. . . in the Philippines, about 60 miles north of Manila on the island of Luzon this past late December in a place called Palauig. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/21-PalauigFishingVillage.jpgHere is a picture of the village from the outrigger boat I was on at the time. You can see it is pretty scenic here and it was a protected little bay, and just to the right, the bay opened up to what looked like a scene from Tom Hanks' Castaway because the barrier/reef that was just offshore threw up huge waves like a rip and it would have been treacherous to try to barge through them on the outrigger boats they had. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/20-Myboatingguide.jpgBehind me you can see the waves just offshore and where I was standing was where the tidal flats were where you can make out some people walking and collecting the snails that they will cook up later. To my left/the right of the photo is where the bay opens up and there is a stretch where the boats can get out, out of the influence of the reefs/rips/waves. This guy took me out that morning so I could see the reefs and the tropical fish that were just below.

All the talk on the site about herring and eels got me thinking about the problems we have here in the "states" and I thought it would be nice to share with all of you what has happened over in the Third World/The Phillipines.

For years, all the villages on the ocean and even the ones away from the ocean, would reap the bounty of the seas, not unlike what man has done here in the USofA, that is until the internal combustion motor came along and allowed man to fish more heavily for much longer. The Filipinos knew no conversation, nor did they know anything about environmental awareness, so they used chemicals to make fish-catching easier, cyanide/arsenic, to poison the water and which also stunned/killed eveything that came into contact with the water, but they had their fish to eat, along with the poison, and this was the same way they could harvest the tropical fish to sell to those with salt water aquariums, it worked very well though, until there were no more fish and the waters were poisoned. It did not end there though. China brought gunpowder to the Philippines and soon the Filipinos resorted to tossing explosive sticks/dyanmite into the water to make their fishing/catching easier, why bother paddling with a length of net behind you when lighting a match and tossing a stick of TNT overboard will do the job, and also kill everything in a certain radius? So the reefs where the dynamite was used were irreparably damaged as well, what a great idea though, and it went on for decades until there were no more fish left. And then my favorite method that they used, electricity or 12 Volt batteries, and they shocked the fish to death or at least to the surface. My favorite signs in the country all along the waterways/oceans were the signs that would have a small caption of a Filipino either dumping the XXX bottle of poison into the water, or tossing the stick of TNT or holding the jumper cables in the water, and declaring those methods of getting fish illegal, I wish I got a picture of it as as funny as it is, it was also pretty disturbing.

There was not one rod or reel in this village, the fishing they do is not for sport but for food and to make money for their families so they can eat.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/16-Meandatruefisherman.jpg
Here is an example of me with a true fisherman along with his "state of the art craft"/boat. Wood boat with bamboo outriggers, the outriggers are lashed together with thick Mono, smart as it is strong and won't rot like rope would. Most people notice all the garbage on the beach and that is because the people really don't care about it, they live right on the beach but don't think twice about cleaning it up, not everywhere is that filthy, just where the people live, nice huh?There was not a single fiberglass boat anywhere I visited outside of the capitol of Manila, they are expensive and not necessary for what these people need them for. These size boats could hold anywhere from 1-4 people, but with nets and gear, I only saw guys go out either solo, or with maybe 3 persons tops if they were just going around the islands netting squid or hasa-hasa which is like snapper bluefish, here is a sample of what one guy brought back while I was chilling village-side.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/22-Thefishermanscatch.jpg
So you can see some crabs, which are not unlike the blue crabs we have here, along with some big shrimp, a snapper-blue like fish, butterfish, a scup looking thing, and maybe croaker or whatever I don't know the names of but the fish look familiar. The sad thing is this guy had been out for hours putting out and pulling in net and this is all he had to show for his efforts. So one can see, even without huge commercial boats scouring the waters, the people depleted the waters, it may have taken some time, but they did it.

A friend of the family I had visited there came back from a days/nights trip, and he left between 2 and 4am, and according to him he went out 2 gallons of gas worth as they have no GPS or compass, somehow they know which direction to go and which direction to come back, probably using the sun as well since we were on the west side of the island of Luzon, and so long as he headed into the sun he would be heading east and would hit the island somewhere, so for his hours of fishing he came back with about 80 Kilos worth of fish which consisted mostly of Pacific Bonito and small Yellowfin and Bluefin Tuna, here is a shot of what might have been his wife or sister unloading his catch from his styrofoam cooler of which there was no ice whatsoever.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/18-ThedayscatchofBonito.jpg
What surprised me was how good a condition that styrofoam cooler was in and look how old and stained it was. I can't get a styrofoam cooler to last a trip never mind tossing 180lbs worth of Tuna inside of it trip after trip.

Another thing about the country, you go to the fish and meat market, and there is no refrigeration or fish on ice! I still wonder and question that. Hell, I sweat it when a fish sits on deck for a minute or two in the heat of battle and the fishing is good, but they don't refrigerate or ice anything there, even meat! From what I hear the meat gets killed the same morning, but still, when it is 80+ degrees in the market stalls, wouldn't it spoil, especially the fish, I had seen fish in the cities just sit in the shade even though it was in the high 80's to low 90's outside, perhaps the people have adapted to it, who knows.

There were other fishermen who would go out in groups of 2 or 3 and net-fish for squid just offshore or in the lee of the small islands, and for about 2-3 hours of work, they would have about 2 Kilo's of fresh squid which we would buy for 270pesos or about $4-5 US dollars. These guys promptly came on shore, built a fire, and once the fire was hot enough, they laid out 3 needlefish and two of the snapper-blues they had caught and were waiting for them to cook before they ate them, no scaling, no gutting, no metal grill, it was fish on the burning sticks, the shared a water bottle that was an old laundry detergent bottle, these guys were hardcore.

The small boats in the pic were powered by anywhere from 4-10, 15 Hp 4-stroke motors, just like the ones in our lawnmowers or our more powerful lawnmowers. A stainless steel output shaft, supported by rubber/urethane bushings let out the bottom/back of the boat and a small, maybe 4-5 inch diameter stainless steel prop was welded straight to the shaft, and that was the motor. I wish I had a picture of the setup, in fact I wish I had more pictures all together but at the time I only got what I got, next time.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/17-Arealfishingboat.jpg

Here is a picture of one of the bigger Tuna fishing boats. These guys go out for days and go for the biggest tuna they can get. They handline for tuna, bluefin and yellowfin and swordfish and marlin, whatever they can get really. They use a rock for a weight and tie a hook on it along with using squid for bait and they just jig the whole thing by hand, no longlining, no nets, no rods for these guys. They have this round wheel-type contraption that they use to hold the line, no pic, but it is unique. They have no electricity on the boat, no 12V, no generator, for light they use oil lanterns, no radios, no gps, no epirb, no life jackets, just the motor and food and gas and bait and tackle, it is 2005 to us but it is like 1960 to them. After 4 days out at sea, they had to spend the 2nd day at a port due to rough seas, they came back with 3 big yellowfin, the largest being about 250lbs, 1 Bluefin about 120lbs and a swordfish, about 5 feet long which they all sold at market, to a man who planned on shipping the fish all to Japan where it would get top dollar. Those fishermen never taste that kind of fish because it is worth too much. The average fish brought about $600US dollars, which is about 30,000 pesos, which is an awful lot of money for a villager, as it is the minimum daily wage for a Filipino is about 300 pesos a day or like $6USD, so 30,000 pesos is the yearly wage for alot of people, Teachers and Judges make about 60,000pesos a year or about $1,200 USD.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/Scam-City.jpg

Here is just a great sign that I came across an intersection outside of the city, near the tourist destination of the waterfalls, there were many smaller signs warning the tourists about not getting ripped off. I think it is pretty damned funny since the national pastime over there is ripping off the other guy. Every time you bought something, you had to count your change because the a cashier was always trying to short change you, I can't count the times it happened to me and to the others I was traveling with. People would oftentimes ask if they could keep the change, especially if it was only like 5-20 pesos worth. As the exchange rate is about 52.50pesos to $1, 20 pesos is only about 40cents, so to us it isn't much but to the poor people there it is alot. Lunch was about one dollar or maybe two, then dinner was never more than say $5 or $6 dollars, maybe $8 if you ate at the most expensive place in the country, and 5 star hotels might be $60 a night, tops. It is pretty bad though when you have to post signs up warning people that there are other people who will rip you off. They would direct people down roads and then hold them up for all their money and belongings, or take them on the boat, rob them and send them overboard, or wouldn't take them back unless they paid more money, the scams in the country are endless and the corruption is top-flite, there is no more scandalous or corrupt country in the world than the Philippines. I think I may be rambling on about non-fishing subjects so I will stop. I know this is a striped-bass fishing site, and I love striped bass fishing, but I hope there are some of you that will enjoy a story about fishing in general. I could go on but I wil stop and hope that you liked what I wrote and the pictures, it was a trip of a lifetime for me and I can't wait to go again next year.

Actually, that was very enlightening. Pictures were really cool, wish you had more to post. It's really interesting what people in other cultures call a boat and what they do with it.

Excellent post BassyiusMaximus. :thanks:

Great Photos............

Good stuff. I visited China several years back and witnessed some of the same. The population is so huge there people basically eat any and everything that they can. I remember taking a cruise down one river where a local guy was fishing from his 'boat' (basically bamboo lashed together) for small fish (4-6 inches). Too bad the overfishing and pollution has killed off so much of the fish and wildlife. So many of the countries outside of Europe and the US know nothing of conservation, environmental awareness, etc. For many of the impoverished people the only concern is where will they get their next meal... and you can't really blame them. I took a trek up the mountains and the locals just tossed plastic bags into the brush like it was no big deal. There were also flies buzzin around all the food left out all day. Man I was starving so I ate some of this food and I ended up ok :)

Very informative post.
Awesome photos

I thought your post was great. Thanks for taking the time to post it and the pictures. Always interesting to learn a little about other places.

Sort of makes you think twice before you think you 'need' another rod or reel, when these guys are making due with what they have (boat motor and cooler as examples).

. . . I hoped that my post was fishing related enough, even though it was not Striped-Bass related. I didn't want it to be a blog about some guys trip to some contry that one could care less about.

I read the excellent posts about the herring and the eel and pray that what has happened over in the Philippines does not happen here. In the markets I had seen anywhere from 6 inch to 14 inch Tuna of all kinds and sizes along with some billfish as there are no minimum size or maximum catch limits over there, it is a free for all, and is the reason why there are fewer fish and smaller fish and why the fishermen have to go farther and spend more time to get anything, it is pathetic what they had done, but in a way, they didn't know any better.

Technology allows us a better life, medicines and vaccinations keep people going, that coupled with a sweet climate and the population grows out of control, more mouths to feed and so on. I think I had better stop and get off my soapbox here. In any case, I'm glad you liked the post, I wished I had gotten more pictures however at the time I only had with me one disposable digital camera from CVS as I planned on buying disposables over there so I saved my shots as it was tough finding a camera for sale outside of the city, after all, they really mean it when they say that people have more important priorities than taking pictures, but next time I'll be armed with nothing but cameras and hopefully a sweet digital one.

Great post, all things fishy are welcome.

I love this line in your post
They use a rock for a weight and tie a hook on it along with using squid for bait and they just jig the whole thing by hand, no longlining, no nets, no rods for these guys.

No florocarbon, monster gold reels, roller eyed rods or stealthy rigs for these guys ... and they still catch fish.

excellent post thanks for sharing that with us :uhuh:

God I miss those trips to Subic Bay

Nothing better than wetting a rod in Olongapo

:lm:

. . . since I can understand Tagalog, which is Filipino and more like Spanish or Portugese than the ching-chong of Chinese or Japanese, and they would explain to me what they would do, and it was just too simple, monofilament line, which was wrapped around a ring, like the rim of a wheelbarrow wheel or a little bigger as they would use two hands on the inside of the rim with which to "reel" in the line, but they would find rocks that had a "waist" or an hourglass-like figure with which to just spin or knot the line to, then just a big hook and a whole squid or cuttlefish. They'd just let the whole thing down, do a little jig and wait. To them, weights cost money, swivels cost money, everything costs money and as they have been using and doing the same thing for years and years and generation after generation, they don't see the need for anything else, they lose their tackle and it is not a big loss, what did they lose a rock a hook and some line?

I would go into fishing tackle stores and all they would have is line and nets and hooks, that was it, you either netted fish or used a handline. I so wish I took pics of these guys but at the time I didn't want them to feel uncomfortable with me doing that, but to be able to see their terminal tackle would have been invaluable right about now.

Here is a pic of my Mom, me, and my Mom's two maids/sisters who she pays $40 a month each for them to cook, clean, do laundry and grocery shop for her, they come from the sticks but they are nice girls who to them, the 2000 pesos they get a month is a very good wage for just having a high school diploma.http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/19-MommeandBonito.jpg
They are holding Pacific Bonito as opposed to our Atlantic Bonito and to me they looked exactly alike, I have not a clue what kind of fish I was holding, it was like one of those Ceolacanth things that are like millions of years old.
That red/orange colored bottle on the left was the guys water bottle, I think it used to be an old cooking oil bottle that he now used for water, can you imagine?, this was the only heavy-duty bottle that had a good seal and that could withstand a ride in his boat, would any of us even think for a second to use an old cooking oil bottle for water?, probably not because there are so many other better plastic bottles like Gatorade or Cranberry or juice bottles that are heavy duty, but over there, the packaging is crap, just about everything is made so cheaply that one does not believe it until one sees it.

This next photo is my favorite picture of all the pictures I took of the country. It is the two girls/sisters parents home. They lived on a remote farm for which there were no people around for miles. No running water nor plumbing, no electricity, no nothing. Their house was totally made out of what was in the jungle/forest whiich was all bamboo and rataan and was just this kitchen and the bedroom and this was for like 6 people since they were the two oldest sisters out of 6, so a younger sister and 3 younger brothers lived there along with their mother and father. When I walked in I was mildly shocked to see the oven/stove set up. It was nothing more than a table/stand /shelf/tray made out of bamboo, and on top they put sand, then some rocks to put the pots and pans on top of and just shoved sticks/wood to heat and cook the food, that was the stove/oven!

On the left, where the youngest brother is sitting fixing himself a sandwich, you would think that there is a sink there, but no luck, it is just a work area, no running water except for the river which was out back, down a 50 foot cliff. They had candles as it was dark out, and they were surrounded by rice terraces, not steep terraces, but terraces nonetheless, it was getting dark when we got here so I got no pics, but there were chickens all around and goats and all manner of vegetables in various states of bloom. Talk about the simple life, I'm not sure there is anywhere in America where there is no electricity, maybe the Amish in Penn. someplace, but there is civilization nearby, it amazed me, that in 2006, people still live this way. Of course, the two girls sent their parents money to help everyone out and I left their mom 500 pesos/like $10USD because when we got there her mom had made us all sorts of sweet-rice desserts of which the country is known for and is how she earns a living, by making sweets and walking for miles to the market to sell them, no bike, no beast of burden, no taking a ride in a jeepney or a pedicab or tricycle, Old-School truely.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/Kitchen.jpg

One last thing I thought hilarious about the country, besides just about everything, is the rules of the road, particularly, where you can ride in the back of pickup trucks, which we know is illegal, at least in Massachusetts, but this goes on on a daily basis.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/thundra04struck/RoofRidersJeepney.jpg
Here we were, just going down the road at around anywhere from 30-60mph and you see this jeepney with guys on the back and just sitting on the roof doing 50mph like it was nothing, there are no rules as to how many people can be in a car, truck, or scooter/motorcycle, or where you can be on it, if you want to ride on the roof, it is all you, if you want to ride in the back of a flatbed dump truck, feel free, it is so cool in this regard. We followed these guys for miles before some got out, this scene goes on all over the country, my favorite was seeing guys with an infant on the gas tank of their motorcycle/sidecar contraption, then another toddler and child then the mother then a pre-teen on the back, like 5-6 people on a 150cc 4-stroke motorcycle, it was common, not a helmet in site and flip flops on everyone, and here we are with mandatory helmet laws.

So for all who liked the stories, thanks, I had the time of my life over there, and I have tons more pictures and stories that I like to share, but I really do type this stuff for my neice and nephew who are 4 and 6 respectfully because I know kids love to read this kind of stuff. I don't want to post more because it becomes non-fishing related from here on out but any questions/comments are welcome. Enjoy!

God I miss those trips to Subic Bay

Nothing better than wetting a rod in Olongapo

:lm:I believe you are referring to the LBFM's, or little brown ******* machines. There are still some in existence, while the US bases are now gone, the entertainment industry, while not flourishing like they once were, still exist. It is one of the best reasons to visit the country.

Hey BassyiusMaximus

When I was a younger man, we used to get primed drinking the Bullfrog on Magasisi Drive then hop in a Jeepney to go out to the Barrio or Subic City. Halfway there, we would practice "Emergency Egress" and bail out the back.

Back in the early 80's there were alot of fish out at Grande Island, but when I went back in 96 there was nothing to be found. Although Fillipino fishing practices are enviormentally devastating, the russian and chinese trawlers just outside PI terratorrial waters were just as bad.

I remember transiting the San Bernedino Straits just south of Luzon in the middle of the night and having to rescue a guy that was fishing in a Bonka Boat in the middle of the Strait. Just a guy in a dugout log that got run over by the USS Kitty Hawk. No idea how that guy survived.