How to be a Master Baiter

Hello my friends, we all know that the most simplistic way to get a fish, is to hook up some cut prawns and throwing them in the water. But do you know how to bait them well?

In today's blog post we will teach you how to be a MASTER BAITER!!!1

Couple of things, you can do Live baiting, or Dead baits. All of which depend on the fish you're trying to catch and your set up! Whatever it is, the number 1 goal is to present the bait and the hook in a manner as natural as possible, without scaring away the fishes.

Fish hunt primarily on Sight and Smell. and if its something they are naturally taking from the environment, even better! 

CUT BAITS

When dealing with Cut baits we want it to be hooked in firmly, so that it wont fall off when casting, and we want the tip of the hook to only be slightly exposed. Also, we want the bait to be able to be presented naturally, floating in the water in a natural, unassuming manner.

You want the bait to be just the right size.. too big, the fish will whack the bait and leave the hook. Too small and it won't entice fishes. Also really depends on the fish in the area.. Alot of small guys? The fish like to mouth the bait? Normally i like to deshell my prawns when i use them, and i avoid using the heads of prawns. Fish either use strips of meat, or use tail half, or head half. Make sure there is some meat to entice the fish.

LIVE BAITS

Now here you got a couple of methods all over youtube. hooking the horn? tail? snapping the tail off? body? both for PRAWNS and FISH.

The general idea again, is to let the bait swim naturally.. Appropriate sized hooks are a must as well, and alot of times when you get there, you require a certain amount of trial and error. Bite but no hook set. maybe too small hooks.

Again, depending on the target size of the fish, the appropriate size bait must be used. 

So there you have it. A 50cent guide to being a [Master Baiter] So with your new found knowledge, I hope you manage to hook up some big ones!

Cheers and Fish On!

Ghetto Fisherman Ong

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Catch and Release?? Whats that!

High Low fellows!

Today we are gonna get some education!!!!!!111
Why do we bother releasing the fishes we catch? Doesn't that not make sense at all???
Well today i'm gonna try my best to explain to you the whole concept of sustainable fishing!

Sustainable Fishing 101
In Singapore, we don't have any legislation stipulating the minimum size of our fish that we bring back, or have any bag limits. This means we technically could bring back any number of fish we caught, be it big or small. Now what this means, is that all them baby fishes, pregnent mama fish, teenage fish, or old grandfather fish are free for all.
"Now thats good for us Ghetto Fisherman Ong!" is what I imagine you are saying to me. But let me tell you why it's not.

Baby fish, have a chance to grow bigger, and enter puberty, and reproduce. This reduces future population of fishes.
Pregnant mama fish, hasn't had a chance to lay her eggs! Reducing future population!
Teenage fish are fine cause they're dirt bags baby. [give me a shoutout if you caught this]
Old Grandfahter Fish just taste bad, and are best used as profile pictures.

Today i'm just gonna focus on the plight of Baby fish, and Old grandfather fish.
By bringing home your small tiny fishes, first of all it really requires too much effort to clean before you can cook it.. and when you do cook it, its really too small to be of any significance... why not release it, so that it can grow bigger, populate more, increasing our catch rates in the future, and finally catch them again?

Old Grandfather fishes, are any of those huge fishes that people have on their phones to brag to their friends. Now these guys are 10s of years old! 20's 30s 40s  50s? These fish are really old! It honestly takes a good couple of years for some species of fish to grow large, and by taking them home, it firsts reduces the gene pool, and reduces this particular specimen from the game! Nobody else will ever have a chance to catch that particular large fish! But most importantly... Old Large fish dont taste as good.. they're not tender.. they just taste.. meh.

So please we beg of you.. Release those baby fishes.. Release those mega fishes.. So that all of us can continue to enjoy fishing without going to another country! Very expensive one leh!!! Also so next time I can bring my future wife and kids to enjoy this wonderful sport! Releasing that one fish wont kill you.. But it may just kill off the game for our future.

Thanks for reading and I hope this Public Service Announcement has explained to you guys why CnR is very impt.!
Take note, I still do bring home fish to eat. But just bring back what is enough, and only if its of a good size! We are so lucky to have fresh fish markets now, and our refrigerators are only so big!

Cheers and Fish On!
Ghetto Fisherman Ong

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What am I gonna do now??

Hey there fellows!

I'm sure all of you have had much fun in planning and going out on trips! That sheer thrill of that bite on the end of your line. When you fight him, and yank him out, and finally.. There it is in all its glory! A fish on shore, gloriously hooked up by you! Now as you stand there with that fish flopping on the floor... you realize.... What next?? What am I gonna do now??

This is what this entry is all about!
I know that feel.. I'm squeamish when handling my fish at times.. sometimes i really wish that i didn't have to deal with it... so scary....

But here, now and today.. WE are gonna teach you how to unhook your fish!

Couple of equipment that you should have that will help you.
Long nose pliers, Gloves, Rag.

So first of all, we need to understand that the fish already is under alot of stress from being hooked up, and we should release it ASAP. All of this in the name of Sustainable Fishing.
So when practicing Catch & Release {CnR} we need to do it quickly, without causing extra harm onto the fish.. Releasing a dead fish back into the water isn't really helping.

The easiest way to handle a fish, is to wear gloves or have a rag on hand. Wet it, (i'll explain why below) and put firm steady pressure on its body, minding the fins on top and the fins on the side. Often times they are sharp! After getting a firm hold on it, (it helps calm the fish and not let it jump too much) use your pliers to handle the hook!

Ok so why wet your gloves? That slime on its body? It protects the body, and can be easily removed when handling it with dry hands/pavement... So use wet gloves/rag to  1) prevents the slime from coming off all over your hands. 2) protects the fish!
Super tip here, holding onto a fish with gloves/rags makes you feel less weirded out by the fish! Making unhooking a more comfortable experience for you and the fish!

When you bring up the fish, there are 3 scenarios of where the hook will be.
1] Foul Hook. I.e. hooked anyway along/around the body. This is easy to remove, just grabbing hold of the fish and use your hand/pliers to pluck the hook off!
2] Mouth Hook. I.e. hooked on the mouth, in the corner of its mouth, or anywhere around the mouth/lips. This signifys a good hook set, and its the most ideal scenario for any fisherman. Simply reverse the hook out the way it went in, minimising any damage done to its lips. If not it cannot eat properly! 

"Grasp the hook by the stem and, while holding the fish in the water, twist and pull gently, backing the hook out the way it came in. Don't ever wiggle the hook or pull with too much force"

3] Gut Hook. I.e. the hook is lodged deep in the body. Hooking onto the stomach, gills, or basically too deep to take out easily. This is potentially bad news for the fish, and if you really cannot take it out easily, don't! forcing the hook out can easily puncture any organs or rip lining. All of which are bad news for the fish! Luckily theres an  easy solution that nature has provided! Simply cut your line as close as possible to the fish, and let that baby go! Its stomach acid [nature's solution] will dissolve the hook enough for it to spit it out!

"If the fish is gut-hooked or the hook is too deep into the throat, it's best to cut the hook as close to the body as possible and leave it in there. Many times the hook will simply dissolve and get spit out."

Now that you're done taking the hook out, don't just throw the fish back into the water! Often the fish is dog tired, and needs a little help getting some oxygen circulating within its body. To do so, hold on to the fish's mouth and push it back and forth in the water. This is to run water into its body so that it can take in oxygen from the water! After it gains some energy push it along and watch it swim gracefully out of your hands!

And thats it! Hopfully this explains the easiest less gross way of handling a fish out of water, and some of the tips you need to use when trying to release the fish!

Cheers and Fish On!
Ghetto Fisherman Ong

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