish and they told me that they will find out it these fish are there. If you are interested I can give you a really good price if you consider this is as a pilot – trip. In return I like to receive a full report after your stay.

Please email me at tropical@castel.nl if you are interested in fishing the first in this maybe new fishing paradise. After reading this report, please check my new update at www.tropicalflyfishing.com. I am looking forward to your answer.

Best Regards, Theo Huizing, Tropical Fly Fishing

Anglers Paradise @ Maldives II

The first thing that struck us as soon as we stepped of the plane was the color of the water and the fact that even standing there on the tarmac we were totally surrounded by this beautiful tropical water. Nothing can prepare you for the beauty of the Maldives. Customs and immigration was smooth and hassle free. Travel agent representative escorted us to our speedboat for transfer to the Island. On reaching the Island we were escorted to the reception and checked in. Welcome includes a complementary fruit punch and a very refreshing cold towel. All in all the entire pick up, transfer and welcome was very professional and a very pleasant experience. The deluxe room we had was small but comfortable with a nice balcony overlooking the sand flats. The furnishings are plain but adequate. The bathrooms are a good size, clean and functional. The room came with a TV (which only had one channel) and a mini bar. Food in general is good tasting and good quality however could do with a little more variety.

.

All facilities and activities are available at Olhuveli Island Resort. These include Island hopping, snorkeling, sunrise & sunset cruises, morning and night fishing (bait fishing) etc. Olhuveli island resort is situated on a huge expanse of sand flats which stretches for at least 10 Km in length and are between 500 meters and 1 KM wide. As you are not allowed to fish from the resort island you do need a boat to get to your fishing flats. The Dhoni (local large wooden boat) is o.k. for getting you there and back, but that’s about it.

.

Don’t bother trying to fly fish from it. The crew is not familiar with fly fishing but know where the fish might be. So don’t expect much guiding assistance considering fly fishing. Fly fishing outside the lagoon is almost impossible because the Dhoni is not suitable for this. I fished the flats both north and south of the island and found the flats in the south to be better. At high tide larger bait fish imitation flies work well but only in natural colors. Forget white and chartreuse etc as the water is just too clear.

.

Keep your patterns as close to the natural colors as possible. Olive greens with a little bit of silver sparkle through them worked really well for me. As the water level drops at low tide and the sun gets higher in the morning you need to go for small Crazy Charlie’s in tan, beige, and white colous. As the sun gets higher and on brighter days I had to go for lighter 8 – 9 lb tippets but for most of the time I got away with a 12 lb tippet. Permit are there but not in big numbers.

.

If you went there just to target Permit you may go away disappointed. In five days of fishing over some of the nicest flats I have ever seen I did not see one Bonefish. I don’t understand why but they just weren’t there. The fishing is challenging but if you manage to hook a Bluefin Trevally under these kind of conditions its one of the most rewarding fly fishing experiences you will ever had in your life. As a combination family holiday & fishing trip it’s a great destination. I chose to fish early each morning so that you could be back at the resort by around 12 am. For serious fly fishermen it might be a bit disappointing as the Permit and Bonefish are few and far between. It is a lovely place, good resort and I’m sure that we will go back there again

.

A week was a bit to short. I think 10 to 14 days would be ideal if they would only change the buffet. Despite this I will be going back as I am now addicted to Bluefin Trevally in shallow gin clear water.

By Theo Huizing, Tropical Fly Fishing

Anglers Paradise @ Maldives

Consisting of 2,000 tiny coral islands stretching 800 km through the Indian Ocean just south of India/Sri Lanka, none more than two meters above sea level yet surrounded by very deep water, the Maldives are rich in gamefish of many varieties.

Water temperatures never fall below 28 C, so marlin and sailfish occur year round. Maldives is particularly rich in wahoo and several members of the tuna family; big yellowfin are most plentiful early in the year.

In late evening, november 30th, 2002, five Singaporean and two Japanese anglers arrived at Male airport Maldives. As soon as they left the airport, they jumped in the safari boat MV. COZY, and jumped in each bed in small cabins.

.

On the next day 3 AM, while all anglers are still sleeping, the boat left it's anchorage and head to the north. And our fishing safari in Maldives started. Our doni (every boat in any size is called "doni" or "dhoni" in Maldives). MV. COZY is 60ft safari boat with 4 crews and a guide, usually used for diving and fishing safari tour. The speed is slow but has good casting space because of it's flat roof.

.

All 7 of us can cast at a same time on the bow deck and the roof deck. Seven topwater addicts who cast at a same time are from Singapore, our leader Zeck, Simon, Hong Kim, Aik Sing and Gene who coordinate this trip, and from Japan, K-ToTo Mukaiyama and me. On the first day morning, December 1st, we arrived at Faadhippolhu Atoll about 100 km north from Male and started fishing. In the afternoon of the first day, K-ToTo caught first trophy fish of this trip, 45kg Sailfish. We slowly moved up to the northmost atoll Ihavandhippolhu Atoll with fishing at every good fishing spot. We landed at a desert island for surf fishing and visited a few small towns for supply water during our voyage navigated by Maldivian guide Majeed. It was amazing seven and a half days fishing safari live on board.

.

On the last day, we left COZY at South Thiladhunmathee Atoll and fly back to Male with a lot of good memories and a bit of muscular pain.

.

Report by: Mr.HAMANAKA, Setsuo (Japan) sham@za2.so-net.ne.jp. To organise your fishing trip pls contact: www.muni.com.mv

Candat Sotong

(Posted by request)

If you drive at night along the Terengganu coastal road between May and December, look past the coconut trees and beyond the waves. You will see a long row of lights. Chances are you are looking at the lights of the squid jiggers or in Terengganuspeak, people candat sutong.

If the Northern and Southern Hemisphere have four seasons and Malaysia has two (wet and wetter), Terengganu has many seasons. Not just a time to be sowing but a time to mukat bilis (netting the anchovy), mengail kerisi (fishing) tenggiri or other fish in season and a time to candat sutong (squid jiggling).

Fishermen will leave as early as 3 pm to scramble for the choicest lubok, where the most squids congregate. Soon after night falls, the fluorescent lights, powered either by a generator or an auto battery (wet cells) will be switched on to attract the squids (or calamari, if you haunt Italian restaurants). The fishermen use multiple hooks (the candat) with fish bait or they use a jig made of lead with 10 hooks embedded. This is called a "twist" by the locals. The candat and the twist are both attached to a separate fishing line, usually nylon.

During the candat season, squids are easily caught. Depending on the lubok, the fishermen can catch between 40 to 100 kg of squids per night. The squids hardly put up a fight although they are known to hose you with their black ink as soon as you get them on the boat. Mostly the squids are the straight torpedo type called torok (male) and the sotong tupat (female, with eggs). Sometimes you can get the big sutong katok and during the day, you might hook a sutong mengabang, which is shorter and fatter than the torok or sutong tupat.

There is another sutong which Terengganu people call sutong kereta. It was much, much later that I found out that it was actually kurita or octopus.

Dipetik dari bustamann.blogspot.com

Lawak Pantai Timur

Hari ni pokcik tension skit, audit fail. Jadi buat selingan la skit...tak de kena mengena ngan ikang pung.

Wak Sir and Pok Ya had this riddle:
Wok Sir: Godio hok kecik sekali dale dunio nih?
(What is the tiniest thing in this world?)

Pok Ya: Kume?
(germ?)
Wok Sir:Dok!
(No!)

Pok Ya: Anok kume?
(A small germ?)

Wok Sir: Dok! Ado lagi hok kecik pado tu.
(No! There is a smaller thing than that)

Pok Ya: Godio? Acu ghoyat.
(What? Tell me.)

Wok Sir: Anok kume kuruh.
(A skinny small germ)

Bhuahahahaha...budok kecik tu pung gelak sampai tegak rambut..kena makan masakan Jun baru buleh gemuk kumang itu...

Lirik Udang Galah, Cangkul Ditanggalkan

Ini adalah kisah dari Indonesia berkenaan penternak udang galah. Jika tak faham bahasanya, coba2lah agak maknanya. Tidak pun tanyalah bibi si amah rumah anda..

MATAHARI condong ke ufuk barat. Akhir pekan lalu, langit terlihat keemasan. Sore itu di kawasan Pantai Cisolok, Kabupaten Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, tak ada mendung menggantung.
Sobihin (41), pembudidaya udang galah di Kecamatan Cisolok, menyusuri jalan tanah selebar tidak sampai setengah meter di Desa Karang Papak, Kecamatan Cisolok, Sukabumi. Tubuh Sobihin dibalut kaus putih dipadu celana bermuda coklat muda. Tangannya menggenggam jaring.

Jalan itu membelah hamparan sawah model terasering yang telah menjelma menjadi kolam-kolam. Di salah satu kolam, ia melemparkan jaring lalu menariknya ke pinggir. Wajah Sobihin langsung sumringah tatkala melihat di jalanya terdapat sejumlah udang galah.

Selama setahun terakhir, Sobihin mencoba menggeluti pengembangan udang galah. Sepetak tanah berukuran 600 meter persegi di belakang rumahnya, yang sebelumnya selalu ditanami padi, dijadikan kolam udang galah.

"Setelah mencoba menanam udang galah, ternyata hasil panennya bagus. Setiap tiga bulan saya bisa memanen udang dengan untung sekitar Rp 1.000 per meter persegi. Melihat hasilnya bagus, saya nekat menyewa beberapa petak sawah yang berdekatan dengan kolam saya," katanya.

Hal serupa dilakukan ratusan warga di tiga kecamatan daerah pesisir, yaitu Cisolok, Cikakak, dan Palabuhan Ratu. Beni (37), warga Desa Karangpapak, Kecamatan Cisolok, mengaku sudah setahun menggeluti budidaya udang galah dengan menyewa lahan seluas 1.000 meter persegi.

"Ternyata hasilnya jauh lebih besar dibanding bercocok tanam. Dengan menanam padi seluas 1.000 meter persegi, biasanya saya hanya memperoleh keuntungan bersih sekitar Rp 1,5 juta setahun. Kini untung saya Rp 4 juta per tahun dalam empat kali panen," ujarnya.

UDANG galah tergolong kebal penyakit. Selama ini gangguan penyakit hanyalah putih susu, yaitu bercak putih pada punggung udang yang bisa menyebabkan kematian maupun kecacatan udang. "Selain itu, harus diwaspadai gangguan hewan pemangsa udang, seperti biawak," kata Wahyu Jauhari, ketua kelompok tani udang galah Harapan Makmur.

Kemudahan lain, pasokan air untuk kolam masih berlimpah dari Sungai Cimandiri dan Cimaja. "Memang daerah sini cocok untuk budidaya udang galah. Usaha ini juga tidak membutuhkan air banyak karena air kolam terus mengalir dan akhirnya kembali ke sungai. Sebelumnya memang timbul masalah pembagian air, tapi kini sudah teratasi," kata Kepala Seksi Pengembangan Budidaya Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan Kabupaten Sukabumi Subtomy Subas.

Tahap pembudidayaan udang galah mulai dari pembenihan, pemeliharaan tokolan satu (usia benih udang dari 0-45 hari), pemeliharaan tokolan kedua (usia 0 hingga 60 hari), sampai yang terakhir pembesaran untuk konsumsi. "Sejak masih tokolan satu, udang galah sudah bisa dipanen," kata Wahyu.

Sebagian besar petani sudah bisa melakukan proses pemeliharaan tokolan hingga pembesaran udang galah. Tiap 1.000 meter persegi, ditanam benih udang galah 5.000-7.000 ekor. "Sampai sekarang kami masih sulit melakukan pembenihan karena membutuhkan modal besar dan kemampuan teknis tinggi. Jadi, kami memilih membeli benih udang Rp 40 per ekor," ujar Wahyu.

Begitulah sekelumit kisah petani yg bertukar menjadi penternak untuk menambahkan pendapatan. By the way, kalau tuan bijak bestari yg mana satu udang jantan, yang mana udang betina...

Lake Powell @ Grand Canyon Trip

I had the honor of fishing with Conner and younger sister Ellie Grass last week. Everyone caught fish even Mom, Dad and Grandpa. We fished in Padre Bay around brush piles along side the main canyon submerged creek bed. In the brush we caught bluegill. At the edge of the brush we found large and smallmouth bass. Further out in the channel stripers were schooled and hungry.

Conner started with a rattletrap and then switched to a green grub but he had the best success on a Xcalibur jerk bait in white. Once he got the hang of fishing the jerk he wouldn't use anything else.

In total we caught 30 stripers, 20 large and smallmouth bass, 5 bluegill, 1 walleye and a crappie. it was a great trip.

By Wayne Gustaveson