FISHING

'Angling for a catch' tis article in sun times 5/7/09 lured me 2 disclose my d other identity! Barracuda & Garoupa found in sungei tampines!!! they'r sea fish, & barracuda has season.

i was d Founder President of spore's 1st reg angling club, Pioneer Angling Club. i was spore's 1st fishing author, The Right Way to Pond Fishing. published by eastern univ den sold to times. still found in various libraries including spore sports council. i oso conducted fishing courses n talks at ymca, libraries n ccs.

fm d 80s to early 90s, fishing brought me 2 radio, tv, n press. sentosa found a fish will call me, changi beach had fish bone oso called me..... angling fair '82......(expo at ch chamber of commerce, documentary films on fishing by various embassies), brought pple 2 fish all over spore including under benjamin sheares bridge.... all these brought worries 2 d only 2 fishing tackle giants!!! if i were monopolised by 1, d other felt he'll suffer!!!
politics were created in d club!! some trusted fellas went 2 start another club w support by 1 tackle shop. they failed eventually. God knows! i must tks a pool of honest n loyal followers esp lee fong soon. now 1 of their key chaps is a conservationist!!!

it all started coz in those days, spore lacked proper fishing organisations n knowhow were ltd. PAC was eventually voluntarily dissolved coz all felt objectives achieved. Fishing is now a recognised event. there's a govt backed assn. many fishing clubs, mag, shops etc. some yrs ago my cousin felix told me tat in some internet fishing forums still mentioned PAC & Danny Cheong. a legend! haha. felix as his name hinted tat he really a die-hard angler. today. he's still fishing, whereas i full time retired. although still hv dreams related 2 fishing!!!

Fishing had brought me fame n glory including almost took pt in d world cup marlin! took pt in sea games.... reservoir fishing.... spore water sports assn.... learnt alot too, politics and friendships. some good pple always in my mind are lee fong soon, tan pin ho, ronald bush, weng yan, maurice pasqual, patricia tan, poh leong, loo, teo wai kai, tc lim, johnson, desmond. etc. some bad names will b remembered but forgiven GC, GP, WR, RT. take tis chance 2 thank hock heng pple, helen, david, ricky, raymond; & d 2 old uncles of siow chiang arab st. not 4getting d little old shop at beach rd (long gone). oso tampines & spore fishing ponds. boatman chai teck & family. some press stars were margaret chan, gloria chandy, magd lum, siew hua, & kf seetoh (makan sutra. he's a photographer, in an outing, he snapped a shot of siew hua's pretty legs won an award). PPD's freshwater fish expert & Sentosa x curator who specialised in sea fish (4got their names) in helping 2 indentify various types of fish). uncle loke keng wan intro fishing 2 me. harry teo n jacques C my mentor.

tis para dedicate 2 mr teh, x credit mgr of harpers trading. in d 80s, he's a new but over zealous angler. although i advised him n declined fishing w him at d famous spooky n v rough sea horsborugh lighthse, he went ahead w his buddies. read fm d papers tat his boat hit undersea giant rocks, although he's a good swimmer, he died. other mates non swimmer survived!

my extreme attempt in local water was raffles lighthse. at there we used sinkers as big as pears! lines u can call rope! in malaysian water, i went pulau aur, sharks island. furtherest east island. 6 hrs boat ride fm mersing. tioman only 4 hrs. even at coast, d water was dark blue. saw villagers hung skark fin, abt 30 cm long! we didnt get any shark anyway. saw dolphins along d way. now they said marlin n swordfish oso hv!

copied some other clubs, my members were addressed as Fisher. it's always my dream to perform Backward Cast. it's possible folks. did it b4. i still hv some classic fishing tackle, eg Abu 282, garcia fishing rod, mitchell 410, n d rare fishing bag tat they tot golf bag! if d price is rt, go take them, auction oso can, autograph oso can. haha.

tis para for founding members of PAC, ms liew, roland, james, lim, & some i really cant recall their names. so sorry.

Happy Fishing! but beware of hooks, esp rusty ones. wen u cast, watch safety. make sure no fishing line lay loosely on d ground. dun lose ur temper wen no bite. teach junior how 2 fish. be humble, dun haolian abt your uglystick or abu diplomat. as 4 me still trying 2 understand tis phrase: Fishing is a bait at 1 end, a fool at d other!!!