Paul Arden | Monday, 26 March 2018
We are extremely busy at the moment. Rod sales have been excellent for the past six months - thank you for that! I’m very happy; no sooner than we have blanks in we are reordering again. Today I will be putting Tonic Sunglasses into the shop. Originally I planned only to sell them here in Malaysia to guests coming to fish. However they are an excellent product and it makes sense to sell them via Sexyloops as well.
Also you will find in the shop our latest Lumi-line which is a DT Intermediate of 100ft long. It has the longest glow time of any luminous flyline and is a pleasure to cast and learn with. It’s also handy to have a DT intermediate fly line for fishing!
http://www.sexyloops.com/index.php/webshop/item/539/thunderbolt-lumi-line-double-taper-6
I have four new prototype rods to test shortly. Lee is building up the blanks at the moment. I’m looking forward to these rods. There is an 9ft HT12 prototype, a new 7’6 HT10 prototype, a new 7’6 HT3 (everyone loves the last prototype!) and a 9ft HT7. I know that the 3 and the 10 are very close to being finalised now so hopefully I can release one or both soon.
Ashly and I are setting up a fly fishing jungle school here in Malaysia. We will have a houseboat this year but at the moment the accommodation options are 1) Belum Rainforest Resort ~500RM/night 2) Belum Adventure Camp ~150RM/night and 3) camping in hammocks on islands - free! 3 is my preferred option of course and it means you experience my cooking and of course a Sexyloops campfire.
If you want to come fly fishing with me, I can teach you the fly fishing on the front of my boat for 1000RM/day. You get to fish, I don’t! 1000RM is around 180GBP so it’s not particularly expensive when compared to other destinations. During the day I provide all meals, casting instruction (which everyone will need here - because the casting shots are unique) and we start at dawn 6.45am and finish at dark 7.45pm. I cannot travel the lake at night safely unless we have a Full Moon. I only take one person fishing per day.
I also have a second boat that one or two people can rent - The Ronan. This costs 500RM/day and includes petrol (25litres which you will never use in one day!), a thruster motor and charged batteries. I can also provide some camping gear if required. The boat can be hired on a daily basis or if you rent for 6 days you get one day free. Naturally I won’t just leave you in the jungle but we will arrange where each of us is fishing and I will show you the best places and methods for the given time of year. This is preferred because I get to fish too!
The rule is that if you don’t make it back to the designated camp spot that night, that I will come looking for you at 9am the next day. This way if you have managed to get lost, or just decided to go on a wander, then hopefully you can find your way back in the light of day! Please download google maps so you know where you are. I have walkie talkies and I’ll provide you with a flare in case of misadventure.
Your ideal trip would be to combine both options. Say 1-2 days on my boat and the rest of the time fishing on your own. Fishing on your own is the “real deal” here IMO and is extremely challenging!!! One fish/day - Snakehead or Gourami - is truly excellent on fly. The first time you come just catching one decent fish is the challenge. Be warned however - it is very addictive; this is the most interesting fly fishing that I’ve done in my life.
I can also spend some time teaching you to cast better/ further/ faster/ more accurately! If you are interested then please get in touch. The closest airport is Penang but there are various options to get here, including a bus or car hire from Kuala Lumper. I’m based 2hrs from Penang and 4.5hrs from KL.
Ok I have a lot to do this week. We have an accuracy teaching video to make live. An elephant SLTV show to edit. Spey casting videos to upload and lots more besides. I’ll also be in KL for a few days as well.
Have a fantastic week!
Cheers, Paul