马来西亚来信（一） / Letter from Malaysia -- Part One

马来西亚来信（一）

最近这个假期，我去了马来西亚东海岸的一座滨海小城。小城位于丛林边缘，名叫云冰（Rompin），隶属于彭亨州（Pahang）。从那里开车到新加坡北部大约需要4个小时，当地因为咸水垂钓而小有名气。

彭亨保留了世界上最古老的部分热带雨林，很多都属于国家自然保护公园，里面生活着老虎、大象，以及品类繁多的珍稀动植物。

我此行的主要目的是放松身心，还有就是追寻我的最爱——垂钓，特别是要实现我用飞杆钓旗鱼的目标，这可是件非常有挑战性的事。在许多人的印象中，飞钓总是和在河里钓鳟鱼、钓鲑鱼联系在一起，但最近几十年，用飞杆钓咸水鱼也逐渐流行开来，相应地也开发出了各种专门的钓具。

我的另一大相关爱好就是做假饵，所以此行我带足了10英寸长的假饵，都是我用鸡毛和一些合成材料扎制而成的。

Letter from Malaysia -- Part One

I spent the recent holiday in a small seaside town at the edge of the jungle on Malaysia's East Coast. Rompin, in the state of Pahang, is located about four hours' drive north of Singapore, and is well-known for its saltwater fishing.

Pahang has some of the oldest rainforests in the world, many of which are protected national parks which still hold tigers, elephants, and a wide variety of other rare and interesting animal and plant life.

My main reason for being there was to relax and pursue my favorite hobby, which is fishing. In this case my specific goal was to catch sailfish on a fly rod, which is quite challenging. Fly fishing is associated in many people's minds with fishing for trout and salmon in rivers, but in recent decades it has become popular to fly fish for many saltwater species as well. Saltwater fly fishing lines and equipment have been adapted for this purpose accordingly.

A related hobby for me is tying flies, so I came equipped with a selection of 10-inch long flies which I had tied using chicken feathers and some synthetic materials.

旗鱼是海洋中最美丽、最优雅的鱼类之一。捕获旗鱼后，应该将它们拖近船体，在鱼不脱离水面的情况下，迅速拍照，然后立即放生。我所有的渔友和熟人在捕到这种伟大的生物后都会将它们放生。

Sailfish are one of the most beautiful and graceful fish in the sea. They should be released promptly after a brief photo opportunity while the fish is still in the water next to the boat. All of my fishing friends and acquaintances practice "catch and release" for these magnificent creatures.

旗鱼咬钩后会飞速逃窜，几秒钟内就会让渔轮上的鱼线甩出几百米长，其中还夹杂着一系列令人眼花缭乱的跳跃。鱼线“噌噌”啸叫着扯离渔轮，让人的肾上腺素分泌旺盛。

云冰附近水域的旗鱼种类属全世界最多，但直到最近15年才被发现。目前，这里的知名度还不高，特别是与传统的垂钓胜地哥斯达黎加、危地马拉或西澳大利亚相比。那些地方多年以来都是死忠旗鱼迷的热门目的地。

来云冰垂钓的渔友大部分都不用飞杆。他们很多都用活饵，这样上鱼要容易得多。相比之下，飞杆钓的难度更大，也更刺激有趣。很多游客都通过渔导安排行程，渔导会安排好当地的用船、食宿、渔具、饵料和其他补给。

我用的导游（www.fishzone.com.sg）可以接待真饵钓和飞杆钓的渔友。很多导游都没有飞杆钓旗鱼的经验，其实这种钓法需要垂钓者和船员在发现旗鱼进入垂钓范围后非常密切地分工和合作。

我住在一家名为云冰河度假屋的小客栈，旁边就是泥泞的云冰河，还有岸边的垂钓小码头。码头上停泊着几十艘出租用的垂钓船，大部分都是当地制造的玻璃钢纤维船，马达都挂在船外。

When you hook a sailfish, it races off at super high speed, pulling hundreds of meters of line off your fishing reel in a matter of seconds, while engaging in a series of spectacular jumps. The high-pitched "zinging" sound of the line screaming off your reel really gets the adrenaline pumping.

The waters near Rompin offer one of the most abundant sailfisheries in the world, which has only been discovered within the past 15 years. This place is still not well known, especially compared to traditional hotspots like Costa Rica, Guatemala, or Western Australia, which have been popular destinations for hard-core sailfish anglers for many years.

The majority of anglers who come to fish Rompin waters are not fly fishermen. Most drift live bait, which is a much easier way to catch fish. Fly fishing, while much more challenging, is more exciting and fun. Most visitors book their trip through fishing guides, who make local arrangements with the boats, accommodations, fishing gear, bait and provisions.

The guides I use (www.fishzone.com.sg) accommodate both bait fishermen and fly fisherman. Most guides are not experienced in fly fishing for sailfish, which requires close teamwork and coordination between the angler and the crew once the sailfish is sighted and within casting range.

I stayed at a small guest house, the Rompin River Chalet, right next to the small fishing dock, on the muddy Rompin River. The dock is home to Rompin's fleet of several dozen sportfishing charter boats, mostly local made fiberglass hulled vessels powered by outboard motors.

云冰河度假屋归当地的中资机构所有并经营，极受会讲中文的游客欢迎。度假屋可以接待20位客人，还有一间极好的餐厅，可以供应三餐及钓友所需的冰块和盒饭等。

度假屋的住宿条件很简单，但干净实用。在房间里我甚至还能享用到免费的无限网络和卫星电视，但是我根本就没打开过电视，而且为了躲轻闲我也很少查阅邮件。

在那里我遇到了来自世界各地的游客：丹麦、澳大利亚、英国、美国、日本——今年还头一次遇到了中国大陆的游客。那是一群福建钓友，大概有十几人，全副武装、装备精良，带着顶级的渔具。当地人都认为这只是个开始，希望今后还会有大批中国游客涌入。以后我再慢慢讲我对这事的看法……

一天清晨我出去散步，听到从离度假屋几百米远的窄路旁树丛中传来一阵悉悉索索的声音。原来是一大群猴子，在听到负责“放哨”的猴子提示我闯入的尖叫后，它们四散奔逃，闪进丛林就不见了。

The Rompin River Chalet is owned and operated by local Chinese interests, who were especially welcoming to a Chinese-speaking foreigner. They have accommodations for around 20 guests, plus a good restaurant which serves 3 meals a day and offers provisions like ice and box lunches for the fishing fleet.

The accommodations are basic, but clean and adequate. I even enjoyed free wi-fi and satellite TV from within my room, although I never switched the TV on, and I mainly ignored my emails in the spirit of relaxation.

During my stay, I met other guests from around the world: Denmark, Australia, the U.K., the U.S., Japan, and -- a first this year -- the Chinese mainland. There was a group of about one dozen anglers from Fujian, all well-dressed and equipped with top of the line fishing equipment. The locals expressed high hopes that this is just the beginning of the flow of mainland visitors. I will offer some further thoughts on that subject later...

While out for an early walk one morning, I heard a series of rustling noises in the trees next to the narrow road just a few hundred meters from the Chalet. It was a big troop of monkeys, who sprung into action after being alerted to my presence by the squawking of their sentry. Off they went, deeper into the forest.

（未完待续……）

(To be continued...)