Fishing out a hidden gem

Halfbeak fishing expert Phang, getting ready to catch the small, delectable fish on the northern coastline of Penang. (Inset) Halfbeaks taste similar to smelt.

FOR decades, I have known there are spots in Penang where I can catch the delicate, delicious halfbeak.

But I kept putting off efforts to learn how to catch them.

So only after more than 30 years did I take the trouble to get the right gear, find the right day and implore the right master to teach me how to catch them.

Even then, my mind was searching for excuses till the last hour to call the trip off, not because the trip was difficult, but because it seemed just too easy.

The halfbeak is a silvery, spear-shaped fish that loves to dart around on the sea’s surface.

If you like Japanese seafood and have tasted a small fish called shishamo (smelt), then you will have an idea of the taste of halfbeaks.

The best way to eat them is to pan-fry them.

You will get a light-tasting fish with a texture that is almost sticky yet fine as crab meat.

The halfbeak is seldom longer than 20cm, and when they are within casting distance, they are there by the tens.

So you have the potential of catching a lot in a short time.

But since their mouths are less than 5mm in diameter, catching them is a challenge.

The smaller they are, the harder they are to catch.

The hooks we had to use were roughly the size of a grain of rice and this was terrible for my presbyopic eyes, since baiting such miniscule hooks needs the dexterity of a surgeon.

The spot chosen by Phang, the master angler, for me to learn how to catch these fish was less than 3km from my home.

As someone angling for over three decades, being told to drive just 3km from home to find fish was an incongruity because it was so easy and too good to be true.

Likewise, residents of Penang sometimes take the island for granted.

The island is not very big, so after some years, we think we know it like the back of our hands, until we meet someone who shows us a little nook with something amazing.

As I am obliged to keep my master’s confidence, I cannot divulge the precise spot to find the halfbeaks.

I can, however, say it is at the northern tip of Penang island, and if you know Penang’s coastline well, you might deduce where it is.

In the end, I caught 31 halfbeaks in half a day.

Some of them, I lightly pan-fried with fragrant batter.

Some, I deep-fried with a thick coating of turmeric powder.

Four of them, I carefully cut into sashimi rolls after watching a YouTube tutorial in Japanese.

All, were memorably delicious.

I will soon be fishing for halfbeaks in Penang again.

There is just so much more to Penang, even after we spend all our lives here.