Fishing in the South China Sea *by JS*

This was a pre planned fishing trip in Sabah to accomodate Prince C's request and besides it's been ages since i last went out fishing so it will be a nice change from golfing :)

As we approach the pier( i wouldn't call it a jetty......just a boat parking area) we were met with our first challenge.

Yes, to board the fishing boat(which looks like a refugee boat from Myammar!!!!) we have to manuveur this boarding plank!! Somewhat reminds me of the movie "pirates of the caribbean"!! In addition one also need to carry your own gear and balance so can be quite daunting for some.

The boat does not look as bad .........facilities include the following.

there are actually bunks so not that bad.

and this is the kitchen which was quite well equipped.

i shall not show you the toilet........don't want to spoil the mood......hehe :)

so the captain set the course and we were on our way.........

as you can see the weather was good........

The journey out took a couple of hours cos the boat only does about 8 to 9 knots........i call this the "speed that kills" cos you run out of patience waiting to reach your destination :) and all you see is miles and miles of empty ocean..........and all you hear is the chugging of the 500hp cummins turbo diesel engine and after a while you can actually pick up a rhythm coming from the engine............probably out of boredom

yawnnnnnnnnnnn

for some, fishing also must got style one :)

and also take time off to pak toh !!

eager beaver James of J&J

Bernard da joker rigging the fishing lines for everybody cos all only know how to fish and dunno how to rig lines!!!

thats Bernard da joker "threatening" captain Ah Tat.......if no fish.......you know what i am going to do???

by the time we arrive at our destination 4 hours due west of Kota Kinabalu, the sun was about setting.

so we fished and fished till nightfall. That's Eveline flipping the fish on board..........very aggressive eh......the fish i meant :)

We actually fished the whole night and come morning the deck hands cooked us this breakfast.

i call this tai wok chow fun(literally translated to big wok fried noodles).......garlic, soya sauce and noodles.....very basic.

nevertheless some people damn hungry as you can see!

some of the fishes caught the night before........they look small cos no reference size but are actually quite big so you wildlife conservationist don't panic k :)

thats a hugh one..........the spanish mackeral i meant !

the author with his catch which is call chut sing pan in chinese and coral trout in English.

some more fishes. The silver color one is call Cermin in Malay and reef runner in English. The red one is another coral trout.

Prince C with his catch.

This is the view of Mt Kinabalu from out there........Got my mind thinking this must have been the same view that Admiral Zheng He saw when he passed this way in the 1400AD.

Sabah is still a great place to fish albeit negative comments and i am sure many fishing enthusiast in the region agree. One can rent the boats for about RM2000 on an over night excursion however be warned that the facility is minimal and basic! Due to high demand forward planning and booking is a prerequisite. Well, you know who to contact should you decide to go :)