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    A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs
    A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs
    A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs
    Ebook146 pages2 hours

    A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs

    By Daniel Chee

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    About this ebook

    I first joined the fishing tackle industry as a fishing rod engineer for Shimano, this was later followed by the role of Product Manager for the fishing division. I have since moved on in my career; but as all fishermen know, you can never quite be really that far from what's true to your heart; hence my writing of this book. This book details some of my bittersweet and sometimes funny personal fishing memoirs which I hope would be a good read for you when you are not out on the water.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublishereBookIt.com
    Release dateApr 26, 2016
    ISBN9789810793036
    A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs

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      Book preview

      A Rod Designer's Fishing Memoirs - Daniel Chee

      Afterword

      Preface

      I have been living and breathing all things piscatorial since the earliest of my memories. Fishing to me is not just a sport; rather, it is of a beautiful and breathtaking journey. It is a journey that is spiritual and one that spans across generations. It is a journey my father first led me onto and one that I will introduce my two little boys to when they come of age. Fishing has also brought me to many amazing places, made me lifelong friends and changed my perspective of life. Instilled in me now is the great respect and appreciation for nature. In short, it runs through my blood and is part of who I am.

      It is with this fervent passion that I first jumped into a career in the fishing tackle industry. I distinctly remember the time when I was a fresh out of university and was working for a hospitality supplies company. I was doing exceptionally well in the job and was even offered an opportunity to open and manage a store for myself…and that was when I was offered an opportunity in the role of a R&D Engineer of fishing rods in Shimano. I immediately tendered my resignation much to the chagrin of the boss, but he had to grudgingly accept my decision after I told him that I had to follow my heart!

      I have been fishing since I was six and I started building fishing rods when I was around twelve, so when I joined Shimano as a rod engineer, you can imagine it was really akin to being in a giant playground and given access rights to all the technological bells and whistles! Of course it was not all just play; the first six months of every engineers training was actually spent on the production floor monotonously studying the various processes and actually working as part of the production force itself. We cut the pre-pregs, rolled the blanks and did the machining work ourselves; and as such, at the end of the training, all the engineers were expected to be able to fully build a rod completely from scratch. As I had joined the company with much prior background knowledge on rod building, I completed the training in less than two months and then got fast tracked to study under my design Sinsehs.

      I was fortunate enough to be trained under three different Japanese Sinsehs that were experts in the various categories of Japanese fishing styles as well as in the rod development for these specific styles. As there was an unwritten rule that the names and pictures of all rod designers should be kept strictly confidential, I shall refer to and express my gratitude to them only via their initials.

      T.T.-San was an expert in the category of Fune or boat fishing. He exuded a certain charismatic style and certainly looked more like a Japanese movie star than a designer. He was exceptionally detailed in his work beyond belief and had an immense knowledge of his sport. He was able to anticipate problems in a rod even before it was prototyped out.

      Next was M.A.-San. M.A.-San was always quiet but the occasions he did open up, he spoke most passionately about ISO rock fishing. He was an expert in this field and was always willing to share the know-how of ISO rods, which typically consisted of high performance and extremely technical telescopic rods that covered an extensive range of rock fishing from bream to the muscle packed demonic looking Ishidai.(Knife-Jaw)

      Lastly and most memorably, was K.M.-San who was my main mentor. KM-San was the most entertaining Sinseh I ever had. He was quirkily funny and never failed to bring a smile to our faces. He was the expert in Saltwater, Keiryu and Bass rods. Despite his easy going and unassuming nature, he had an immense knowledge of his craft and was like a walking material database. On more than several occasions, he surprised me by being able to recommend different materials with their corresponding modulus and density without referring to any notes…. he just had it at the back of his head.

      These three Sinsehs were instrumental in guiding me through my days as a rod designer. I was given various projects to develop rods mainly for the Japanese domestic market as well as a small number of rods requested for by our European and South East Asian counterparts. I was also rotated through the development of the different categories of fishing rods to ensure that I had gained an all-round knowledge and skillset which would see me in good stead later in my piscatorial career. During this stint and once I had gained the necessary expertise, I was also given the privilege to mentor the next generation of junior designers who have also performed admirably in their current roles.

      Three years later, an opportunity knocked when the Singapore office wanted to develop more rods for the South East Asian market. As I had been fishing in the region for the greater part of my life, I was tasked with the role of a Product Manager for South East Asia. It was here whereby I planned and developed a portfolio of rods that ranged from Surf to Game and Jigging to Popping. These were radically cutting edge and were very well received not just in S.E.Asia but in later parts, in the international markets as well.

      So in short, this is a brief story of a part of my life that I would like to share in the book. But for now, probably the most important point from this preface is for me to offer my sincerest gratitude to all of whom I had mentioned above as well as those who I had inadvertently left out but met, worked with and befriended in this great piscatorial adventure. I would also like to dedicate this book to my dad who Showed me the way, my mum who supported the two crazy fishermen in the family, my always encouraging wife and my lovely albeit mischievous kids Seth & Tristan.

      I have since moved on in my career to another line; but as all fishermen know, and as already evident from me penning this book, you can never quite be really that far from what’s true to your heart.

      So what is this book about you might ask? It is a short snippet of some of my fishing memoirs with some bitter sweet misadventures thrown in for good measure. This book is to some extent inspired by Hemingway’s dedicated life of fishing and fuelled by a more than healthy dose of mid-life crisis on my part.

      That being said, it’s my first attempt at writing a book and I do sincerely hope you would enjoy the read as much as I had the pleasure in penning it.

      Chapter 1:

      Fishing memoirs: How I started fishing

      I was born and raised in a little tropical island called Singapore. Growing up, I was never quite like the other kids…I was introverted to the extreme…still am…and quiet to the point that my folks wondered if I would ever talk. I also had a problem, a lack of control of my esophageal sphincter, resulting in me spewing out my meals whenever I was nervous; which was quite often. In short, I was perhaps what could be classified as a problem child, not by family if course, but by probably almost everyone else unfortunate enough to have to clean up after me. Perhaps it was with this background that I found solace in nature. While the other kids were busy playing marbles or ball games with friends, I was solitary, preferring to keep myself occupied by catching fishes, crabs, grasshoppers and the odd praying mantis. Nature had a most calming and therapeutic effect on me and only when I was immersed in it, was I truly happy.

      Then there was my dad, Pa as I call him. I was the chip of the old block and like me, he was also rather quiet and had this deep love and understanding of nature. Scattered around the house were rabbits, guinea pigs, turkeys, dogs, aviaries of birds (He could actually communicate with them by whistling) and about half a dozen fish tanks; the tanks’ occupants sometimes being the result of his and later our fishing expeditions. I was about six when he first brought me along on one of his fishing trips and from then, life was never quite the same.

      Now Singapore in the eighties wasn’t quite like what Singapore is today. Back then, there were still ample plots of rural forested areas with farms and fishing ponds scattered in between. All of the fishing ponds in the early 80s were freshwater ponds that catered for course fishing, courtesy of the past era when Singapore was a Crown Colony and when the ponds catered to the recreational activities of some of the expats. There were a few that we visited regularly, Modern, Ng Tiong Choon, Lim Chu Kang Pond, amongst others.

      I was then designated as a bait boy and help with the preparation of steamed tapioca, piped cut bread and other secret baits for the various species of carp. When my bait preparation duties were done, I returned to my exploring with a fine mesh scoop net and a bamboo pole wearing rainbow colored nylon line that ended with a bubble float and hook. Tilapia, introduced as a form of cheap protein during the post war era, were the main target; but there were often a lot of other interesting local native species to keep me entertained as well. Once in a while, my Pa left me to look after the rod when nature called and it was on one such occasion, I hooked and landed a highly prized but oversized Sultan Fish of more than six kilos. Sultan Fish were called that because folklore has it that in the past, only Malayan royalties were fortunate enough to be able to afford to feast on them regularly. With that catch, I had just climbed up a rung on the piscatorial ladder.

      If I remember correctly, it was probably in the mid to late eighties whereby an imported predatory fish, the Giant Snakehead was introduced from Thailand in a pond located at Neo Tiew Lane. This fish grew big and fought hard and was new to all the conventional carp anglers then. We thought of all ways to target this seemingly legendary fish, with some of the anglers using live eels, chicken liver, beef and even live ducklings. For a given period, this was the only fish I dreamt to catch and on one magic occasion, I landed a whopper of around eight kilos. I thought that my fishing itch would be quelled after this fish…but it only just grew stronger. We did this for quite a while after that, but had to stop when one by one, the lands that the ponds were on became acquired by the government, along with a little piece of our hearts.

      My Pa had several close friends that fished with him when they were younger. I fondly remember lying on the living room floor every weekend and absorbing

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