How to be a sifu?

Even Datoship we can buy but the term sifu is only for anglers who has deep knowledge about fishing and never hesitate to guide others. This article actually is about how to become a good angler. Everyone wants to be a good angler. It doesn't matter what type of fishing. So let me give some tips from my own observation.

1) Equipments

Yes equipments. Some of you might think only experience is enough to become a sifu. You are totally wrong. How are we going to teach others when our tackle box doesn't even have a pliers, cutter, leader or etc? Imagine us bringing some friends new to fishing. We can't aspect them to bring all these equipments (most probe they will bring only rod n reel).Take an example of my sifu Zai. When I met him 8 years ago I need to rely much on him because I don't have enough equipment. Even till today u can see a mini tackle shop inside his tool box. Everything is there and well organized. Leading by example is a perfect example of a sifu and not just tunjuk power.

Example of casting equipments that we should have for casting fishing. 
(Thank you Mathew Mahen Kumar for this picture)

2) Knots

An angler's expertise and experience not only judged by his catches but also his knots. There are some many types of knots (more than hundred of knots) but it doesn't mean we need to know all the knots. If we can tie 10 types of knots that's already good enough. Every time I learn a new knot I will practice it nothing less than 100 x before trying it during a fishing session. I have seen some really good and neat knots from my friends itself. Their knots were even better than mine. As an example my friend Mathew's Albright knot, Lan lubuk's TLL knot and Thava and boy@bfw angler's fg knot. Their way of tying a knot seriously impressed me and I'm pretty sure there are many anglers with great handwork of tying a knot. Once you master your knots you are ready for criteria no 3.

Few tutorial videos for our guidance:

Uni knot

FG knot

Albright knot

3) Experience

When your equipments is complete and your knots are good then its time to find real experience. An experienced angler knows the fish behaviors, correct tackle setup, specific bait/lures for specific type of fishes and of course water craft. During my days at pay ponds I can just differentiate fishes just by the looking at the bubbles. Rohu, grass carp, big head carp, pacu and catfish has their way of releasing bubbles. 1 more tips- if you want to know the deepest point of a lake/pond just checkout for patin’s heavy boiling spot. Like my sifu Mathew he can easily predicts snakehead’s behavior just by looking at the water condition and movements. That shows the angler’s experience. How we practically use our knowledge from articles and magazines is the main ball game. When we concentrate in all these the fish will come by itself. A wise man told me once. Don't cast your lure to get fish. Just concentrate your lure presentation and the fish will come to you. Same goes to my final message don't fish to become sifu but fish to get experience and a lot fun and the title sifu will come to you. Even sifus still learning:)

I dedicate this to all my sifus especially to Zai pacak Bfw tll, Mathew mahen Kumar, Vimalan krishnasamy, Selvakumar Arunasalam and BFW Angler for guiding me to be a good angler:)

by Naresh BFW TII, ICasters Malaysia

From Live Frogs to Buzz Baits

Live frogs and striped snakeheads. Like 90 percent of all Indian anglers, I too came from the orthodox haruan casting community. Being born and raised in a small town with no more than two inaptly equipped tackleshops that had no artificial lures and no rod and reel setups below 20lb didn’t help either in exposing me to the world of sport fishing. Then came Kampar where I moved to pursue my tertiary education. Although an entire new playing ground of giant snakeheads and peacock bass were opened to me I still lacked proper guidance and information and stumbled to find my footing in art of lure casting. Until of course I was accepted into this little group known as Icasters. Total gamechangers. From ultralight addicts to baitcaster enthusiasts and passionate flyfishing purists this group has it all. Every individual in this group has made a huge contribution in my fishing progress and I am forever thankful and grateful for that. 

The satisfaction of deceiving a fish to take a lure and the total adrenaline rush that takes place once a strike occurs and the fight starts is unparalleled. It is the single most precious moment that I look forward to on every fishing trip. My uttermost favorite type of lures are topwaters lures namely buzzbaits. The setup that I currently have my buzzbaits rigged on to is a majorcraft goemotion 5-14lb rod with 15lb braided line on a daiwa tatula -100HL 6.3.1. Many baitcaster users recommend a hyperspeed reel with 7 or 8 or even higher gear ratios but personally I find that 6.3.1 is aptly suited for my choice of buzzbaits and topwater frogs. As for rods I would suggest something that is recommended to handle the weight of the buzzbait that is intended to be used (I use a 5-14lb rod because the choice of my buzzbaits are at most 11grams in weight). As most buzzbaits are in the 30g range a rod with a maximum line weight of 20lb would be appropriate.

Accuracy and distance is very important when presenting buzzbaits. More often than not more water covered equals more strikes. Buzzbaits are effective particularly in the morning and evening when predators lurk near the bank looking for prey. Buzzbaits mimic the actions of panicking bait fish thus provoking a strike. Besides strikes from hungry predatory fish, buzzbaits also induces reaction strikes. This is another reason why I prefer buzzbaits. When fish aren’t in the mood to feed and don’t touch any other lure buzzbaits normally work. Reason for this is that when a buzzbait streaks across the surface an amplitude of vibration and sound is made by the blades and the clacker which irritates and catches the attention of any nearby fish and most predatory fish (snakeheads, giant snakeheads ,large bass) strike instantaneously when a buzzbait cruises past them. Buzzbaits are exceptionally effective towards snakeheads because snakeheads tend to strike at anything that intrudes into their territory (snakeheads are extremely territorial). 

There are two type of presentation that I focus on when I am throwing buzzbaits. Primary presentation is when surface action is spotted. This surface fish activity could be either giant snakeheads rising for air or peacock bass boiling when feeding on baitfish. Target the buzzbait and cast it over the boiling or rising and streak it across. In the case of no strikes repeat with varying speed. Second type of presentation focuses on structures found throughout the habitat of the target species. In the case of striped and giant snakeheads, they like to lurk around wooden submerged trees or on the edges of floating vegetation. Casting and retrieving buzzbaits along these structures can often yield a positive result. The speed of the retrieve when targeting these structures should be slow. Crank to just turn the blades and keep the buzzbait on the surface. These slow oscillations create deep rumbling that acts as a beacon for large aggressive snakeheads. Hitting the structures with buzzbaits as it is being retrieved can further increase the probability of a strike.

As for the types of buzzbaits available the sky is the limit. Most designs have their own advantage and disadvantages.

Diagram 1

I reserve the type of buzzbait seen above in diagram 1 for usage on open water with overhanging vegetation growth from the bank and submerged tree trunks. Creates a loud rattling clacking sound and displaces a large amount of water perfect for a loud presentation. Primary target giant snakeheads but I have caught striped snakeheads and peacock bass with this. Disadvantage is the shape is inefficient aerodynamically and casting it is hard and requires practice.

Toman (giant snakehead) on buzzbait

Peacock bass on buzzbait

This particular buzzbait is fairly easy to cast and can be presented even in shallow water or moderate cover areas with the occasional lily pads. Spits moderate amount of water and creates a whirling sound making for a more subtle presentation that is perfect for striped snakeheads.

Haruan (striped snakehead on buzzbait)

Thank you for reading!!

Sivanes Murugaiah

Pancing Layang Cuti Raya

Cuti raya yg agak panjang tahun ini iaitu dr hari sabtu ke selasa membuatkan saya tidak selesa duduk di rumah sahaja.Pada hari sabtu saya telah ke kolam ah chong trenoh perak utk mencuba pancing layang dia kolam CnR.Bayaran utk kolam itu ialah rm10 utk sejam dan selepas 3jam rm6.ikan2 yang terdapat disana ialah mekong,patin,pacu,ara dan talapia.Ini merupakan kali pertama saya hendak mencuba pancing layang disana.Tak pasti apa jenis pattern yg harus dibawa jadi saya telah mengikat beberapa wolly bugger olive ,bread fly menggunakan floating polyarn dan berapa pallet fly yg tidak tercukai di bedong pada trip minggu lepas.Bread fly dr floating polyarn tidaklah terapung seperti yg disangka.mungkin sbb menggunakan hook owner 1/0 yg agak besar.Jadi saya telah menggunakan dry fly flotant beberapa titik pada fly tersebut dan bread fly saya terapung dgn cantik.

Floating polyarn bread fly

Olive wolly bugger

Deer hair pallet fly

Bread fly dan pallet fly tidak akan berhasil jika teknik burley(merasuah..hehe) tidak digunakan.roti sebenar atau pallet sebenar harus ditaburkan dahulu utk menaikan nasfu ikan utk makan dan bila ikan dah mula frenzy pada roti atau pallet yg telah dibaling tadi,barulah kita cast bread fly atau pallet fly ditengah kumpulan frenzy tadi dan tunggu. Sehingga ikan tersilap makan fly kita.sebenarnya teknik ini tidak langsung memerlukan skill pancing layang dan kebanyakan kaki pancing layang tidak gemar atau melarang mengunakan teknik burley.tetapi bagi saya, saya ingin mencuba segala jenis teknik pancing...taboo atau pun tak...mesti nak cuba..hehe

Setelah ke kolam.ah chong dan membayar yuran rm20 utk 2 jam..saya pun masuk ke kolam tu.agak kecewa bila dah masuk sana sbb. Pertama tiada kawasan yg luas utk melayang hanya 2 port sahaja yg bole melayang.kedua tiada letupan atau ikan bermain dipermukaan.ini menunjukan.ikan agak pasif hari tu.sebab dah bayar duit saya tiada pilihan lain selain terus memancing.2 keping roti telah dibaling dah saya pun dah bersedia utk cast kan bread fly.tunggu selama 10min dan tiada lagi ikan yg ingin makan roti yg dibaling tadi.selepas 15min,terdapat pergerakan dia bawah roti.ia mula bergerak dan tak.sampai 10saat dah mula frenzy.so dah perasaan yg teruja saya pun baling fly kat kumpulan frenzy tadi.cast pertama bread fly saya jatuh di tengah frenzy dgn lembut tanpa menakutkan ikan2 tu.sebaik je fly mencecah air,ia telah disambar oleh ikan tetapi tali tidak menegang dan fly timbul semula.beberapa kali fly saya diterkam tetapi tidak boll langsung.mungkin sbb hook yg saya gunakan besar sangat.selepas 2 kepingan roti dah habis,saya baling lagi 2 keping roti.kali ini saya telah baling dekat sedikit utk melihat ikan ape yang memakan fly saya.agak kecewa juga sekali bila dapat tahu ikan yg memakan roti saya ialah talpia kecil..patutlah susah nak boll.

Saya juga telah mencuba berapa lokasi lain dan hanya talipia yg sanggup melayan fly saya.saya telah juga mencuba olive wolly bugger tapi hanya mendapat miscal halus dr talapia.

Setelah habis 2jam saya pun balik dgn hati yg kecewa tetapi lega sbb dah mencuba fly di kolam cnr ah chong.dah lama berniat nak mencuba pancing layang kat sana dan.baru kali ni mendapat peluang. Bila nak keluar dr kolam terlihat 3 baldi sisa ayam.rupa2nya sisa ayam tersebut telah disediakan oleh pihak kolam utk digunakan.sebagai umpan.patutlah ikan2 sana tidak melayan bread fly dan wolly bugger sbb ia telah dilatih utk memakan sisa ayam

Disebabkan kumpau saya pun buat pit stop kat satu lombong di tepi jalan dekat bandar papan utk mencuba pb.hasil selama sejam dgn mengunkan.clouser minnow putih tidak memberangsangkan.bermacam2 teknik strip n pause telah digunakan.sebelum balik saya pun mencuba pattern streaner bauface yg tak pernah cecah air.strip perlahan tidak membuahkan hasil.tetapi setelah menggunakan striping laju mula mendapat miscal. Dan hasil nya ialah 2 baby pb.

Pada cuti raya kedua saya telah ke kuala gula utk mencari bandang n bulan.Disebabkan beberapa isu yg tidak dapat dielakkan kami telah bertolak agak lewat dr ipoh,bila kami sampai di port bandnng air dah mula surut.setelah mencuba selama sejam menggunakan cluser minnow chartreuse yg mendapat banyak miscall pada trip lepas,kami masih kumpau.hanya beberapa sambaram lembut dan disuspect dr ikan talapia.

Jadi kami pun ke port bulan.sampai disana kai agak kecewa sbb pokok sawait telah ditebang dan dibuang kedalam tali air yg juga merupakan port bulan kami.jadi kami terpaksa masuk kedalam lagi dah dapat jumpa port yg belum diusik lagi.saya pun.mulakan cast saya dengan pattern white zonker streamer.cast pertama saya terus disambar oleh bulan dan lucut setelah layan beberapa strip.sementara saya strip fly ke tebing saya mendapat lagi beberapa miscal n lucut n akhirnya dapat juga sekor bulan dgn 1st cast.ikan bulan disana agak.aggresive hari ni.hampir setiap cast mendapat miscal sekurang2nya 2 kali.tetapi ikan yg berjaya dinaik oleh saya hanya 5 ekor n rakan2 fly saya pun mendapat jumlah tangkapan yg hampir sama.

Pertama dr atas olive wolly bugger.kedua white wolly bugger.ketiga ke bawah White zonker streamer

Teknik striping yg laku kali ini ialah strip pendek dengan sederhana laju tanpa pause.

Terima Kasih kerana membaca !!!

Article By

Vincent Paul aka PB Cruseder

ICaster di Tiger 5 Changkat kruing

Setelah beberapa perubahan rancangan,akhirnya kami telah membuat keputusan untuk ke Tiger 5 ,Cangkat Keruing, Perak. Tempahan kolam telah dibuat sebulan awal oleh brother Hari dengan membayar duit tempahan sebanyak rm1000. Baki rm1000 akan dibayar pada hari tersebut iaitu 08/06/14.Kolam ini membenarkan 10 pemancing pada satu masa dengan kadar bayaran RM2000. Ini bermaksud, seorang pemancing perlu membayar RM200.

Kami semua agak teruja untuk trip kali ini sebab ini merupakan antara pertemuan pertama ICaster dari Perak dan ICaster dari Klang valley dan paling teruja sebab Kerapu naga saiz bagak. 

Kerapu naga bukan calang2 ikannya. Rod patah , reel rosak dan tali meletup adalah perkara yang biasa berlaku di kolam Tiger 5. Ahli-ahli yang mengikuti trip kali ini ialah Mathew (President),Hari (Organizer), Lin10 aka Turai, Vasu, Selva, Aston, Aroon aka BodyBuilder, Vimalan, Thava and Vincent aka PB Cruseder.

Peralatan yang kami akan bawa kali ni ialah beberapa set UL dengan tali (4lb),set Spinning,set BC dan set FLY.

Rod yang digalakan ialah 10-20lbs keatas supaya dapat kawal dan naikkan ikan dengan cepat dan untuk merasa tarikan sebenar ikan ini.Tali yg dicadangkan adalah 30lbs keatas. Reel yang digalakkan adalah segala reel yang mempunyai keupayaan drag yang kuat untuk menghalang larian ikan di kolam kedua yang banyak berkayu. Gewang yang dicadangkan ialah gewang murah sebab peratus hilang gewang dan rosak agak tinggi disana. Dibawah ialah gewang yang kami gunakan dan memang laku sehingga boleh dikatakan setiap 5 cast mesti ada satu ragutan.

 gewang Storm Wild Eye
 warna Fire Tiger ialah warna yang mesti ada dan digalakan beli 2 paket seorang. Dalam sepaket ade 3 sp.

 gewang Ratlling Rapala berwana silver

  Penggunaan Snap tidak digalakkan sebab peluang untuk lucut adalah tinggi. Swivel and split ring digalakkan. Dibawah ialah split ring dan swivel yang telah saya gunakan.

Split ring and hook pada gewang juga harus ditukar. Hook yang saya pakai ialah seperti di bawah dan digalakan membeli saiz yang sesuai supaya tidak menganggu renangan gewang.

Disebabkan kita memakai split ring, playar split ring ialah satu kemestian untuk setiap caster. Supaya kita tidak menganggu kawan-kawan lain yang sedang memancing.

Leader yg digalakan ialah 40lbs keatas dan yang keras supaya tidak putus bila terkena gigi kerapu yang halus dan tajam seperti kertas pasir gred kasar.

Di tiger 5, ade 2 kolam yang dibenarkan untuk memancing. 3 jam pertama adalah di kolam satu dan 3 jam kedua adalah di kolam dua. Kolam satu agak luas dan lapang. Jadi set yg lbs rendah boleh digunakan disana. Ikan dia sana agak rakus tetapi mempunyai daya pecutan yang agak kurang. Kolam 2 pula, kolam yg agak kecil dan banyak kayu ,dimana set yang berat digalakkan untuk menahan pecutan ikan supaya tidak memasuki kawasan berkayu. Pecutan ikan dia sini agak luar biasa. Kalau nak merasa reel menjadi panas akibat larian ikan,inilah tempatnya.Kepada yang kumpau di kolam1 tak perlu risau sebab sebelum 30min masa tamat, tauke kolam akan baling anak ikan mati untuk menaikan nafsu ikan untuk makan. Pada masa ni ape jua gewang yang dibaling akan diterkam oleh ikan. Tapi perancangan yang betul diperlukan pada masa ni dimana jangan semua baling gewang pada masa yang sama sebab kita akan menangkap gewang kawan kita dan bukan ikan.

Jumlah tangkapan kami pada hari itu ialah 38 kerapu dan 7 siakap. Berikut adalah gambar-gambar yang dirakam. 

Article By

Vincent Paul aka PB Cruseder

Life as an Angler begun...by Mathew Mahen Kumar

Fishing came into my life at a very young age of 11. Me and my neighbours use to scavenge all the drains even drains filled with filthy stuffs, kids never understood hygiene you know. As times passes snakehead seem to my favourite fish to hunt because it was the only big fish weighing 400- 700grams in the drains and caught using a very popular method which is netting.. hehehe.. I use to look for snakehead fry and ill net them and put into a bottle and the next thing my bicycle speeds to my house and held the babies to safety. Keep them for one week and wen it reaches 1 inch I would sell it off to my friends for RM 1 each.. 1998 it was plenty hehehe..

Slowly I started to use my dads rod for snakehead using grasshopper as baits. Gradually this evolved me into who I am today, a simple angler with CnR practice.
Well too many sweet childhood memories distracting enough...lets get back in track.

There are this few things that we need to follow whenever we are out for fishing and also to minimize zero catch possibilities.

1)Target fish

Know your target fish or know the habitats infested in the pond or lake you are about to fish. Always keep primary target and secondary target..
Eg. Primary : Toman
Secondary : Pacu
Pick a lure that these 2 species would die for.. like spoon or vibration lures.
So less chances of zero catch.

2) Setup

Im pretty sure you have basic knowledge on setups according target fish. But what I would to add on is,
-:make sure use leader and leaders should always stronger poundage than mainline.
-: lures direct to leader without snap/pin will have better presentation..
-: you pay so much for your reel because its drag technology, use it.. dont stick dead tight.. landing a fish its all in the drag setting
:- avoid using thick leaders because fishes gets fishy.

3) Dressing code ( wild)

Do not wear striking colours or glitter stickers. We cant see the fish but they have a superb vision on whats standing at the banks.
Use dark or camouflage attires.
Always use thick pants with boots for safety purpose..
Wear gloves to avoid any cuts when lifting fish and for better grip.

4) Pin drop silence...

The only thing that should be heard is nature. Maintain a very quite steps and always stand 7-8feets away from banks and cast.. then slowly approach. Try to minimize conversation with your mates because your line carries your voice vibration to the lure. Sounds funny but its true.

5) Safety

Always carry a first aid box in your tackle box. Always perform checklist update atleast once a month.
Avoid using treble hooks and debug the barbs once single hook installed. Single hook gives you less trouble and more stronger hold once strike.

6) Responsibility

Never leave your responsibility as a son, daughter, parents, husband or wife and go fishing. Trust me u will never enjoy fishing and most probably you wont get a strike. Responsibility in many terms as possible, cash or love and care. Your loved ones playes role from home for your strike.

7) Never be Lucifer

Dont ever be jealous over others catch.
Don't get angry. Always remember anger is the first steps of zero catch progress. Kill the anger spontaneously.
Teach them guide them with full heart. No one can be a complete angler if you have a heart to share your passion with someone.

8) Thanksgiving

Always pray to God for the fruit he is about ti give and have faith in yourself and your friends too. Say Thanksgiving once you get a strike.

All over the years I was looking for people who can guide and console me on my passion. I would to drop my sincere thanks to

Mr.Kanicen
Mr. Logesh
Mr. Vincent Paul
Mr. Haritharan

And not forgetting the admin who took the initiative to grow this blog, Mr. Selvakumar Arunasalam.

Mekong catfish


One of the most toughest fish in the world and even Jereme Wade admitted Mekong catfish was his toughest catch. Mekong is a mid/top water fish. There are 4 types of leader knot for Mekong.

Batu gantung, fg knot, jahanam style and Mata hantu(kinda funny names but very effective).

For Batu gantung we need a 3/4 meters leader where a Batu ladung size 5 at the end of the knot and a single hook at the other end, make a middle knot. For this technique use gardenia or potato bread like satay(for ponds that doesn't allow float).

For fg knot its very simple. Main line tight with the leader a batu ladung as a stopper. Then float and finally spring with 2 hooks.

For jahanam style the float will be attach with the spring, then tie a knot from the other end of the spring. Tie middle knot and finally single hook at the end(all about 1 meter wide).

For mata hantu style just tie a float,a middle knot and spring with to hooks.

For bait settings I normally use pellet 6363+musang berjanggut A1+soya bean. We need nothing less than pe2-4 rod(7 feet) reel size 4000 and main line minimum of 30 pound braided line. For bungsamran trips, reel nothing less than size 6000 (drag system 20kg above)and 60 pound main line.