Empangan Batu – A Perfect Getaway for Kayakers

March 23, 2010 – Empangan Batu, Selangor (by Gerald K).  Empangan Batu or Batu Dam is just a 20-minute drive from where I lived. It is one of four (Semenyih, Klang Gate, Batu and Pangsun) large dams within a short drive from KL. Only the Batu and Semenyih dams are accessible by road. If you need a quick getaway from the urban jungle, these dams are the closest to Nature you can get. Peaceful, beautiful and therapeutic…a perfect getaway for kayak anglers.

I had quickly drop my son off at his school before meeting Neoh and his friend, Daniel, at our rendezvous point along MRR2. They were already there when I arrived at 7.35am…I guess pilots are trained to be punctual. We wasted no time and headed off to Batu Dam immediately. 

Kenny called me a few minutes later to say that he was about 5 minutes away from Batu Dam. Chris was to meet us at 8.00am. Kenny was the first to arrive, followed by us and later Chris. By 8.00am we were ready to set off for our kayak fishing adventure for the day. It was Kenny’s, Neoh’s and Daniel’s first time kayak fishing at Batu Dam. Ironically, Chris, who is from South Africa, has been kayak fishing off Batu Dam more than any Malaysian, including me. That makes him the expert in this water. 

Launch point...see the rubbish left behind by irresponsible anglers.

Neoh and Daniel on their Boogeese X'plorer

Anyway, it was a beautiful morning. The sky was clear and sunny…and the air was refreshing. We headed to the westside of the lake which is not accessible to shore anglers. Our plan was to cover the whole length of the lake, about 2km…paddling and fishing all the way to our final stop at Sungai Pamah for our lunch break. Batu Dam has many fishing hotspots…coves, feeder creeks, drop-offs, side vegetations, underwater rock structure, and even an island. Some days you can see many rises and some days, dead silent! Some days they bite and some days they don’t! Why? Sorry, you gotta ask the fish. 

Kenny wading in knee-depth water next to a drop-off. See the color difference in the water.

Kenny and his toman caught at the drop-off.

A juvenile toman caught on surface lure.

My Malibu Mini-X is equipped with a depth sounder – fishfinder. The deepest part of the lake is about 60ft but mostly under 20ft. It is about 0.5km across and 2km at its widest. Yes, my sonar showed many fish, large and small ones, mostly 5ft and below and swimming in groups. What fish are they? Not a clue… and I plan to equip my Mini-X with an underwater video camera for this purpose. 

My cuppa and depthsounder-fishfinder

But this is what we spotted with our naked eyes at Sungai Pamah when we arrived for our lunchbreak — groups of palm-sized dark greyish body with reddish tail fish swimming in the crystal clear water. Looks like lampam, but they were not lampam. Later we learned from the locals they were Mata Merah (red-eyed). I did some research on the internet and learned they were also known as Kelabau. Mata Merah or Kelabau is an indigenous fish and found in most rivers with crystal clear water. It grows up to 11 inches and feeds mostly on algae…i.e., it is a “vegetarian”. So, lures, keli, cacing or crickets are of no use for this species. According to the orang asli, oilpalm seeds will do the trick. Like Terubok, the Kelabau is bony (the reason why they are not popular with restaurants) but the meat is “sweet”. Also, this fish is seasonal…which explains why we have not seen them in our previous trips. 

Paddling down Sungai Pamah...we could see many fishes in the crystal clear water.

Mata Merah or Kelabau

While I have been to Batu Dam numerous times, I have never grown tired of it. Each trip brings as much excitement and refreshment to me as the previous ones. However, it saddens me to see the rubbish left behind by irresponsible anglers and the indiscriminate netting in the lake. When will these people learn! 

Total tally for the day: 11 tomans (all under 1kg); 5 anglers (all using lures) and 4 kayaks.