34 thoughts on “It’s Halfbeak season!”

  4. Hi Patrick, Daniel and Lawrence

    My recent past 2 trips to Sungei Jurong area had poor halfbeaks catch. Also that place cannot hold more than 3 anglers at one time.

    Currently, I am inclined to wait for the fish school to appear at Labrador jetty in 1 to 2 weeks time; once they appear we can do a fishing outing together.

    Lawrence, here is wishing you the best of fishing at Ah Ngan – check with Ah Kok if he has any lobsters to sell….his price is much cheaper compared to S’pore market prices! We look forward to you posting your catch report!

    Cheers!

    Vincent

  5. Hi Vince,

    The pics i posted was taken in Johor Bahru.
    It is a nice and relaxing place facing the Johr river.

    It is about an hour and a half drive from JB,and the rates are very attractive.Alternatively you can leave from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Tanjong Belukor if you do not wish to drive.

    You can view the website that i posted in the posting “For the love of fishing”

    cheers

    Daniel

  6. Hi Vince,
    We will wait for your good news.

    __________________________________

    Hi Lawrence,
    All the best to your Ah Ngan trip.

    __________________________________

    Hi Daniel,
    How do we get to Bob’s once we reach Tg Belukor by ferry from Tanah Merah ? Actually, have thought of driving there
    but having second thoughts after hearing stories about bad traffic jams at Woodlands checkpoint.

    Rgds,
    PatLee

  8. Dear Vince,

    The fishes look like swordfish with the long thingy from the mouth. Are they edible? What is their local name?

    Is fishing therapeutic or boring? I have always been quite interested in fishing/crabbing but not sure if I can handle the worms.

    Kindly enlighten this ignorant fisherman wannabe.

    Thanks and regds
    CathY

  9. “……..The fishes….with the long thingy from the mouth. Are they edible? What is their local name?

    The fish’s local name is “Iwannakissyou”. You’re at the upper end in looks…..and so is yr weight. So cease and desisit from thinking of eating all the time. The long thingy is not edible. As you can tell from its name, it’s a smooching tool, no inferior than your sweet lips are………

  10. Ha ha very funny Tim! I’ll have you know that fishes are low calorie food and a good source of protein too. The ideal alternative to red meat.

    Care to refute my statements?

  11. “Ha ha very funny Tim! I’ll have you know that fishes are low………alternative to red meat.Care to refute my statements?”.

    Once in a blue moon you tell lies but like many times before, you tell the truth so what’s there in yr statement to refute? So, that easily explains why red meat you eat, fish you kiss, yeah?

  12. Thanks Vince & Patrick for your best wishes.
    Will try to take pictures of my catch, but don’t know how to post pictures.
    Maybe can email pictures to you.

  13. Hi Lawrence,
    No problem, you can send the pics of your catch to me and I’ll post it for you.

    It’s off day today, I’ll be going to Labrador Park to find some fishing spots in the afternoon. Meanwhile, do have a safe and enjoyable trip to Ah Ngan’s.

    PatLee
    pat1404sg@gmail.com

  14. Cathy..halfbeaks are sometimes also known as garfish. They are a great eating fish deepfried. But you have to know how to fillet the fish coz they’ve quite a lot of small bones.

    PatLee..how was your outing at Labrador Park today?

    Vincent

  15. Hi Vince,
    Found a nice and clean jetty there. Parked car at car park A and had to walk a distance down on many flights of steps.

    Quite a few halfbeaks lingering around the jetty but was not biting. Few anglers there but none caught the halfbeaks although an angler got a couple of hookups but the halfbeaks managed to free it selves after doing its usual somersault stunt. Plenty of tambans caught.

    Did not proceed to the other end at carpark B. Will go there some other time when am free.

    Heard that Indians use the halfbeaks to cook curry.

  16. Thanks for your reply, Vince. I may have tasted the fishes already without knowing what they were. Anyway. will keep a look out for your postings and one of these days, I may just come down and watch the action as Labrador Park is situated in the West.

    Meanwhile happy fishing and a lot of patience!

    Cheers
    CathY

  17. Dear Vince,
    We get garfish (up to 2 ft long) in Perth – cost $19 per kg. I use maggots to catch garfish using a float with burly. To prepare garfish, cut off head & stomach, put the fish face downwards, then roll over the fish with a rolling pin or empty wine bottle – centre bone will crack – then pull centre bone from the fish. I fillet garfish for sashimi, or porridge (add some minced pork, dried scallops or dried cuttlefish) or just deep-fry with plain flour.

  18. Hi Marylee,
    Very interesting rig you are using for the garfish. Would you mind sharing more info on your float and burly?

    How do you prepare your burly and how you rigged it up to the float? Size of your hooks and what maggots used?

    Would like to try this on our jetties.

  19. Hi Patrick,

    Not sure if you can buy burly from the tackle shops in Spore. I bought some burly cages from Spore last Nov. For garfish, I use plastic float with a 2 ft leader (if current is strong, use a longer leader) and size 6 long-shank hook. I can get maggots from tackle shops in Perth or produce own maggots (by putting some belachan in a closed plastic bottle – punch some tiny holes big enough for the flies to get in). For bait, garfish also like pieces of prawn or fish. Hope you get some big halfbeaks.

  20. Re #19,

    Oh…I thought you prepared DIY burly yourself. So how long does the burly last in water? Do you place it underneath the float and above(2ft from) the hook? I’ve never use burly before, so would like to try it one day.

    As for baits, I’ve seen anglers here catching the fish with every thing from tamban and prawn meat, bread and lure , and even with sabaki hooks with no baits would occasionally land a halfbeak by fixing one float at each end of the sabaki line.

    Thanks for the DIY tip on producing the maggots. How long would it take for the maggots to grow to the right size in the belachan?. Sorry, I’ve not seen maggots from belachan before. hmm… I wonder if we can use belachan as burly…….?

  21. Hi Patrick,
    For burly you can use left-over cooking oil & bread-crumbs. Burly in a burly cage with cover can last 2-3 throws. Latch burly cage to the swivel from the main line. The leader with hook is clipped onto bottom of burly cage. Burly is dispersed as you troll the line.

    Week-old maggots are big enough – wash & cover them in bread crumbs & store them in plastic container in fridge.

  22. Hi Marylee,

    Thank you for the invaluable inputs. Am going out to Beach Rd to get my burly cage. Will try it out on my next recce to Tanah Merah.

    May I wish everyone here a HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR and
    EVERYDAY GOT FISH ! :)

    Cheers,
    PatLee

  23. Back from Ah Ngan Kelong. Catch is very poor, so no picture to show off.
    My target was Seklah, caught none. So change target to ACK.
    Managed to catch only 2 small pieces (200 gm & 300 gm).
    Others from my group got only tambans and small kunings, except for 1 guy who target big fishes. He managed to catch 2 Queenfish and 2 Baracudas.
    Hope to have a better catch the next time.

    Cheers & Kong Xi Fatt Chye to all.
    LLEE

  24. Hi Lawrence,

    Ah Ngan Kelong is worth a try, even though now got now fish. Tell me, how did you get there, transport wise. And better luck next time.

    Terence Seah

  26. I have vacancies for overnight stay at St. John’s Island at the bungalow on Fri 20th Feb. We go ovr on Fri by the 10am Ferry and come back on Sat. Anyone interested pse contact me at vince_wong@hotmail.com or 90060217. Cost share: $10 per night for chalet stay, $15 for ferry and BYO food for the meals….

    Cheers,

    Vincent Wong

  27. Hi Vince,

    Heard there are some good catches there….
    Was at Bob’s homestay last week and it was quite productive.

    There were many fishes caught from the river.We took the boat out and have a rather fruitful catch too.

    Let me know if you all are keen to make a trip there.

    happy fishing

    dan

  28. Hi Daniel

    Let me know when are you next going to Bob’s Homestay…would be interested to go with your party. Cheers. Free to go St. John’s on Fri 20 Feb, come back on Sat 21?

    Vincent

  30. Hi Lawrence and Vince,

    I will try and arrange a trip sometime in March after I am back from Perth.

    In the meantime…..happy fishing…:)

    G’day

    Daniel

  31. Hi Daniel
    #30
    You mentioned about being in Perth around this time so I
    thought that you might be interested to visit the old Mandurah Bridge.

    A good mix of people are there each evening, some to fish
    while others to scoop for crabs. Last week, I caught legal-
    sized (min 300mm) Tailor fishes there. This week, I went there esp for blue swimmer crabs and did manage to scooped up a few legal sized ones as they swam by the water beneath the bridge. The lower deck of this bridge is well lit.

    IF you should be fishing in Perth, pls also have a look at the Dept of Fisheries WA rules (see the link below)
    http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/.
    Those rules are strictly enforced.

    Have an enjoyable time
    HC

  32. Hi HC,

    Yep! will sure go down to Mandurah Bridge again to fish.Last year while I was there did catch few whitings and some kind of fish which according to my aunt has a high content of iodine.There were also lots of blowies…..:)

    I will driving down south stopping in Busselton,Bunbury,Dunsborough and intend to end in Albany.

    Yes I am aware of the size of catch allowed,thanks.

    G’day

    Daniel

  33. Hi Daniel,

    Are you back from Perth? Just wanted to check with you on the status of the trip to Bob’s Homestay…you still plan to go in March?

    Cheers,

    Vincent

  34. Hi Vince Wong, Patrick, Daniel,

    Seklah season coming! How about planing a kelong trip for SHC members in Dec or Jan?

    Would like to see how many are interested before we set date & place.

    Rgds
    Lawrence

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