Kayakims 7/12/14 crabbing kings ~ Fishing Kims

Hi we're back with a new session of kayak fishing!the last time you saw us,we had invested in inflatable kayaks but since then we have sold them away cheaply and purchase hardshell kayaks!

kayaks in review today are the EMOTION SPITFIRE 09 series which is basically the cheapest on the market for legitimate hardshell boats.

if you're curious the lagoon 1 was sold at $250(so cheap??!!) with the paddles but no lifevest!
Sevylor K2 kayak is still up for grabs if anyone is interested!it comes with paddles and a basic lifevest!how much?$200 only!lelong lelong!

okay before we begin with our catch report let us first introduce you to the SPITFIRE 09 boat.

we got them both at $450 each secondhand of course(Ghetto FTW)! this kayak is one of the smallest kayaks ever made with a weight capacity of 150kg!it comes with a dry storage compartment between the legs and an in-built seat! tracking is good and it is sturdy even with strong currents.it makes a very good beginner boat and best of all,it is small and easy to store because it fits into most HDB flat lifts!

Sit on top versus covered top kayaks?
sit on top boats are better because it allows you to land a fish and handle a fish better with a flat smooth surface(once you see the photos you'll understand).

BACK TO FISHING!FINALLY?!
it may sound like a drag to read all because not everyone is willing to spend a fortune just for kayak fishing.BUT BUT if you invest a little every month you will find it not as financially straining.what am I talking about? our inflatable boats were purchased at $250 and after working for a few months and saving up,all we had to do is sell the inflatable boats and use $200 of our own money only and it has gotten us this far.

SETUP

equipment:
ABU GARCIA tournament medium action rod with SHIMANO arenos XT 5000 reel
Storm Gomoku light action rod with ABU GARCIA rocket 6500 black reel

Generally Pasir Ris beach currents are calm and there isnt a need to use excessively heavy sinkers so light tackle is also suitable.

rigs:
running ball sinker rigs with size 10 ball sinkers and MUSTAD circle hook size 1/0,all attached with 60LB transparent cheapo fishing line. nothing fancy just a simple setup.here's the rig design that we got online.

SETTING OUT!
we started off at the most convenient location which was at Pasir Ris Beach WATERCROSS why there?because they had a ram and nice terrain to launch the boats.

we paddled towards the commando camp and stopped at the blue barrels just opposite the last breakwaters. there we attached ourselves to the barrels and dropped our lines into the water.

half an hour in and there was this consistent tugging on the line for both our rods!as we reeled in,it felt heavy but there wasn't a struggle so our best guess was that a small eel was on the line but as it surface....NOPE!it was a flowercrab! hahahas it was holding onto the squid bait so tightly!so meh just keep it since it was a good size and see where this goes.

just after dropping the line for 5mins,we had another crab!this one had eggs!this was taken at changi but the picture is just for reference.

this occured about 6 times.out of that,3 were kept and the others were released because they were small.

after our unexpected "crabbing" session we headed out further towards the Lorong Halus Dam/jetty to try our luck there for actual fish!O.O

an hour in while reeling in more crabs,FINALLY a legit bite and a good fight.though it was a small fella,it sure fought well.consistent bending of the gomoku rod but no line was taken out. we brought it on board to remove the hook and it was promptly released! it was estimated to weigh about 1kg!

it was quiet and not a single nibble was felt.it has rained the night before as well which explains the feeding activity today!

we reeled in 3 more crabs and SWEE LA!crab dinner tonight!note to self:bring a crab pot to kayak as well next time!

the current was increasing due to some construction infront of us therefore there were plenty of big boats that were coming and going.dedris was also getting from bad to worse as mud and sand were being kicked up by the machinery ahead of us.

So we made the decision to head off soon before things get worse.just when we were about to leave....a heavy tug was felt and it was out last catch for the day!

We don't really enjoy eating catfish so we released this big fella to grow even bigger in hopes we'll cross paths again.

dark clouds began to form before us as well and a slight drizzle was felt so we headed back to shore.

but not empty handed of course!a total of 12 crabs were caught ironically using rod and reel!

PACK UP?!what's that never heard of it...opps...no more scrubbing and drying the inflatable kayaks just a quick rinse of the hardshell and it's back to storage until next time!

what about the crabs?we decided to make soup and found an online recipe for it.

here's what ours looked like before you view the recipe below:

SOURCE: Tasty Flower Crab Soup (美味花蟹汤). (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2014, from http://www.luxuryhaven.co/2012/04/tasty-flower-crab-soup.html

Ingredients:
1 Flower Crab
250g Enoki
1 sprig Spring Onion
500ml Chicken broth
5 tbsp Carnation Evaporated Milk
1 tso Oyster sauce
½ tsp Salt
! tsp minced Ginger
2 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine

Method:

When choosing crab, get one with roes for tastier soup base.
Wash crab thoroughly. Remove crab legs by twisting & pulling them off. Loosen shell by lifting it, then turning crab over to remove shell by peeling it apart from body as shown in pix .