Ultralight Tackle Fun

A grudge match..

I was told by Ah Pan that Sin Poh Farm's Wan Yee (grass carp) would feed only after 5pm.
And based on previous experience, I would concur.
My personal record was a 6kg Wan Yee on a 6lb line. That was more than 20 years ago when I started fishing seriously.
So, to verify what Ah Pan had told me, I took a trip to Sin Poh Farm and stayed a night there.
The plan was to set out from Subang Jaya to the farm after lunch. 
This means, a real slow drive on a relaxed pace.

With Ah Pan at Sin Poh Farm

After driving for an hour, I reached the farm. 
Ah Pan was tending to some orders and had to make a delivery run.
I chilled out with his dog Bobby and waited a bit until it was time to head down to the pond.

My ultralight rig

The Shimano Nasci Ultralight spinning reel

Checking out the scene...

Clearing out the large tilapias

It seems that the larger tilapias in the pond would feed only later in the day.
This is roughly about twilight where the sun is over the horizon. They hate feeding in mid day or on a hot afternoon.
We tried out the small pond at the pumphouse and almost instantly, Ah Pan landed a good sized fish, about one kilogramme in weight.
On a 2lb line, the fight was tremendous. 
One must be really careful not to burst the line and the larger the tilapia gets, the harder the surge..

Rain over the horizon..

Ah Pan with a sizable catch

Strike! And a 20-minute straight fight...

The light was fading fast, I did a time-check and it was already past 06:30.
It didn't help as the day was really gloomy.
Ah Pan chummed the pond and I can see large water streaks heading to the pellets floating on the water surface.
I rigged up my line and hook with a piece of dog kibble and casted my line.
Slowly, the line became taut and when I held up my rod high, I had set the hook.
It was a solid strike and I began a fight with the fish at the end of the line.
With an ultralight tackle, I cannot afford to set the reel's drag tension too tight.
At the time I was fighting the fish, the drag setting was just right.
And I left the parabolic rod and the ultralight spinning reel to do the job of tiring the grass carp.
Ah Pan had estimate its weight to be around 3kgs.
With the rod on hand, I was controlling the grass carp, and each time I reeled it to the side of the pond, it made a surge.
This is when skill and patience meet.
If you are skittish, the line will snap.
But, throughout the 20-minutes, I had the upper hand.
And as the grass carp had shown signs of wear, I reeled it in slowly so that Ah Pan could scoop it up with both his hands.

Lifting the ultralight rod for extra leverage

The fight rages on.. 

Catch of the day..

Throughout the fight, I kept my rod straight and upright.
This is so that the hook remained on the fishes mouth and there's no slacking on the line.
My reel's drag did its job by providing enough tension to stop the fish from surging any further.
On the side of the pond, there are weeds. I need to keep the fish out of it and lead it around and all the grass carp did was surge and dive.
It's easy to lose the fish on a light line as it snaps off easily.
I held on as long as I could and by sunset, the fish was landed.
This was perhaps one of the best fight I had with a large fish on a 2lb line and I'm glad to have experienced it.
So, that said, I am geared for the larger 5kg carp that is still lurking in the pond...

Sin Poh Farm Ride: Part 2

Looping back to Karak

After a good fishing time at the farm, we rode off towards the Pahang-Selangor raw water pipeline.
This is a relatively shorter route to town from Sin Poh.
We had to ride on a dirt track towards a suspension bridge and connect to a housing estate in town.
This is roughly about 8km offroad and the distance was shorter than we've expected.

Riding along the Pahang-Selangor raw water pipeline

One of the large water pipes along the route

The raw water transfer area

Crossing a suspension bridge

Mud everywhere!

We rode along the dirt track and found it to be amazing.
Michelle said that if we had invited other cyclists -- especially newcomers, we would have gotten a mouthful.
"They'd probably give you a fucking for leading them into a path with plenty of mud!," she said.
It didn't help when we took the wrong turning and rode around in a circle.
That's how people got lost in the trail.
With a little bit of patience, we found our way back to Karak town and linked up with Ah Pan and Farmer Wong.

Dirt everywhere!

Parking the bikes at Yik Kee restaurant

Prawn noodles: Farmer Wong's favourite dish

Cleaning up the bike before loading it into the car

We had lunch at Yik Kee restaurant, one of Karak's favourite makan places.
There, Farmer Wong treated us to his favourite dish: Prawn noodles.
The portions were large and I must say that Yik Kee is consistent in terms of quality.
We had large Giant River Prawns (macrobrachium rosenbergii) for lunch and it was a deeply satisfying treat.
The Sin Poh Farm route is quite a fun ride from Karak town and seeing as it is, we do have plans to do more exploration in the area..

Sin Poh Farm Ride: Part 1

A holiday plan...

I've made arrangements to meet my buddy Ah Pan and Farmer Wong in Sin Poh Farm, Karak.
The plan was to drive to Karak town and ride to Sin Poh Farm.
And on Christmas Day, the traffic was breezy.
We took about an hour to get to Karak and set up our bikes for the ride.
I did put up an event for other cyclists to join in, but I guess that on Christmas day, no one would want to get their bikes dirty, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
In town, we met Ah Pan and had breakfast and as usual, we chilled out at one of the coffee shops to have some dim sum and their fried noodles.
From town, we rode out to Sin Poh, which is about 10km away.

Michelle trying out her new smartphone

Riding along the Karak-Kuantan road

Crossing the new bridge leading the farm..

Riding along an abandoned field

Almost reaching the farm

We didn't have much difficulty getting to the farm.
The roads were pretty clear and after riding about 7km, we reached the Bentong Community College.
This is the junction leading to Sin Poh and after clearing the unpaved road, we made a left-turn and this was where the fun began.
The Dahon Jetstreams took it with much ease and a full-suspension folding bike really took the bumps and thuds on the uneven terrain.
Even with an 8-speed ride, Michelle had no problems maneuvering her bike.
We arrived at the farm and Ah Pan was already waiting...

Catching up with some fishing.. 

Our plan was to ride to some of Ah Pan's fish ponds and fish there.
It's been a while since Michelle had fished and this was a great opportunity to catch up with our past-time.
We tried to lure the tilapias there with some bread and managed to hook up a few.
I was told that there are chichlids in the pond weighing in at 2kgs.
But these are a bit tricky to land as they feed only late in the evening.
Nevertheless, Michelle and I tried our luck at fishing at one of the ponds.
I had my trusty Daiwa Caldia KIX 2000 spinning reel paired with a Storm 6' 0" pack rod.
These are easy to transport in a backpack.
Michelle, on the other hand, had my Shakespeare telescopic rod and a 10-ball bearing ultralight reel.
These are really fun to haul and use and when your life depends on it, you can get food through fishing.

Taking a break at the farmhouse

Michelle, trying out her luck

A nice tilapia landed

Removing the hook for release

My Daiwa Caldia KIX 2000 spinning reel

Hooking up a tilapia

We continued to fish at the pond and decided to call it a day after 11:30am.
The plan was to ride out to Karak town and have lunch there before driving back to Kuala Lumpur.
Even on Christmas day, we had a lot to do.
At the farm, we caught up with Farmer Wong and Ah Pan.
A lot has changed at Sin Poh since I first visited the farm more than nine years ago.

Return to Sin Poh Farm...

Catching up with an old friend...

I received a call from Ah Pan, an old friend of mine.
He has been living in a farm for the past eight years and its really doing him some good.
Prior to that, he stayed in a shophouse near Taman Dato Harun in Bandar Sunway.
After the motorcycle repair shop he ran and wound up, this guy had moved out to Karak and worked for Farmer Wong, a mutual friend of ours.

Ah Pan and his pooch Bob

 Honoring my word.. 

I gave my buddy a call and set a journey to visit him at Sin Poh farm in Karak, Pahang.
This is one of the few vegetable farms in the country to be awarded the Good Agricultural Practise certification by the Department of Agriculture.
I view this as a huge success for its owner Farmer Wong who worked for three years to achieve his goal.
Now, there aren't many sincere and honest men out there, Wong and Ah Pan are the exception.
And being accepted as their friend was truly an honour.
Back in the real world, I deal with scumbags, ass-kissing corporate people who are 100% fake.
This makes my stomach turn.
Meeting with a bunch of friends who appreciate your company and respects you for what you are, that is truly a feeling money can't buy.
I caught up with Ah Pan over some tea in Karak town
He told me that he is interested in a plot of land near Farmer Wong's place.
And in a world that is uncertain, there is hope for an old-timer like Ah Pan.
I told him that I will help in any way I can to market his Farm stay to the world...

The Fish farmer.. 

Feeding his commodity..

In the past year, Ah Pan has been busy rearing freshwater food fish.
His main commodity are the Tilapia (tilapia mossambica) and the grass carp.
This pellet-fed fishes can fetch as much as RM12 per kg and there has been some interested parties in the harvest.
If he keeps it up, the haul will be ready by the end of this year.
We are looking at some good money for the Farmer to roll.
Living in the farm, Ah Pan had been diligently feeding the fishes and the results can be seen..

Some good old fashioned fishing..

The Climbing Perch

The Sin Poh experience would not be complete without a fishing trip at the pond.
I've done some good fishing here and with Farmer Wong's awesome ponds, choices are aplenty.
They were aiming for Tilapias and the haul would be divided among the farm workers as their meals.
Nothing is wasted here.
While Ah Pan, a fishing guide himself and champion angler - did most of the work, landing a good catch, I struggled a bit.
My tackle was not suitable for the pond. The line was simply too thick. But I persevered and landed a small Tiliapia.
Then, my luck changed.
Slowly, but surely, I began landing some ikan Puyu or the Climbing Perch.
This primitive air-breathing fish is nothing but amazing.
I used to catch them at a decommissioned waste treatment pond near lake Titiwangsa in my late teens.
Now, what's interesting was the fact that I kept on landing this little fellas with fish pellets as bait.
Slowly as time dissolves into the late hours of the evening, I had at least 10 climbing perches.

Our humble haul..

Catch of the day: A snakehead landed with my telescopic rod

A last-minute surprise..

I hooked up a piece of fish pellet on the hook and casted it into the water.
While waiting for a bite, the guys were doing really well, filling up a basket with fish.
Then, I notice my line going out.
"Ah, another puyu!," I thought out loud.
The line became taut and when I set the hook, I felt a heavy tug.
This was not a perch. 
My cheap-assed Shakespeare telescopic rod began to bend as I let the drag on my ultralight reel do the job of keeping the fish on the end of the hook.
Now, this rod and reel combo doesn't seem ideal for such a situation, but it surely held up to the brute force of the fish that was on the other end of the line.
Farmer Wong said it was a snakehead.
Slowly, I let the small Shakespeare Dimension 10-ballbearing reel do its job, and reeled in a table-sized Snakehead. 
I estimate this fine table fish at 1.2kgs and it was my defining moment.
Despite a slow start, I managed to land a predator with my travel rod and reel set.
This inspired me to look at "Cyclofishing" in my future outings.
After packing up the gear, we brought the haul back to the farmhouse where it would be divided among the farm workers.
I parted ways with Farmer Wong and Ah Pan and assured them that I would be back for more visits.
Later, I took the rest of the climbing perch to my in-law's place where they were released into a pond.

A day at the farm..

Good friends are hard to come by these days..
I met Farmer Wong eight years ago.
We were introduced by Steven Leong, a bio-technologist who had worked and lived in Japan for some years.
His company, Shimamoto agriculture, is one of the leading bio-technology ventures in Japan.
Leong taught Wong on ways to manage a sustainable farm.
The formation years were tough.
Wong had worked his ass off for two years before he got the formulation right for his compost fertilizers.
His hardwork paid off after the Pahang agricultural department had awarded him the state's first Good Agricultural Practise certification.
In short, Wong's produce is able to reach any market - especially those who are concerned about pesticide abuse.
Although not entirely organic, Wong's vegetables are treated with the mildest insecticide.
We've became good friends with a lot of common interest.
One of them was firearms and knives.
Recently, Wong had surrendered his .22 Ruger rifle to the police.
He took ownership of a .243 Winchester Browning BAR rifle.
I had a chance to try it out and after firing a few rounds, I was impressed with the performance of the gun..

A worker and her dogs

These pooches provide added security to the farm

With the new firearm, Farmer Wong can keep his property safe.
Next up, is probably a pistol.
Sin Poh produces a yield of four to six tonnes of vegetable a day.
Their market covers Bentong, Raub, Kuala Lipis and Gua Musang.
The rainy season it seems, is actually boosting sales of leafy vegetables with prices soaring high as demands had tripled.
Wong is happy with the fact that his crop yield is steady.

A beautiful piece: The Browning BAR rifle

Ah Pan's pet project
Wong's Man-Friday Ah Pan, who is also an old friend of mine, had lived at Sin Poh farm for eight years.
He takes care of Wong's two daughters and only son Wong Wei.
Recently, Ah Pan had embarked on an aquaculture project.
He is now rearing Tilapias and Grass Carp for sale.
After four months, the fishes are growing on a steady pace..

Feeding time: Ah Pan at work

When the harvest is ready, there is at least a huge revenue for the income generated from the fishing ponds.
On a hindsight, Ah Pan told me that his nephew, Sherman, who is also a friend of mine, is planning to acquire a plot of land next to Farmer Wong's.
I hope this venture will work as eventually, he will set up a homestay near Sin Poh..