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Sebastian (PJ)
Hallo,
Ik ben gek op vissen, ongetwijfeld zijn ook veel mensen die houden van vissen. Eigenlijk is Maleisie een ideaal land voor hengelsport. Voor toeristen die houden van sportvissen:
Dit las ik vorige week, Labuan is in oost-maleisie:
The lure of the Spratlys
By Anthony Geoffrey
Pictures courtesy of Rod & LIne magazine
SEPT 2003 saw the return of the Danes. Led by the redoubtable Allan Riboe, 56, and Tonny Jensen, 57, this time they included a new bunch of anglers. They were to have been Riboe?s third group of the year, but sadly, the first two groups backed out due to the SARS scare earlier in the year.
These guys were a mixed bag of fish, if you?ll pardon the pun, ranging in age from the early 20s to the late 50s. All, of course, were keen anglers, and had been psyched up by the video and pictures of Riboe?s previous trips here.
Although they arrived in Labuan around 9pm on Merdeka Day after 30 hours of flying and transits, they were not in the least tired. They were on an adrenalin high for, after checking into the Labuan Waterfront Hotel, they kept us up until almost 4am bombarding my colleague Aziz Daud and I with thousands of questions.
Next morning, to our amazement, they were all having breakfast when we went into the coffee house at 6.30am. I guess none of them slept, because after boarding the Crystal Coral at 8.00am, most duly went down for some shut-eye. We expected them to be out for most of the 10-hour trip to the first destination. However, after an hour or so, they started straggling up to the main deck. Within 15 minutes they were all up, and we were bombarded yet again.
The day was sunny and, once past the outer islands, the sea was quite choppy, but this was nothing compared to what was to come. Riboe had booked virtually the same dates as last year, when the weather and the catch had been excellent. He was hoping for the same. The youngest of the group Thomas Olsen, 25, was perhaps the most excited. A painter and decorator by trade who has his own business, young Olsen had been to the Amazon to fish with Riboe.
On the first nights of fishing at Royal Charlotte reef, the barracudas were out in force. Many pirks and weights were lost. We were not at our usual anchoring spot at Royal Charlotte as the winds were south-easterly instead of the usual north-westerly. We had to park on the far side of the reef in ?unknown? waters, so to speak. The night did produce some decent Dogtooth tuna, barracuda and groupers.
The roar of the engines at 6.00am brought everyone to attention. This was to be the first trolling around the reef. Within minutes, the first double strike came. Good-sized wahoo. Two hours of trolling produced wahoo galore, some Big-eye tuna and barracuda. Our next destination was Dallas Reef some fours hours away. As we approached the Layang Layang area, we made our compulsory radio call to the naval station on the island.
(This area of the Spratlys is a security zone. Permission to fish must be obtained from the naval offices in Labuan one month prior to departure.)
We were asked to detour to Layang Layang and anchor. This cost us an extra couple of hours. Our guests found it hard to believe that this was a man-made island complete with vegetation, an airstrip and a high-class resort to boot.
We were all invited ashore for tea by the navy personnel but declined. Shortly after, we were allowed to depart. Our group was pleased by the fact that the Malaysian Navy checked us in a most polite manner. It didn?t matter that we lost a few hours. Safety and security, the Danes all agreed, must be maintained.
The next two days brought good catches, day and night. The variety of species caught meant that my Fishes of Southeast Asia book was well thumbed, with everyone trying to identify what they had caught. Often we could not identify an exact species, only a family. Many were new species and, therefore our haul was open to world record claims. A number of world records have already been beaten in the Spratlys.
Day Four actually saw some of the younger guys going out into the reef using the inflatable boat. Trolling and popping brought them Giant trevally, nothing really big, 4-7kg, but they were great fights on lighter tackle.
Next day, our plans to go to Ardasier Reef had to be scotched owing to the bad weather. Trolling on the leeward side of the reef was comfortable and catches were reasonable but the windward side proved very inhospitable.
Night saw us putting down big baits ? whole fish of 3-5kg ? in the hunt for big shark. A few of the guys used blown up condoms as balloons, with fluorescent light sticks inside, to drift out dead bait for sharks and big barracuda. Only one strike was recorded but the fish was never seen, ripping off 300m of line without stopping. I can only hazard a guess that it was a big shark.
Each day, a couple of good fish would be kept, and cook, Jamal, served up wondrous food as usual. The great majority were released. One of the highlights of course was sashimi. Tuna straight from the sea, sliced, then dipped in soy sauce and wasabi. Mmmm, they loved it.
By the end of the sixth day, the weather was really bad and we decided to head back to Labuan. Because of the swell and headwinds, the journey took almost 24 hours. The Crystal Coral, being an all-weather boat, had no problems with the weather but the fight against wave and wind threw our equipment all over the place. The stern looked like a war scene when we got back to Labuan.
With two days to spend on land instead of one, it was time for shopping and eating. And eat they did. Lobster was their preference, and we ordered early: one lobster of at least 1kg for each person. Washed down with the fine duty-free wines, dinner was heavenly.
The fishing had been good but not as good as previous outings. The weather really hampered the full enjoyment of the trip, but all came back overawed.
And we will see most of them again in the future with their friends.
We managed to arrange a bit of freshwater Toman fishing for them at the Labuan Reservoir and one other small lake on the island. This was a bonus for those who woke up in time, and their first experience of the mighty Giant snakehead.
The nine Danish anglers spent approximately RM100,000. They bought clothes, shoes, drinks, food, golf equipment, mobile phones and a whole host of other paraphernalia. That worked out to a little over RM1,000 per person, per day. These guys make such trips at least twice a year, and represent the kind of niche tourism market we can tap into. All that is needed is publicity and some improvement to the facilities.
Groeten,
Sebastian
