The date has been set. Our maiden expedition to this remote place in the West Papua archipelago located in the Raja Ampat Regency.
I thank our friend Ket for helping to initiate the expedition.
This first fly fishing exploratory trip is set for November 9 to 17, 2025. Discussions and planning actually started way earlier in June 2024.
August 2025: Flight tickets purchased
We will all get to Jakarta followed by a 5-hour flight to West Papua.
October, Preparations Underway
There’re four of us on this trip. Ket, Mafazi, David and myself (JW).
Everyone is busy getting their gear ready and starting to do some packing with the trip just under a month to go.
Some of the things that needed to be prepared are the sleeping systems. We will be setting these up under a tarp to keep us dry in case of rain, and falling insects.
Our sleeping system will also need to keep the bugs away and us off the ground.
Keeping The Bugs At Bay
There may be sand flies to deal with so I’m preparing a special concoction to keep them away (I hope).
Peter Henderson says this concoction works well. It consists of Methylated spirits, baby oil and Dettol.
I hate bugs like sand flies. My skin does do react to them well and I feel like I’m a magnet that attracts them.
Some of the others have bought and are trying some battery operated high-tech contraptions.
T-minus 7 Days
Starting to really do some packing. as we’re going to a place that’s remote and new, there are no facilities onsite and as such we need to pack our on tents and bed for this expedition.
I do hope that if we were to go back there in the future, the tents and beds will be provided.
The Sleeping System
These are what we’ll be sleeping in when we camp by the river for a couple of nights.
The complete system breaks down into small packs and weighs just around 5kg in total.
Raja Ampat, West Papua — Chasing Spottail Bass on the Fly
The date had arrived for us to head off on another adventure 9 Nov 2025 — to the wild, fish-rich waters of Raja Ampat, the legendary “Four Kings” of West Papua.
Our crew for this trip: Ket, Mafazi, and David… plus David’s brand-new, giant Fishpond luggage making its maiden fishing voyage
The journey started with a hop from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, then another flight to Sorong. About six hours in the air altogether, not counting the usual airport limbo. Things were going smoothly… until they weren’t. One of our bags decided it needed a holiday of its own and never made it onto the flight. That little twist forced us to reshuffle the game plan right from the start.
From Sorong, we met our transport and went for a quick breakfast before heading to the ferry terminal—next stop: Waisai, a two-hour ride away on a separate island. Before boarding, we made a quick pit stop to grab some smokes and drinks for a few locals. The bottle shop had some very interesting posters on the walls—let’s just say they gave us a good laugh and set the tone for the rest of the trip.
Arriving in Waisai, Waigeo
After stocking up on beer and some cigarettes for the locals—the same folks who’d be letting us permission to fish the river—we made our way to the ferry jetty for the 9 a.m. crossing. The whole scene was wonderfully chaotic. Thankfully, our local guides handled everything, because if you showed up there alone… well, let’s just say you’d be in for a bit of an adventure.
The ferry ride itself was surprisingly smooth. The sea was flat, and although we didn’t really bother looking out much, the crossing felt steady all the way. By a little after 11 a.m., we were stepping onto the island.
That’s when things got interesting again—there were people playing drums as we walked out. We weren’t entirely sure what the occasion was, but we joked that maybe they were welcoming David… or at least his shiny new Fishpond luggage.
NEW SURROUNDINGS, NEW PLANS.
The moment we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by… rain. Not the dramatic, cinematic kind—just the steady, “welcome to the island” drizzle. Our local guides scooped us up, and we began a short but memorable drive along a narrow road that felt like it was built just wide enough for a motorcycle, never mind a car. Bumpy? Yes. Interesting? Definitely.
We were headed to our homestay, where we’d be spending the next two nights—though that hadn’t been the original plan. The original plan was: land on the island, hop onto smaller boats, and take a three-hour ride straight into the heart of spottail bass country. But adventure had other ideas.
One of the lads’ bag decided it wanted its own holiday, somewhere far away from us, so the whole plan had to shift. Instead of heading to the river, we’d be staying put while the missing bag completed its mysterious journey.
So here’s how the new plan looked: Ket would stay back in Sorong to wait for the wandering bag to finally show up. Then, on Tuesday, he’d hop on the 2 p.m. ferry to join us—arriving around 4:30 p.m., hopefully reunited with his luggage.
Only on Wednesday morning would all of us finally set off for the river, where the spottail bass were hopefully waiting… probably wondering what took us so long.
QUICK LUNCH AND WETTING OUR LINES FOR THE FIRST TIME
Our first fishing session turned out to be a very wet one. The moment we headed out, the rain seemed to sense it and doubled down—heavy, relentless, the kind that soaks through jackets, spirits, and just about everything else.
We kept casting for a while, trying to stay hopeful, but eventually the rain won. The fishing was painfully slow, not a single bite among the three of us, and we finally admitted defeat and turned back toward the homestay.
That’s when the real adventure began. By the time we made the return run, night had completely swallowed the island. It was pitch black, still pouring, and the air had turned unsurprisingly cold. From the boat, the shoreline looked like a series of identical shadows. Homestays, resorts, little beach houses—they all blended into one long, dark blur. For a moment, none of us were entirely sure where “home” actually was.
But earlier that day, on a whim, I had pinned the homestay’s location on my phone. That tiny bit of foresight became our lighthouse. With the screen glowing in my hand, we slowly navigated the darkness and finally found our way back. Cold, drenched, tired… but safe—and honestly, feeling relieved and a little proud of myself.
It wasn’t the start we hoped for, but it was definitely a start filled with character. Here’s hoping tomorrow brings better weather, better fishing, and fewer moments where we can’t tell one shadowy homestay from another.
Follow our expedition progress on this page as I update, report and post photos on the happenings.
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