Pasar Pancing – The Fishing Expo. An angling event unlike any other!

Why PASAR?

Pasar simply means, Market. Asian wet markets are known to be a place where the community gathers for the best of the best, and the early bird gets the worm. It is synonymous with the freshest of quality, with products grown and found locally as well as those imported from abroad. It is where like-minded people come together; without any intimidation. If you were new to the community, the market is a place that is comfortable for everyone. So why not Pasar? To invoke nostalgia, and to remind us what it’s like to support each other, to take our time, to indulge, to catch up, to plan, to explore possibilities but most of all, to shop.

When it comes down to supporting the community, the COMMUNITY itself consists of more than just the consumers. It is also the people behind the business and brands that make the sport possible; most times, these people are anglers too.

The Sport Fishing / Angling community in Malaysia lost its footing from the damages of the pandemic, at the same time, the pandemic birthed a new community of anglers focused on their skills within the sport; whether its angling education, maintenance, lure making, fishing line production, apparel, clubs, merchandise, etc- people that were driven by the passion of the sport jumped on the online bandwagon and started digital shops and social media content to keep the sport alive, digitally.

Now that things have opened up, we as anglers and business owners understand that all the community needed was a space- where we can gather, where we can bring together and introduce to Malaysia the diversity behind Malaysian angling and through that, show anglers the endless possibilities that lie ahead.

Business owners that took the chance with their online shops during the pandemic may not necessarily have the capital to invest in a full-fledge Expo. Tackle Shop owners with severely reduced sales from the pandemic may not have the manpower to set up in a full-fledge expo. The youth in angling, bold enough to make a name for themselves online may be intimidated to jump into a full-fledge expo. Some may even wonder, if they deserve a spot in an angling Expo.

Well, THEY DO. We believe that if you have tried to keep this sport alive in your own way, then you MUST be a part of the community when it comes together. Pasar Pancing – The Fishing Expo merges the concept and nostalgia of selling, without any restrictions on products sold/displayed except that it follows reselling guidelines (if any) and is a product associated to angling. The pasar concept allows us to keep the booth cost very low, providing vendors with everything they require to sell:

• Table with cover
• 2 chairs
• 1 x Electrical Point (if needed)
• 1 x Brand Display
• 1 x QR Code Display (for payment)

The inaugural Pasar Pancing saw our team sending invites to key brands, start-ups and online shops, covering as many areas of angling as we can. It did not matter the size or standing of the company, as we felt it was important for the new players to be inspired by those experienced in the business, and for those experienced to be inspired by larger companies within the industry.

The result? An experience that surpassed our expectation of this warm-up event, so WHY was the inaugural event a success? Not just for vendors, but also for anglers, visiting from all over Malaysia, to gather in this compact Expo, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Believe it or not, it’s all about kasih-sayang (LOVE) and support. There was a moment, in all that tight-squeezing buying and selling in Wisma Central that I stopped and decided to look around. I saw handshakes of Hello, smiles, laughter and excitement from buying, effort from selling but most of all, a heartwarming reality that everyone was there for the love of the sport. From vendors that took this chance, adapted and celebrated this with us, to anglers coming on BOTH days to hang out and support like-minded friends.

Pasar Pancing in Wisma Central covered as many different types of angling as we could, with the support of vendors, shop owners, clubs, distributors, etc.

The official launch of PENN Authority saw it flying off the shelves with true PENN Fans. PureFishing supported the event by showcasing some of the best and brand-new in Abu Garcia, that’s not all, the event also saw the launch of Plano Tackle Systems in Malaysia, with a new and exciting range! FlyJawa demonstrated amazing intricacy and skill in tying stunning flies, on location, for your viewing, learning and pleasure of indulging in an intriguing form of angling; fly-fishing. PEN Marine as our boating partners allowed us to bridge the gap and merge angling with boating, synonymous yet strangers before this event. We see this as an important partnership, where Captains can look into ways of bettering not just their skill, but also, quality of their boats for angling and leisure- Rivers and Oceans hold with it endless possibilities.

We celebrated and took in Malaysian-made products and for the first time, anglers could see the amazing creation from Kurodai Jigs, displayed according to theme yet dazzling almost like a vivid filter was put across, also meeting the team behind it too. Malaysian angling brands shone bright, with followers streaming in to mingle with their angling idol behind the quality they trust like DUAL lines, affordable, thoughtful, quality driven braided lines as well as Kanicen, for the love of everything tiny and mighty; the ulta-light community.

When it comes to Lures, anglers get weak in the knees when browsing products by Lure Haven, even more so with the amazing PROMOTIONS they had going on for some of their mesmerising lures on display. We loved how they took on the Pasar selling theme and ran with it! In order to get some of the best, you needed to push through the crowd and get to it!

There were the niche ones, refreshing, different, they made you stop, wonder, ask questions and be intrigued- Bard Fishing Shop and Rimma Street Tackle were introduced to many more anglers, building a fan base hooked on their unique simplicity. They had the stuff everyone wanted, but just like all good things, theirs were the limited-editions!

New to fishing? FBA was around with FREE E-BOOKS to download and get you started! Alongside them, were the team of Reelyology, there to answer your questions on issues with your rod, reel, lines, etc- that’s not all, they were also there to help with simple maintenance and repairs, on location! We saw anglers crowd around, showing support whilst entranced at how meticulous they were in their craft of reel maintenance.

Not new to fishing? Then you would have been delighted to see a crowd favourite, Red Hot Anglers, right there to further add to the nostalgia, the memories, the quality and knowledge of products and fishing.

Personally, i’d like to say a big THANK YOU, to all of you, Malaysia, for giving us a chance. As your IGFA Representative, it is such an honor for me to be able to introduce to you, get you signed up for free and see your keen interest and excitement in considering to attempt an IGFA World Record. The IGFA is a lot more than that, through the regulations, we get to fish ethically, and as ethical anglers, we get to respect each other, consider the environment (especially the fish) and better the standards of angling in Malaysia without compromising on the fun or the camaraderie within the community. All I can do as a Representative is to create more awareness and events to send the right information and message out, to guide you if you need the assistance, and the rest, is up to you Malaysia! I most certainly hope to see more of us try to be better anglers, for the future of the Sport, together.

As a team, The Milkfish Lady is humbled by the love, support, and patience of the community. We were moved by the amount of people that came by, that had fun and went home with bags of great discounts, bargains, brand new products and best of all, new friends in fishing.

With that, I hope you are ready Malaysia… because it’s not over. Pasar Pancing – The Fishing Expo, is back. This time, it’s bigger and better! Come join us, mark your dates, plan your trip, book your hotels, prepare your stock, empty your shelves, start saving for the bargains and we shall see you on 3rd and 4th December, 2022!! Details in poster below!

For those keen on joining as a vendor, get in touch with us to book your slots. Whether you are a distributor, tackle shop or even small fishing business owner; there’s something for everyone in Pasar Pancing!

Have a look at some moments during our warm-up event! More photos can be viewed online through the hashtag: MyPapa & PasarPancing