MaxRap has landed!

My grubby hands have gotten a hold of a couple of MaxRaps.....

Let's see what they produce this weekend...

Malaysian Rapala Fans - this is for YOU!

Of course, if you want you want to fly into Kuala Lumpur, you are most welcome too!

Rapala VMC Asia Pacific will be hosting a Rapala Fishing Seminar on Saturday, May 1st 2010. Now this is a significant milestone for Rapala Asia Pacific, where they will be showcasing a wide range of products and brands under their umbrella, namely Storm, Williamson, Plano, Sufix and the latest addition to their family - Okuma!

RapalaInsider has picked up some insider info that the Rapala boys will be showcasing some cool new jigging reels from Okuma, apparel & tackles. But probably the biggest crowd attractor will be the "Mystery Lucky Draw" prizes that can be won at each session. Die-hard Rapala fans will not want to miss out on the lucky draw!

HINT: It's BIIIGG!!!

Freebies will also be given out on first-come first-serve basis for all visitors but wait - there's more... visitors also get to exchange any old non-Rapala brand family lure for a brand new Storm Thundercrank Madflash lure!

(note: Storm, Rapala, Williamson, Bluefox, etc. are considered Rapala-brand lures)

Lock the dates down on your calendars folks - Saturday 1st May 2010 at the Cititel Hotel, Mid-Valley (Bintang Ballroom) Kuala Lumpur from 9am - 6pm.

Rock Luring

Rocky outcrops dot most of the shoreline of many a coastal area and more likely than not, house table-sized groupers which are more than willing to pounce on any lure that scuttles along its path.

The trick is to really 'bump' the lure around the grouper 'holes'. Grouper are pretty lazy fish and would rather sit and ambush prey that swims along its way. Therefore, working the lure around the different depths of the rocky shoreline is a good way to cover ground. Sinking lures such as Storm soft plastics or deep diving lures like Fat Raps work pretty well. Occasionally you do get snagged every now and then, so don't leave the lure retriever at home. But don't be deterred and do keep the faith in working those lures. You'll be duly rewarded!

Oh, and a tip is to experiment the tides. Some places may fire on the rising tide and some may be happening on the run-off tide. Good luck!

Keep an eye out for such outcrops. They are home to some nice lure-snatching fish

Fat Rap FT proves its not only good for Toman but Grouper too

Shad Rap on Bleeding Pattern

Possibly one of the most deadly lures for coastal rock 'bumping'

This one on the small FR05 FT

Chartreuse colours seem to attract more bites

Chinese New Year Grouper

foetoes courtesy of Jeffroman

Took advantage of the Chinese New Year holidays to head out to one of the spots Jeffroman had been recommending for quite some time. It was supposed to have some abandoned structure below which would produce some good Golden Snapper when the currents were favorable.

Anyhow, of all days we picked the wrong current (too fast!). Nevertheless, a day out fishing is always better than a day at work, no? :) We wanted to focus only on artificials that day, hoping to score some Golden Snapper on light jigs or soft plastics.

The Goldies didnt come visiting but a nice fat Grouper was landed on Storm Pro-Jointed Minnow 13cm though...

We'll be back!

Rapala Buff Debut

Hookup!

Grouper on Storm Pro-Jointed Minnow!

Last dash for freedom!

Landed!

Nice and fat

Now That's What I Call A Lure!!

I came across this video today at RapalaFishingNews.com courtesy of Mark Berg's Youtube hosting. If ever one day I get incarcerated, I know what to do.... :)

Enjoy!

Get 'Buff'ed!

Some may have noticed members of the Rapalero team wearing some scarf-like headwear in some of the fishing photos. No, we're not trying to be some pansy, day-time, mis-dressed ninjas on the wrong side of the world.

The headgear is none other than Buff® (http://www.buffwear.co.uk), a garment made of microfibre that is breathable, moisture-wicking, wind-resistant and more importantly, offering protection from the sun's harmful UV rays. Apparently, the word 'Buff' comes from the Spanish word 'bufanda', which means scarf. Smart!

Again, the boys @ Rapala have done it again - by working with the folks at Buff® to come up with a Buff headscarf bearing the Rapala trademark logo & another with a myriad of lure designs. Bravo! Another item for true-blue Rapala fans to get our itchy hands on!

Comes in a thin envelope cardboard

So how good is this thing in offering protection from the harmful UV rays? According to the tag that comes with it, the Buff® blocks out more than 95% of UV radiation (tested by AITEX & LEITAT). Good for protecting one's face from serious sunburn and preventing skin cancer later on from UV overexposure.

What about heat or sweat? No sweat (pun intended)! Made from CoolMax® fabric, it wicks up moisture from the skin and spreads it out across the fabric to enhance the evaporative drying rate while letting the air in to cool the skin, keeping the angler dry, comfortable and cool under the hot sun.

Ways to wear a Buff

I personally quite like the red Buff with the trademark Rapala wordings imprinted all over it. Gives a 'classic' look to it.

Sick of always slapping on dollops of oily, grubby sunscreen on your face each time you go fishing? That may be a thing of the past with the Buff®.

Though it may not 'buff' up your physique, it certainly gives good protection against the harsh sun's UV rays.

FG & KH Do 'Sebarau'land (Pergau)

photos by FG & KH

FG & KH descended upon Pergau on a freezing wet period. A big change from a week back when Jeff & I had a ball with great weather (even got sun-burnt, imagine that!). Well, FG & KH didn't need to take off their raincoats. yet alone apply any form of sunblock!

Nevertheless, the catch size was awesome! Let the pictures tell the story..

Oh, and by the way.... note those sexy, red rods.... want one? ;)

Check out the size

New colour of the Clackin' Rap 06 - Red Crawdad

Revived and released

Minnow Rap GFR was also another top producer

Tail Dancer in Chrome/Clown colour also produced the goods

Monster Sebarau! "KH: Likey my rod?" ;)

This biggie knocked the lip off the Tail Dancer

Double hookup!

This one got its tail chomped off.

'Sebarau'land - Part 2, Where Clackin' Rap reigns!

Day 2...

Jeff & I awoke to the freezing morning. Dawn had broken and it was time to ambush those Sebbies. A quick brush of teeth and off we went! Our neighbours were still asleep.

Did I mention again.... it was SUPER COLD!!!

Beautiful ain't it?

First stop: the submerged island which we fondly named 'Gilligan's Island'. There were some nice drop offs around the area which we felt were worth checking out in the morning. True enough... as the Clackin' Rap 06 Hot Steel made its way down the depths, a nice Sebarau pounced immediately onto it.

Make no mistake about it... Hot Steel was to be literally the 'hottest' lure for Day 2. Shortly after releasing the Sebbie, we made our way to the 'Alley' where many of our fishes we landed the day prior.

On the third cast in front of the bushes, the rod buckled and line spewed from the spool. I thought it was the mother of all Sebarau until it surfaced - a Toman! I was informed that Toman were around in Pergau but were not abundant as the Sebarau. This one tipped 8lb on the Boga. It was quite a nice sized one for the kind with the light, purplish hue - which were usually around the 2kg mark. Usually the bigger ones were those 'watermelon-patterned' types. Anyhow, it was a welcome catch on Clackin' Rap Hot Steel! Amazingly, the thin VMC SureSet hooks held shape!

The Toman engulfed the Clackin' Rap 06 whole!

Revived & released

The SureSet Hooks held solid

Notice the beautiful orange tail - again, on Clackin' Rap 06 Hot Steel

Later that morning, we chanced upon a fishy looking snag. Jeffroman immediately cast an Olive Clackin' Rap 06. Before he could hardly crank, the line took off and went limp! Lure was gone with leader busted.

Toman...

Not one to give up, Jeff felt we should check out other places and return to the spot later once the fish have calmed down a little. About 20mins later, we returned - Jeff clipped on a spoon and cast right into the snag. A brownish-red torpedo shot out to hit the lure but missed!

Again, we left the place and returned another 20mins later. This time, Jeff clipped on an X-Rap 08 Hot Steel. The same thing happened! The torpedo shot out but missed the lure altogether! This was getting frustrating yet extremely exciting! Jeff vowed to land the fella!

To cut the long story short, Jeff tempted the fish 6 times before he landed the biggie Sebarau from that snag on X-Rap 08 Muddler pattern! What an experience!!! We tagged the snag as "Jeffry's 6"

Check out the facial muscles!

Hip Hip Hooray for X-Rap Muddler!

It was indeed a trip of surprises and definitely one with many new things learnt for both of us newbies to Pergau. Rest assured, I will be back....

Coming up in the next posting....

FG & KH's super Sebarau trip (only 4 days after us!)

Stay tuned!

'Sebarau'land

Photos by Jeffroman

Gee... didn't realize it has been THAT long since my last post.

So I heard about this dam in Kelantan called Pergau some months back in early November. As usual, Jeffroman 'poison's me with a SMS.

"When are you back?? There's this place INFESTED with Sebarau!"

I figured by the time I head back for the holidays during New Year's eve, the fish would have already been wiped out.

And before I knew it, the Pergau spot was appearing in blogs, Facebook photo galleries, magazines and such. Reports came in fast and furious - arguably one of the better Sebarau luring spots up north of peninsular Malaysia. Too bad if the fish aren't there when I head up, I guess... but that's the only time I can make it. No earlier.

December end came...

And one early morning saw Jeffroman and myself driving up to the highland immersed in clouds.

We were finally at Pergau.

Cold morning mist. Brrrr!!

We 'checked in' to our chalet on the water. It was quite a comfortable place - with well thought of amenities such as a gas stove, mattresses, a squat toilet ensuite, carpeted floor, clothe hangers, racks and topped with even cutlery, dishes, pots, pans (ADVICE: bring your own as these can be quite filthy. Jeff & I even brought our own sleeping arrangements for fear of bedbugs inherited from goodness knows who previously slept on the mattress!).

After dropping all our supplies & stuff, we jumped onto the 12ft craft powered by a Suzuki 5HP outboard - off we went!! Woohoo! Sebarau, here we come!

We checked out all the likely spots: fallen trunks, snags, bamboo leaves jutting into the water, but the fish were just not there. Strangely enough during our 2 day stay, baitfish were hardly seen! What on earth do these fish feed on? Jeff had earlier advised (as advised to him by our Longkang Gang pirate, "Lannun": forget all you know about typical Sebarau fishing, they are not your 'usual' Sebbies.

Okayyyyy....

Don't underestimate coves such as these

Debbie the Sebbie surfaces!

My first lure of choice was the Luhr Jensen Krocodile. Ironically, I asked Jeff while driving up to Pergau...

D1: Bro, are there crocodiles in the lake?

J: Yes!

D1: Huh?! Serious?! So high up in the mountains??

D1: Yeah! When you cast out that Krocodile spoon of yours, that will be THE crocodile in the lake!

D1: *Not amused look*

Nevertheless it was THE lure I used that morning. And boy was it HAPPENING! First few casts and letting the spoon sink down near a tree stump produced an instant thump on the drop! Hookup! The Sureset hook did its namesake. SURE SET ah! A moment later, Debbie the Sebbie was landed and duly released after photos.

Close up of the Krocodile Rainbow Trout & Debbie the Sebbie

Jeffroman was also teasing fish after fish with spoons. They were not monsters, but nevertheless beautiful fish; good fun on light tackle. Somehow the minnows that usually worked did not produce that day.

Except for ...... *drum roll* RAPALA FLAT RAP!!

Jeff & myself were casting at a half submerged island. He had just landed and released a baby Sebarau when we cast together at the tip of the island where some clump of grass were. The water swirled and the line went taut! Shortly after, the beauty emerged and I proudly showed my molars again (Hmm.... Colgate should sign me up for an endorsement!)

Rapala Flat Rap ROCKS!

Released to fight another day

Of course that was not the only lure that RAWKed that day. Towards the evening, Jeffroman had a few takes on the ol' faithful Rapala X-Rap. He didn't even have to crank it - the fish whacked the lure outright when the lure landed!

Scenic rapids of Sungai Pergau

Isn't God's creation marvelous?

Like a scene from a Chinese painting

We didn't even fish really hard. Jeff & I both took it easy; we ate a lot, snacked a lot, laughed a lot and relaxed a lot on Day 1. We merely enjoyed the scenery and fresh air. Of course, fishing was a bonus!

Nightfall descended and we retired early for the day, in anticipation for an early appointment with Debbie the Sebbie.

Oh, and did I mention it was FRIGGIN' cold at night?!?!?!

To be continued...