Aluminum Dinghy

An old riveted hull I cleaned up and painted.

Beautiful Handcarved Japanese Lures

The Japanese are known for their attention to detail and quality with whatever they make. Lures are no exception.
These two are made by Endoh Tatsumi. Extremely detailed! I'd like to tie them on and cast them out just to see them swim but the thought of marring the finish holds me back.

This one's a Ducks

I can't I.D. this one.

Inshore Rig

Got this beauty really cheap!

Fish beware!

Morning At The Wildlife Park

Morning duties were done and I had a couple of hours to kill before doing some legwork.
The five minute drive to the park stretched to half an hour due to the morning rush...would've been better to walk but a man on the street with a fishing rod in hand would draw too many uncomfortable stares. Really should get a couple of 2-piece rods!

These two haruans were a good start. Caught on my Rapala Franken Shad.

...an old shadrap that breaks it's lip is a phoenix rising! It transforms into a new lure with a totally different action, one that fish can't resist! Probably how the guys at Rapala developed the Glidin' Rap

 This toman took a liking to my topwater "gun". A full breakfast for me!

Puerto Azul Again

Made the trip again although this time the there were 4 foot rollers in the surf so we were landlocked for the day.

Puerto Azul Panfishing

Midday found us at the Puerto Azul Beach Resort. The place was deserted save for three other anglers trying their luck w the fishing gods. Gretchen and I launched the Crawdad- a bit small but adequate for all the water present.

The area had rocky cliffs that guaranteed great ambush cover in the water below!

   Our lure of choice was the 15gram Rattle Shrimp by Berkeley. Obviously the right choice as grouper after grouper pounced on it. Unfortunately all were juvies save for a couple of big ones that managed to break off.

We released all save for a few that were hooked deep.
Towards late afternoon while working the rivermouth a Threadie took a liking to my Mirrolure topwater. True to form it gave an impressive fight.

 Another struck the same lure but didn't hookup. All in all it was a nice day on the water. An experience we definitely will repeat.

Haruan Hunter Adventures

I was more dehydrated than a dog in a fire hydrant factory. The long walk through the semi arid desert augmented with a dash of tropical humidity had reduced my water reserves to nil. Soon, calls of nature will definitely go to my drinking bottle.  Overhead, vultures were circling probably waiting for me to drop dead and have their chance to squabble over human jerky.

A grim scenario and probably worth the consequences if there were fish in the abandoned ponds rumored to be found in the area.

 Reality was I was overweight, unfit from the comfy couch at home and had hiked 200 meters through cogon grass in the middle of the day. The high flying vultures turned into pesky flies hoping I’d collapse and turn into a putrid mass they could dine on.

Thick aroma (thorny shrubs) replaced the sawtooth grass. They reached out and snagged as much clothing and flesh as they could hoping to stop my progress. I pressed on a faint familiar smell was in the air and was exciting!

I stumbled over a rock falling to my knees a nice round carabao pat inches from my face. No, this wasn’t the smell I was excited about. I looked up and through the thick tangle of thorns on my left I saw the pond. It was shallow with clear stretches of water interspersed with thick green islands of grass. This was where that sweet odor of haruan emanated from.

The thorns tried for one last time to stop me but after trading some flesh and cloth for safe passage I finally reached the pond.

There’s no greater excitement than being the first angler to cast his lure on strange waters. The thought of plunging your shaft into dark untouched waters brings on primal urges that have driven many men from the realm of sanity ( A different subject matter entirely but one I couldn’t resist adding, sorry).

My shaking fingers tie on the imitation frog. Judging from the terrain and the high possibility of submarine sized denizens in the water, this lure had as much chance coming back into the hangar as a kamikaze pilot.

I cast to an island of grass near the middle of the pond and slowly pulled the frog into the water. Barely had it touched the surface when the water humped beneath it and exploded sending the hapless rubber imitation flying through the air. It landed near the center of the clearing.

The same hump that had sent it airborne was bearing down on it sending waves to the grass islands around as a mud trail followed ( the old movie JAWS came to mind).  I reeled in the slack and attempted to retrieve the lure (panic at the thought of being eaten had overcome me), barely had the frog started kicking when it was engulfed by the hump. The lure disappeared. Reflexively, I reeled tight and set.

 There was a moment in vacuum, a brief pause, then pandemonium. The water exploded ! The hump transformed into a huge haruan angry at the bite of his prey. Tables turned in an instant. The tranquil clear water turned into a living brown, muddy mass heaving with each surge of the angry fish. Again it took to the air landing on the grass island and for a moment I was fighting fish on dry land a truly unique experience in the annals of fishing.

 The haruan slithered back into the water. The moment it’s caudal fin found purchase it went full bore ramming its length deep into the mud. I raised my rod tip, the slender but strong carbon shaft went to work force against opposing force. My thumb was clamped down on the spool preventing the fish from gaining the much needed inches for it to find leverage in the thick mud a trick these fish use to break off or bend hooks.

Again it went to the air, somersaulting and head shaking unable to rid itself of the leash.  Finally, it succumbed and I lead it in. A good 2 kilos of muscled fish lay at my feet-spent but not done. I unhooked it and stepped back. The fish turned around and walked back into the water slapping its tail hard as it reentered its domain. 

I wiped the smelly mud off my face, the victor turned vanquished.

Next time…

Sucat, Paranaque