Fast forward 20 decades and here we are, SINGAPORE, known for its A-class fancy shiny airport, its (sometimes pretty artificial) greenery and also its ban of chewing gum. Of course, when people think of Singapore, they think of how far this little island state has grown since its humble beginning. Indeed we have grown and much credit has to be given to the government of the past for planning and paving the route for Singapore's growth. In their planning, they look into all aspects of the Singaporean life, micro-managing every single detail to engineer the Singapore we have today. I could go into elaborating how the government systematically tailored the lifestyle and mindsets of Singaporeans but that's definitely another post for another day.

Today, like most days, we talk about fishing.

Recently, there has been much arousal in the Singapore angling scene with regards to Public Utilities Board or PUB (yes PUB, without U, there will be PB*. hehe totally original angling joke here) clamping down on illegal fishing. If you mention illegal fishing anywhere else in the world, you'd probably get a different response akin to poaching. Pictures of newly placed signage such as the one in the picture above have made their way to forums and Facebook groups causing a stir of emotions. 3000 Singapore Dollars is no small sum for most people but just to clarify, those caught fishing outside designated areas or using live bait will be fined $50 for their first offence and $200 for their second offence. Offenders will be prosecuted for subsequent offences and can also be fined up to $3000. So calm your calamaris, it isn't a straight 3000SGD fine but no fine is fine (see what I did there).

Personally, I am not a huge fan of freshwater fishing as almost all freshwater bodies in Singapore have huge restrictions and peacock bass meat hasn't had many good reviews (I've not tried it yet though). Firstly, no baiting is permitted at this areas as a measure to not taint the water. Secondly, there are designated areas to fish, fishing outside of these areas would be deemed as illegal fishing. Thirdly, there is little fish at this designated areas. Occasionally, I still do head down to said freshwater places to donate a few lures.

Jurong Lake Park has been my most frequented freshwater fishing spot as it is one of the more convenient places to head to via public transport in the west side of Singapore. It was also the place where I caught my first peacock bass. I was using a 2 piece Pioneer brand rod, a really budget reel priced around 5 dollars and a Daiso lure which was way below the suitable casting weight of the setup. Ignorant to the existence of laws governing water bodies, I was told by PUB employees that the spot I was fishing at was not a legal spot shortly after my catch and was requested to move to the designated spot. Let's just say that my first catch that day was also to be my last. I didn't understand why certain areas were considered legal and others not when they shared very similar terrains. I did some research and came to realize that reservoirs have been demarcated for different activities which meant that maybe the legal/illegal fishing zones were put in place for the safety of kayakers. Honestly though, it's not often that I see people kayaking which makes this whole "safety reasons" argument really ridiculous. Furthermore, many of these legal spots are so crowded with people, anglers and not, which makes it even more dangerous for everybody.

Ridiculous gets more ridiculous. So I moved to the legal fishing jetty and for quite a few occasions I donated lures there but on most of these occasions, people around me were catching fish. I realized that these people were baiting at a legal spot. PUB boats just rode past us without a query. I guess it is just easier to spot an angler fishing at a non-legal spot than it was to differentiate a baiter from a lurer.

And it gets really ridiculous. I was once carelessly casting away at where I thought was a legal spot. A few dozen casts later, I had obliviously drifted to the edge of one of these signage which informed the boundaries of the legal fishing area. A PUB dude came over on a bicycle to remind me to fish only at the legal spots. I had to move literally 2 steps from where I was but I was still casting at the same areas but I was considered good in the eyes of the law. If you've fished at Jurong Lake Park, you would know it makes more sense to put a designated eating area in the park as opposed to a designated fishing area given the amount of litter lying in the lake.

It is not easy to be an angler in Singapore especially one passionate in freshwater luring. The laws set in place really forces this group of enthusiasts to take unnecessary risks to pursue their passion. I am not familiar how the planning of these rules and infrastructure were put in place but I believe that proper designation of spots for fishing enthusiasts would be more effectively assigned with the consultation of experts in the field (definitely not me though).

"Singapore was a fishing village." This statement would have been conveyed to every Singaporean child more than once during their education phase. The past holds huge cultural weightage to the present. Instead of treating the passion of angling as a burden to society, I believe that this passion could in turn be turned into one that generates interest and even revenue for Singapore if perspectives are changed. When a person travels to another country, they want to learn its culture, its past and how its past has held true to the present. Sell that. Sell how Singapore was a fishing village but also sell how we fish now and not just disregard the past and reduce such history to just another statement in a text book.

Till then, beach fishing it is for me. Tight lines and Smiley face :D

*PB-peacock bass

I do not own the rights to the picture in this post.