Blogs Across the Water

When I started writing FTR, I couldn't find many non-commercial fly-fishing oriented blogs out there. Many I did find seemed like they got updated about three times a year. But I am beginning to see more, many of which are quite well done. Today, I ran across Fly Fishing Journal, a site out of Singapore whose photos of lovely tropical fishes compensate for its bland title. The style is very factual and minimalist (no flights of introspection or evocative metaphors, let alone political rants, which might cause one some trouble in Singapore), but the love of the sport shines though anyway.

One of the reasons I liked this blog was because it expanded my horizons a bit. I always imagined Singapore (when it came to mind at all) as a tiny, crowded, built-over island with next to no outdoor opportunities. I stand corrected. I also got to see a tilapia prior to its being filleted, frozen, and sealed in plastic. Not unlike a bluegill. I will eat some meals with just a little bit more awareness and appreciation now.



This may be corny, but more than in most of my other web-surfing, visiting this site gave me a sense of the internet's vaunted ability to break down barriers of distance and culture. Music and binary code may be universal languages, but I suspect fishing is one too.

Among the fishes sought by Singaporean anglers are:

Earth Eaters (which sounds like an entity from some fantasy novel)--


Peacock Bass--


Should I ever find myself headed to Singapore, I think I'll pack my travel rod. And with FFJ's detailed instructions about how to catch these and other fishes, I'm confident that I could put a bend in it.