Squid Fishing Anyone?

Once upon a time in my life, I went squid fishing.

I don't know the right English words for it. In my country, we call it mencandat sotong. I guess the nearest translation would be squid fishing, no matter how ridiculous it might sound. 'Sotong' means 'squid' while 'candat' would refer to the action of "fishing" the squid as there is a certain technique of doing it, using a certain kind of fishing equipment.

It was all BBCC's [or MM's, by which she would now be known] idea. I wouldn't want to sacrifice my beauty sleep or at least my comfortable bed for a night on a fishing boat. But she insisted, and as usual, I gave in.

 

It was in May, the month when the squids are said to be in abundance. The location was Kuala Terengganu, the capital city of the state of Terengganu, for that's where all the actions were taking place. It so happened that a local newspaper company was organising a festival of squid fishing there. MM was swift in registering both of us as participants, which landed me in a position whereby it was impossible and also a bit too late to say "No".

And so my squid fishing experience began. I was all the time wondering how it would be like. We packed rather meticulously, buying raincoats and even pills to prevent sea-sickness. We arrived one day earlier, checked into a hotel and spent the rest of the day checking out the venue for tomorrow's event, the Shahbandar Square.

The Shahbandar Square, where it all started

The next day, at around 12 pm , we had ourselves registered, after which we collected our goodie bags. We had received a hat and a t-shirt each, bearing the name of the festival, and of course, the fishing equipment or candat.

We were on Boat no 4 at first, then transferred to another boat

MM checked out the size of the squid caught last season

At 2 pm, we were all geared up, in appropriate attire, waiting for the time to go aboard the boats. There was a lot of waiting to be done, since we were registered as individuals and not as groups (as most of the participants were).

First, the wait by the jetty . . .

Next, the wait in the jetty . . .

Finally, all our boat members arrived and our boarding into the boat occurred at approximately 4 pm.

All smiles in the boat

But the wait was not over. This time round, it was for the event to be launched, the flag-off.

Boat around us, waiting to be launched

While waiting, I saw this old man performing Asar prayers

It was around 5pm that we finally began our voyage. Once we moved on the silky waters, my excitement soared. For I love to be free in the open sea, under the blue sky. I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful view, one which I might see perhaps only once in my lifetime.

Moving towards the sea, the Shahbandar Square on the right

Racing with other boats to the open sea

We sailed until the day turned dusk. And continued sailing in the enveloping darkness. The land was nowhere in sight. Not even the lights of Kuala Terengganu. The moon, the wind, the sounds of the waves crushed by the boat kept us company. About an hour later, we anchored and our squid fishing experience began.

I wouldn't say it was easy. In fact, I found it quite hard. As it was a festival where winners would be selected, we were not allowed to use baits. And that made it much harder to catch the squids.

Squids are attracted to the light and bright colours of the candat. The candat would be tied to a string with  a weight. Using only your arms, the candat had to be moved up and down in the sea water. It is believed that the squids, upon seeing the candat, would mistakenly think that it is food and then would take a bite. And thus the squid is caught.

Theoretically, I feel, it sounds easy. Yet in practical, I failed. I did not catch even a single squid! And my arms were hurting. The boat crew tried to help, and then the string broke and all the fishing equipment fell into the sea. It was just not my night.

The others had better luck. A young women seated behind me in the boat caught 6 squids even though throughout the night she was either falling asleep or was totally in dream land. A male participant who brought his fishing rod even caught some fish. MM also managed to catch a squid, fulfilling her dream of a successful squid fishing trip.

We left the sea at 5 am, and the jetty at 6 am. I left with an aching back, a bruised ego, a dizzy head and a drowsy mood. The boat crew had been kind to give us some of the squids they caught, which we turned into 'Sotong Goreng' (Fried Squids) at a stall later that evening.

I leave all of you with pictures of MM and her caught squid, at least as a consolation for my lack of luck in squid fishing! Better luck next season, perhaps.

She couldn't believe she caught it at first

The smile of a successful squid fisher!