Giant grouper

Ker Chin and his winning fish.

KOTA KINABALU: Labuan angler Ker Chin Cheang won the 2015 Sabah International Fishing Tournament (SIFT) after landing a mammoth 85kg giant grouper yesterday.
The 45-year-old reeled in the winning fish on the third day of the tournament, earning him the RM25,000 cash prize, trophy and certificate.
Ker, who started to actively participate in fishing tournaments just two years ago, said he joined SIFT never expecting to win any major prizes, let alone emerging as the first place winner.
But luck was on his side as the giant grabbed his bait and did not even put up much of a fight.
Ker said it took him just 30 minutes to subdue the fish, but pulling it into the boat was no easy feat as it required the help from 11 other boatmates to get the job done.
“The fish is so heavy that 11 men have to help me pull it out of the water and into the boat,” he said to reporters after receiving his prizes yesterday.
Ker, who works as a mechanical chief supervisor with Petronas Methanol Labuan, said he would definitely come back to try his luck again next year.
The tournament saw nine boats flagged off from Sutera Harbour Marina & Country Club last Wednesday, with some 100 avid anglers from Macau, Brunei, Australia, Dubai, Kuwait, Singapore, Labuan and Sabah on board.
For the first time, Layang Layang Reef, about 20 hours from Kota Kinabalu, was chosen as the battleground for the tournament, which entered its 18th edition.
The five-day-four-night event governed by the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules, promoted sustainable game fishing and aimed to position Sabah as a preferred angling destination in the region.
Themed “Save Our Seas”, the event required participants to immediately release any bill fish caught, after taking their measurement, weight and photograph.
The catch of giant wrasse, rays and sharks were completely banned.
This year’s format was based on individual category only, where angler with the heaviest fish landed would take the tournament’s title.
Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board (STB), Datuk Johniston Bangkuai, graced the prize presentation ceremony, accompanied by Sabah Angler’s Association president Datuk Wilfred Lingham.
The second place went to Lim Seon Keng from Tawau who landed a 78kg giant grouper while Fong Ka Meng of Macau won the third place with 34.2kg Dog Tooth Tuna.
They walked away with RM10,000 and RM5,000 cash prize respectively, along with a trophy and certicate.
Three consolation prizes of RM500, medals and certificates were given to Leung Kam Yeung (Macau), Wu Kuong Meng (Macau) and Eric Ling Yee Kiat (Tawau).
A total of 18 fishes with a combined weight of more than 280kg were submitted for the main prizes.
The top six of the prize-winning fishes were auctioned before the prize presentation, reeling in almost RM4,000 in total.
The tournament was sponsored by STB, Sutera Harbour Resorts, Summer Cruise Holiday, TCE Tackles, Parexgroup Sdn Bhd and Sabah Fishing Tackles Supplies, and assisted by the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/04/27/labuan-angler-lands-giant-grouper-rm25000/#ixzz3YkvOfvAC

Pelbagai teknik memancing di laut

Casting (teknik mengilat) adalah satu kaedah memancing dengan membuat lontaran umpan atau gewang ke sasaran kemudian mengarau kembali tanpa perlu menunggu umpan jatuh ke dasar atau diragut ikan.
Umpan yang digunakan untuk mengilat adalah seperti ikan, udang dan jenis serangga/haiwan. Umpan tiruan adalah replika gewang dan sesudu (spoon).
Ikan biasanya menerkam umpan atau gewang yang dilontar ketika proses mengarau. Teknik ini sesuai untuk aktiviti siang hari atau di kawasan terang. Jika mengilat sebelah malam, gunakan replika lut sinar.
Popping – Teknik ini lebih mirip seperti casting. Bezanya ialah penggunaan replika umpan tiruan yang berbeza. Teknik ini menggunakan ‘popper’ yang pelbagai bentuk dan jenis. Popper akan menghasilkan bunyi ‘poop’ ketika proses mengarau selepas lontaran.
Karauan untuk aktiviti popping lebih pantas berbanding casting supaya popper yang dikarau akan melanggar ombak/ permukaan air lalu mengeluarkan bunyi. Bunyi yang dihasilkan ini pula akan menarik perhatian ikan yang berkeliaran di kawasan berhampiran. Teknik ini boleh dilakukan siang atau malam.
Teknik ini banyak meniru pergerakan ikan terbang di permukaan air.
Jigging – Teknik ini mengilat secara mengujun (henjut) menggunakan umpan tiruan yang di panggil ‘jig’. Jig biasanya diperbuat daripada kepingan timah/objek berat kemudian dibentuk seperti ikan dan dicat dengan warna garang dan terang yang luminous atau lutsinar.
Teknik ini memerlukan ketekunan dan stamina tinggi kerana pemancing perlu beraksi sepanjang masa bagi mengunjun jig supaya ia menjadi efektif. Jig akan dihulurkan ke dasar kemudian dikarau kembali dengan kepantasan yang tinggi sambil mengujun joran berselang seli ketika proses karauan laju. Teknik yang menjadi kegilaan masa kini boleh dilakukan sama ada siang dan malam.
Bottom fishing – (pancing dasar) berkait rapat dengan teknik memancing menggunakan umpan dengan kaedah tradisional. Umpan perlu dilabuhkan ke dasar dengan sasaran tertumpu kepada spesies ikan dasar. Boleh dipraktikkan di kolam, sungai, tasik dan laut mengikut keadaan semasa. Sesuai dilakukan siang dan malam.
Drifting – (menghanyut) umpan terutama umpan hidup. Ia perlu dilepaskan ke sasaran tanpa menggunakan ladung. Pelampung dan belon sering digunakan. Ia sesuai di perairan yang berarus sederhana dan berangin. Boleh dilakukan siang dan malam.
Trolling – (menunda) umpan ikan, sotong mahupun gewang. Tundaan ini pada kelajuan perlahan antara 5 hingga 10 batu nautika sejam bergantung kepada jenis gewang yang digunakan. Perlu diketahui, ada gewang yang tidak boleh beraksi pada kelajuan tinggi dan sebaliknya. Lebih popular dilakukan siang hari.
Info dari - https://akilpancing.wordpress.com/

Sibu Island

Pulau Sibu is part of the Seribuat Archipelago down south and is made up of several islands namely Pulau Sibu Besar, Pulau Sibu Tengah, Pulau Sibu Kukus and Pulau Sibu Hujung. Pulau Sibu Tengah is a tiny island home to Sibu Island Resort, a large resort catering to local and foreign tourists. About 5 minutes by speedboat from the larger of the two islands , Sibu Tengah has all that a tourist would appreciate - a full fledged resort with chalets and rooms packed with every bit of creature comforts city slickers are accustomed to. Snorkelling to Kukus island just 3minutes boat ride from this island provides an adventure to novices. Otherwise, for those completely resigned to a lazy holiday, then this resort is the best place to vegetate.

Pulau Sibu Besar, on the other hand is some 7kms long and about 1km wide. One of the largest islands on the Seribuat Archipelago, it's surprising that Sibu has retained much of its natural beauty and tranquility. In the past decade when all the islands up in Terengganu has sped off in the direction of mass tourism and commercialisation, Sibu ambles on at its own pace. The local village continues to eke out a living off the seas and a few of the younger generation opt to work at the nearby resorts for a steadier income and a change of lifestyle. The villagers have kelongs out in the bay where they now rear fish and prawns and a few kelongs are used as a fishing retreat where keen recreational fishermen spend their weekends fishing and bonding with fellow 'inmates' on the platform. There are simple accommodation on these kelongs for rent. 

The main stretch of beach has 4 beach resorts of varying budgets and preferences. Sea Gypsy Village Resort run by Linda, a British, is a favourite with Singaporean expatriate families. So popular they were with young families at one point, that they started up a kid's centre where activities are set up for children for a good part of the day so that their parents are pretty much left alone to their own time. Very precious commodity - time can be for young families! Sea Gypsy also runs the only established Dive Centre on Sibu Besar. 

To the back of the island through a 25 minute jungle trek, sits Rimba Resort. Journeymalaysia.com writers went off on a exploratory trip to Sibu Besar in June 2004 and were well impressed with two set ups on Sibu namely Rimba Resort and Sea Gypsy Village resort.

Deep Sea Fishing

An article to share

Deep-sea fishing is fishing that involves trolling deep waters with large fishing tackle. Compared to other types of fishing, deep-sea fishing requires more fishing equipment including more line, rods and lures. Rods, reels, bait and tackles are the fishing equipment generally required for deep-sea fishing, and specialized fishing boats are needed for angling.

Basically, there are two types of deep sea fishing techniques - trolling and bottom fishing. The fishing technique is chosen, based on the location of the fish. Trolling techniques require keeping the fishing boat at a constant speed of six knots. The bait used is usually a fishing lure that is drawn on a line through the water slightly below the surface of the water. In bottom fishing, the boat anchors in deep water and hooks charged with lures are dropped to the bottom of the sea.

Seining, long lining and netting are some other techniques used in deep-sea fishing. Seining is an angling technique used in areas where there are large schools or groups of fish. As the name implies, long-lining gets its name from the length of the lines that are used. It is one of the popular methods of fishing used to attract fish. The bait is strung out on a long line held up by buoys. Netting techniques rely on nets that are set in shallow water around the coasts.

The Mississippi Gulf coast, San Diego coast, Cozumel coast and Cancun beaches are among the most popular destinations for deep-sea fishing. Even though deep-sea fishing is specifically for an experienced angler, it is one type of sports fishing that anyone can enjoy.