Sport fishing in the Philippines was almost non-existent except for some pockets of anglers peppered around the country. You could just imagine how challenging it was to piece the fishing puzzle together. Almost everything I learned was through the good old fashion way of trial and error.
It has a few advantages though, you learn everything on your own and quite often, the rewards of finding what works and what doesn’t is something that you never forget. Often times, it becomes a habit. The want to make a better mouse trap, stays with you for the rest of your life.
But boy it was tough. I not only made a fool of myself when fishing with guys that knew what they were doing, it was also a bit of trouble for them. But they were kind and patient; they took me under their wing and taught me a few more tricks to help me improve.
That also became a habit for me. Teaching what I can to people and sharing what little I have learned over the years.
How it all started
I started fishing like most kids in the Philippines, it was fishing with very meagre tackle. The targets were tilapia, Climbing Perch, catfish and Snakeheads. The fanciest gear I owned then was a bamboo pole which I have hung up to dry, the previous year. This was a huge upgrade from the strip bamboo pole I was using, which I salvaged from the home fence. Fishing was my main activity in the summertime and I fished from sunup to sundown. It didn’t really matter if I caught anything or not, if it was the hole close to the house or the one that’s a few kilo meters away. It was fun and I loved it.
I would often go alone or with an older cousin. Of course, I didn’t catch much. But as an urchin, the days when I did catch something was quite an event. I would show my catch to anyone, even people I was remotely familiar with.
These little trips eventually gave way to fishing saltwater with hand lines, I even tried going on our local tuna fishing boats, and they had hand lines with homemade spools that held thick fishing lines. They caught big fish with their equipment while made me understand that you don’t really need fancy gear to enjoy this sport, or more importantly, to catch fish, and be efficient at it.
I never thought that journey I had before was just the start of what I was to become. Every summer, I look back and see the child I was then, it still remains till this day.
A reminder
Last week, I was on board a boat with two 10 year old boys, I could see how excited they were to go out, it was almost comical whey they asked “are we there yet?” our skipper, smiling , calmly said, we’re almost there, about 10 minutes more. Only to be asked the same question after 3 minutes.
It reminded me of how it was before, the times when I fished the creeks and canals of our village. These kids don’t know how lucky they are to experience something like this at an early age.
The day progressed with Faisal hooking his fist jigged fish, it was something he was looking forward to and although he wasn’t able to land it, the kid was over the moon.
We bottom fished for the rest of the day while he continued to jig himself to exhaustion. What a little trooper! And while Both Kelvin and I gave up on jigging and started to bottom fish, Faisal was still at it.
I was barraged by his eager questions about everything from the rods and reels to the knots and jigs down to the jigging motion I use to catch all sorts of fish. Why I’m using this type of rod, why that type of rod, why can’t I have just one rod, I answered as best I could with a huge smile on my face, knowing that this boy would grow up to be his father’s best fishing buddy.
The day started with some trolling and we caught some nice fish just outside of our launch point, when we started catching, both kids started asking to bottom fish, so after chasing some birds around with no success, we headed to our first bottom fishing spot.
There, everyone caught fish. Fishing was not complicated and we all enjoyed our time in the water, rod and reel, leaders, weights, hooks and bait, chucked down to the water and into the fish’s mouth. Fishing isn’t 
complicated, People are.
This type of fishing reminds me so much of how I started; only it’s a little high tech than it was then. The outrigger canoe we used is not even a far cry from my friend’s fishing machine.
That was then, this is now
These days, we have a lot more toys to our disposal, all sorts of lines from braids to the latest fluorocarbon leaders that disappear in water; I have lures that I could not even count, friends that share adventures with me. Kayaks that have sails that go faster and farther than regular paddled ones. I feel like the kid I was before. It’s summer again and I feel the same as I did 20 or more years ago.
Till next tide change,
Kit
Published in May 2012
