Small Fry: My Formative Fishing Years (Part 1)

As a child, I had some pretty strange interests. Even at the age of four, I would memorise stars, their compositions and their positions among the constellations, car models and their horsepowers and sharks and their various species. (yep, we now know where this is heading!) While I delved deep into each of these rather random aspects about the world around me, none of them would last nearly as long the next obsession to cross my inquisitive mind. Yup, you guessed it, fishing! It was during the March holidays, after a rather traumatic first term in Primary School. Seeing my troubled state, my grandmother decided that it would be a good idea to let me try something new over the break and take my mind off adjusting to schooling life. After what had happened over the past ten weeks, I was hesitant about venturing into a new hobby, but something just struck a cord with me that convinced me to give it a try. Well, thank goodness it did, because those ten weeks that threatened to make me refuse would in no way, shape or form hold a candle to the next ten years of fishing fanaticism! (and counting many more years to come!)

15 March 2011

15 March 2011 is a date I will never forget. Walking along the signature red tiles of Bedok Jetty, any initial reluctance was literally blown away in the salty sea breeze. Daring just enough to peer over the side of the railing, my excitement grew tenfold as I saw a huge school of tiny fish frolicking at the water's surface! "Mum, fish!" In my 6 year-old mind, the sight of so many potential targets, coupled with the scale-like pattern that tiled the jetty's flanks, were sure signs of a fruitful day. And so it was!

Barely tall enough to reach over the jetty's railing, my grandmother patiently took me through the basics of the craft - underhand casting, detecting a bite and retrieving line. The first technique I was introduced to was jigging with the sabiki rig, a series of 6 or 7 feathered hooks bought from jetty regulars. My grandma always insisted that the hand-tied setups sold by these retirees were most effective, and I have to agree with her! I spent the first half an hour or so getting accustomed to the weight and sensitivity of the rod, which eventually came after countless false alarms of a bite. In fact, I didn't even feel my first fish, as I merely lifted it, minute and willing, hooked on the second-bottom hook of my setup. Thin and gleaming silver, it must be the baitfish grandma was talking about, or maybe those tiny fish I had seen along the surface. Wait, what? Catfish?!

I wouldn't have been surprised if it were a newborn, but even in its initial stage of development, the resemblance was still evident. Fortunately, the spines which most catfish have had not yet grown on this specimen, so I was able to handle the little guy. The tiny barbels on each side of its mouth used to detect the smallest of vibrations in the water must have been rather confused in the fish's infancy, as till this day, I have no idea why this catfish would go for an artificial presentation! With a keen sense of smell, catfish are known to take pungent baits, but this fish's sensory awareness was probably not yet fully functional. Well, that's my theory, but my first catch remains a strange occurrence to me. Even at the time, I was puzzled, "Why is it so small?" My perplexed response prompted the company around me to burst out in laughter. "Don't worry, Ryan, keep trying and you'll find the big ones soon!" my grandma spoke between chuckles. Well, I have to say, 10 years on and I am still looking. Yikes. Nevertheless, I was thoroughly excited by my success and eagerly released the catfish, before dropping my line in hopes of a second!

Over the course of the next 3 hours, I caught about 5 more fish - pretty dismal in hindsight, but at the time, I was elated beyond belief. That day, I landed my first three species to be eventually added to my lifelist:

Species #3: Vachelli's Glass Perchlet (Ambassis vachelli)

These are the fish I saw schooling along the surface!

Species #2: Decorated Ponyfish (Nuchequula gerreoides)

Species #1: White Sardinella (Sardinella albella)

And these are the fish my grandmother referred to as "baitfish", and are the main targets when using the sabiki rig!

* Remember, my lifelist is ordered in terms of identification, not documentation!

And that concluded my first time out fishing. One may say that it doesn't look like much, but we always have to start somewhere, and if you asked a 6 year-old me reluctantly leaving the jetty, I would have said it was a pretty good one too!

To be continued......