Rods on broke down wheels...

What a week...work doesn't get much better....my sister's wedding is getting nearer...it rains almost daily....and just as the weekend about to come....my bike broke down...

It was on Wednesday and I was on my way home from work near the KPJ Selangor Medical Centre when my bike (I was running at about 100-110 km/h at the time) suddenly lost power.  The engine doesn't died out but there were this strange sound from the engine like the sound of metal hitting each other.  I stopped at a Bus Stand and tried to figure out what was wrong.  Initially I thought that the exhaust might have been leaking due to the sound but I quickly realize that it was something inside the cylinder that is causing the sound and there's nothing I could do at the side of the road.

I did mentioned that the enigine is still running right?  Well it does but at a very low rpm...so a very slow ride home for me that day.  I couldn't go any faster then 40 km/h...just imagine how awkward it was riding a bike at 40 km/h wearing a riding jacket, gloves and full-face helmets while the bike is emitting the loud strange sound...

I went straight to the workshop near my place and upon inspection, was told that one of the piston ring had broke and caused a very deep scratch on the cylinder wall.  More bad news was the fact that there are now oversize piston for the bike model available in the market so a re-bore job is not possible.  The only solution is to replace the block and piston....and the cost is about RM650...

There goes my plan of buying a new Round BC (I had planned to buy a Shimano Calcutta Conquest 101 reel this week)...

But as usual...there's always light at the end of the tunnel...the weekend is almost here and so does the fishing...bike or no bike...I'm still going to this new place I found on Monday...I believe it has potential of harbouring snake heads communities...and I'm going there by car...arghhh...how I hate driving...

So...Ride On...Fish On...or should I put it...Drive On...Fish On...

Rainy days...

Wow...it has been raining daily for the past 2 weeks now.  I have had to cancelled 2 trips and another trip is looking very likely to be shelved too.

As bad as it is, it also gives me the opportunity to do some maintenance work on my fishing gears and also my bike.

So off goes the line from my Shimano Caenan BC reel and my Shimano Alivio Spinning reel, a WD40 spray and wipe followed by re-greasing the gears and moving parts.  My Okuma BC and Spinning rods also had a rinse and a wipe off, followed by all my lures.

Next is my trusted Yamaha FZ150i with an engine oil change, new oil filter goes in, re-greasing the chain, new air filter elements and finally a snow wash....

All cleaned and shining now...ready for battle....if only we can have a good sunny day this weekend...

While waiting for the weekend to come and hopping that the weather will be kinder this time around, I paid a visit to the RM3 Siakap Pond in Jugra.  I ddn't bring any fishing gear as I was only there to see the place and if the fishing is still good (with all the rain, the water may loose it's salinity and fish tend to be more passive when this happen)...

It seems that the fishes is still biting, albeit at a lower rate.  A guy using a top water lure had numerous strike on a single cast but none was a solid hook up.  Closer inspection reveals the reason, the fishes are so much smaller in size ranging between 300 to 400 grams each.  Previously the fishes are slightly bigger averaging 500 to 700 grams each.

When the weekend finally arrived, the rain is still coming down.  In fact, the rain is worst now compared to the previous days.  I took what little window of opportunity I had in between the rains to go and have a cast or two.  It doesn't take me long to get my first strike on Saturday only for the rain to make a come back, and it returned with a vengeance leaving me soaking and shivering on my ride back home.

My little sister wedding is coming up in 2 weeks time so its time to hang up my rods for the time being and focus on the event.  My next trip will most probably be either at the end of the month or after the start of next month.

Off goes this 20 lbs braided line

A strike and solid hook up from the first cast...

Ride On...Fish On...

New Reel...new hope...

I've been considering to buy a Bait Casting reel for some time but there is this hesistation that has stopped me from buying one.

It was few years back I tested an Abu Revo BC reel belonging to a friend.  The first cast itself produced a messy bird nest and my friend immediately took the reel and was not very amuse with the mess he had to clear up.

It was a very bad experience indeed and coupled that with stories about how a beginner had to sit out the whole fishing trip due to bird nest on his reel put off my interest in the reel.

It was not until early this year that my interest towards a Bait casting reel re-surfaced.  It was in a trip with Toman Harimau when he offered me to try out his Abu Garcia BC reel.  After a few casts, I managed to get a strike and the experience of hooking up a fish using a BC reel is totally different to using a spinning reel that I'm so used too.  He also gave me a lot of encouragement of using a BC reel as it offer better casting distance and accuracy.

So after going through numerous options of BC reel in the market, I finally made up my mind and bought a Shimano Caenan 101 Bait Casting reel.  I coupled the reel to a medium light Okuma Nemesis BC rod (6-12 lbs), equipped it with a 15 lbs Ajiking braided line and 20 lbs Ajiking mono shock leader.

The only down side of the whole thing was that I only bought everything on Saturday and I couldn't go fishing on Sunday due to other commitment (wife didn't approve application to go fishing) .

Anyway, a fisherman will always find a way to fish no matter what so I'm going over to Tasek Biru in Kundang after work today to cast using my new Bait Casting set for the first time.

Wish me luck guys...Fish On...Ride On...

The newest member of my family