1st - 6th June 2012 Kenyir
Been too long since we were on a trip and quite a while since i went on a break
Ironically, one invariably needs a break to recover from the break ;)


Set off at 2130hrs Friday night, fetched a friend from Salak South and another from Sea Park, PJ. Had light supper and moved off around 1230hrs Saturday morn. Pit stopped at Esso Selayang and off we go! Slow, easy drive of 90-100km/h most of the way, my first night drive to Kenyir. Still made good time, reached Kuala Berang around 0600-0630hrs. Forgot that downhill part after the Genting/Karak tunnel can sure propel a vehicle ... hit 130km/h as i let the card drag in 5th without any pressure on the accelerator at all ... wot if i'd free geared? :P


Fog filled scenery along the way .. with bug splatters for effect

Hunted around for the correct jetty - it was either the Jenagor or Pengkalan Gawi jetty.

... finally hit paydirt .. with emphasis on dirt as it rained before our arrival. Definitely need a pickup truck to go all the way in. Reversed out and tried looking for a viable spot. Bit of a squeeze as it was narrow, with vegetation on one side and a slope towards the water's edge on the other. Cleared some of the undergrowth and we were good to go.

Let the pix speak for themselves

 Top: one of the water chalets on the way in and Right: In the distance, our abode for the next 4 days

 Left: Scenery a la Mount Fuji and Bottom: Water chalet, dining area, kitchen, quarters and store.

 

  

There were stag beetles that flew, too, but was too busy doing what i've not been doing for too long ... fishin! For the umpteenth time ... what wouldn't i give for a (D)SLR with a decent macro lens.

Lotsa tinfoil barbs (lampam) between the dining common and lounge as well as behind the kitchen ... plenty fun on light tackle 2-6lb scimitar and 500 series symetre loaded with 5lb powerpro, FG-ed with 14lb (similar diameter as the 5lb PP) Vanish fluoro. There were also seluang but these are the biggest i've ever seen and they come with a fishy smell to match their size ... 

iridiscent colours but ... hanyirrrrrrr

sunset

 hooked at 3am ... too sleepy to bother
brought up 7am ... boy, was i surprised, i'd thought it was a juvey catfish (baung) 

too bad it wasn't that big ... sifu took home the bigger fish (caught on my rod, too ... ! :D)

your friendly neighbourhood water monitor ... 

Had a snakehead (haruan) but no camera ... my first ever but NO cam! *sighhhhhhh*

Set up: inshore/15lb FINS/salty fighter/weedless frog

Sifu's friends worked hard baiting lines and checking every 4 hours or so ... one full Coleman to take home loaded with featherbacks, snakeheads, catfish. 

We took only what we caught and a gift fish or two. 

Hope to return with the family come 2013 CNY.

visit to Digital Aquarium2 and Ocean Sea

was shopping for upcoming Kenyir trip last Saturday 26/5/2012
bought blue varivas PE2 casting line and FINS 15lb PRT braid (too bad it doesn't come in 300 yard-packing) - wanted something thin BUT strong, moving away from 20lb spiderwire camo
as it took on too much water - the 12lb Toray last used must have been a defective batch ... line kept snapping  
chose vanish 14lb casting fluorocarbon (rm26) for backing line instead of mono ... vanish fluoro leader is a wee bit steep at rm54
completed line purchase with yo-zuri HD Carbon fluorocarbon 40lb clear leader

contemplated getting the RM50+ lure box from them but purchased a used Plano Guide 4700 for rm20 from a friend ... one side tab has broke off and separators aren't all there, but hey, it's rm20 versus retail sticker price of rm61 for a new unit ... 'nuff said.

also bought some Johnson weedless (3.5g, 14g and 21g) and Kingfisher, Sweden Vass spoons

came across the following at Ocean Sea:

1. Storm rod - totally unexpected ... Storm is coming out with rods?!?!?!?! Beautiful piece of work ... reminds me of GM's Sabel Dance v1 (no longer produced) blue 

Looks kinda long but is comfy and quite ergonomical

1pc 6-footer PE0.4-1 ... light and nice ... nice detailing
might get it when pocket permits 

2. ABU Garcia Salty Stage Light Jigging (and no, that's NOT the price, just a sticker on the backdrop item used as support) rod

Light enough, nice blue, Fuji guides, detachable handle system (would it come loose after some use?), 100g max jig weight and max line PE2 ... sighhh ... too many nice rods ...

ABU fans, keep an eye out for their upcoming LPBCs and Volatile rod ... sexy and 'lish .. definitely gonna get the new inshore. Handle and drag star styling has fallen in line with PF Nippon style first seen in their BJ/LJ series except for the knobs. Hope it comes with the power handle, too, like its predecessor.

3. Megabass Pagani Therese multiplex rod

ITO engineering

Very light, quality craftsmanship, quality materials and of course, one's pocket will definitely be lightened by one ... sticker price of approx RM1680.

4. Rapala rods

Sand, Granite, Snow and Predator series

Apologies for the unclear pix ... without sounding too prejudicial, these rods feel and look ... run of the mill. Nice start up tackle investment.

5. Okuma Ergosense

Nice split handle, quite understated. For a PE1 rod, the Ergosense feels much heavier than the Storm or Salty Stage LJ (max jig weight 100g) rods, surprising indeed, but I believe it will feel the business when a fish is hooked up. 

visit to Digital Aquarium

popped by digital aquarium, puchong today 
was able to check out the daiwa t3 and t3b(allistic) side by side
t3b in hand feels double the weight of the t3 ... tackletour guys are on the ball as usual
t3 retrieve feels significantly smoother than its sibling
don't like the plasticky look and feel of the t3b's drag star and clutch control knob
its zaion frame makes the reel quite light which unfortunately, does not inspire confidence on my part (personal quirk) 
pop up hood feels flimsy


still unsure if i'd fork out rm800-900+ for it or +rm1000 for its higher end sibling just for the t-wing feature
for that amount of money, you're getting star drags and clutch control knobs with micro clickers and daiwa's proprietary magforce-z brakes
fwiw, the centri-braked ABU revo inshore feels much smoother and more solid (read confidence inspiring) than either with micro clickers for its star drag and clutch control knob for less than rm600.


found the zerek origin series sabetwitch 10-17lb 1 piece 6-foot and wondernow 8-17lb 1 piece 6-foot rods quite pleasing ... light, strong, with a sticker price that's higher than expected. in hand, it somehow feels that 6' 6" would feel much better. if i had to choose, sabetwitch would be my personal pick.


stock of st croix rods have increased


the ABU salty fighter light jigging rod reminds me of the viper venom rods ... white with blue markings ... sticker price of rm400+ ... thin, light, strong ... definitely a LIKE