The author and his sailfish

August 21st 2010, ROMPIN.    My kayak fishing buddy, Howard, and I had planned this trip a couple of weeks in advance. Our target was the sailfish at Rompin on the eastcoast of Johor state, Malaysia.

I had bought the Malibu Stealth-12 from Eco-Sports in May this year and had only gone out kayak fishing twice. I was itching to go and test the Stealth-12 in the warm waters of Rompin, dubbed the billfishing capital of Southeast Asia. 

I often wondered (after watching many extreme fishing shows) about how it would be like to ‘ride’ a sail on a kayak. Well, after last weekend (on the 21st August to be exact), both Howard and me had our wishes came true. 

We left the Rompin jetty around 8am after a quick breakfast on a speedboat piloted by Sky Chong. When we arrived at our first stop, there were at least 13 other boats anchored and busy jigging for live baits (locally known as tambans). After our baitwell was almost full, we set out to target the Sails. 

On board our "Mothership"

First stop, jigging for tamban or baitfish

We soon arrived at our location and immediately drifted some live tambans. I got onto my kayak and paddled out 30 metres from our speedboat and did some drifting and light trolling while paddling around the area. The waves was about a half metre high and the Stealth-12 handled it beautifully. It ‘cuts’ through the waves with ease. 

Awhile later I could see some sails almost 10 feet away from my kayak and casted towards it, and then, I had a hook-on. We used circle hooks, so I just let the Sail literally ’sail’ away while it set the hook itself. 

It just ‘pulled’ away, with me on the kayak. Man, the feeling was ecstatic! The Sail was going left and then right but I was able to control the kayak with my Thomas Stroker rod in hand. It almost felt like a ’steer’ of sorts. A motorised kayak, so to speak. 

The author sailing away on a sailfish-powered kayak

The sailfish pulled the author and his kayak for some 50 meters before tiring out...

Be careful with the bill...

This went on for about 50 metres or so (could be more, I guess) till it tired out and I was able to reel it back towards me. Got it onto my lap for some picture-taking and safely released it to fight another day. 

Next, it was Howard’s turn, he too had the ride of his life. The Sail brought him around our boat, till it tired itself out, and Howard skillfully handled the Sail for some picture-taking and released safely. 

Howard landing his catch.

Howard and his sailfish

Catch-n-Release

All-in-all, it was really good fun to fight the Sailfish on a kayak and being on the water with perfect hot weather and good friends made the trip even more memorable. 

Only thing is, I forgot about Arnold’s (another kayak fisher buddy, also known as LOTM to most Malaysian fishing forumers) advice on putting on spf50 sunblock. In the midst of fighting the Sails, one can be forgiven for overlooking this part of the trip but I have to pay for it now, as my skin is peeling. 

Words can only describe up to a certain extent, the feeling we had that day with the Sails on kayak. I would strongly suggest that you get your kayaks and go out yourselves to get that ‘feeling’ of being pulled around by the fast and strong Sailfish. Do remember to be careful of the bill, as it can be rather dangerous when pulling it up onto the kayak. Make sure the Sail is calm before you do so. 

Now, we got to plan for our next trip…

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Peat swamp forests are an important component of the world’s wetlands – the dynamic link between land and water, a transition zone where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients and the energy of the sun combine to produce a unique ecosystem of hydrology, soils and vegetation. Peat swamp forests provide a variety of benefits in the form of forestry and fisheries products, energy, flood mitigation, water supply and groundwater recharge.” 

So, when an sms came inviting me to explore the peat swamp forest of Batang Berjuntai – Tanjung Karang, I hesitated for a moment. Snakes, mosquitos and leeches? Not a place that I’d like to spend my Sunday at. But, the lure of exploring Nature at its best and landing the elusive Bujuk (channa lucius, a member of the snakehead family) was… simply overwhelming. 

Peat swamp and Bujuk? How could I let this opportunity passed me by?

We rendezvoused for breakfast at Ijok as planned. After a hearty breakfast (bak kut teh…), we headed west towards Tanjung Karang. We went off-road some 20 minutes later into an oil-palm plantation. Surprisingly, the laterite road in the plantation was well maintained. We soon came to an irrigation canal. The other side of the canal stood the ubiquitous peat swamp forest. From a distant, a peat swamp forest looks like any tropical rainforest for the untrained eyes.

Parking at the fringe of the peat swamp forest

We drove pass the canal before stopping at the fringe (of the forest). But, the river was nowhere in sight. I went over to Tee and asked where the river was. “Just a few meters away behind the bushes!”, Tee said. “Wow! How clever Nature hides and protects itself from the predatory Man.”, I thought.

Overhead, the sky looked gloomy. It had rained the past few days and I was certain it was going to rain again. The dark clouds did not deter us a tiny bit. We pushed ahead and started unloading. Instead of carrying our kayaks, we decided to drag them over the tall weeds to the water. The thought of snakes and leeches hidden in the weeds was enough to give me the uneasy feeling. As we walked, the ground got softer and wetter. I learned later that leeches could not survive the acidic water of peat swamp forest.

The hidden water...can't be seen even if are a few meters away.

Nature's tea...

As soon as we hit the water, I noticed right away the water was tea-like in colour. As we paddled further, I realised the peat swamp was shady and cool, unlike the ex-mining lakes or dams we were used to. In certain parts, the foliage was so thick it almost covered the sky.

There were many small rises but the bujuks were not biting. Tee reasoned that the rise in the water level (due to the rain in the past few days) has flooded the surrounding areas and the bujuks would have moved out to the flooded areas in search of food. After many more attempts, we decided to bring out our light tackle and target the small rises. Soon enough we started landing one after another these tiny beautiful fishes. I brought home a few for the aquarium.

Looks like patung...and nice enough for the aquarium.

As expected, it started to drizzle, but not for long. The thick foliage of the forest actually provided us some cover from the rain.    

Tee, our leader and guide, had told us if we were lucky we might spot wild boars, tapirs and even panthers. We spotted wild boar and tapir mud pools and footprints along the sides, but no wild boar, tapir or panther. I believed we made so much noise the animals would have noticed our arrival…including the bujuks and snakes.

The thick foliage provides cover from rain and sun.

A wild boar mud pool

Our paddling journey was occasonally interrupted by fallen branches. If the fallen branches were small, we would just chopped them with our parangs. But, if the branches were large, Tee, an experienced tracker, would clear the side so that we could walk “around” the fallen branches. Alternatively, we could go “over” the fallen branches…only if we had lesser load with us. 

Tee clearing the side so we could walk 'around' the fallen branches.

This is a journey few would take. But, the peat swamp forest is Nature at its best and the bujuk would have been a great ‘bonus’.

Our mixed group of 7 comprised of experienced trackers, anglers, kayakers, canoeists, hunters and 4×4 enthusiasts. Tee (our group leader), Ng, Lim, Jeremy, Steven, Johnny and myself with 3 4X4s, 4 kayaks and 1 canoe. 

Gerald K.

Then it struck me that I have a meeting with Howard and Yong that weekend. As it turned out, the timing could not have been better. Howard and Yong agreed they would drive to KL on Saturday, spend the night, pick up Yong’s kayak early next morning, and head straight to Talang Dam. It was a perfect plan afterall and it was to be Yong’s maiden trip on his Malibu Stealth 12. 

Yong, the proud owner of the Malibu Stealth 12

Checking out Tee's kayak rack

Shortly before 0800hrs, we arrived at the Senawang toll exit. Tee and his friends (Ng and Lim) arrived 20 minutes later. The journey to Talang Dam from here would take another 45 minutes. Our journey took us through narrow winding country roads…littered with cow dungs, passing through rustic kampungs (villages) and beautiful countryside. 

Our convoy, 3 4WDs and 6 kayaks...stopped for breakfast and to pick up our day supplies.

Narrow winding country roads...watch out for the dungs!

We arrived at the launch site just before 1030hrs. The launch site is located at a small tributary river that flows into dam. We noticed right away the water level had gone down…exposing all its sides. Like always, we couldn’t wait to get underway. 

After paddling a short distance, it immediately dawned on me that Talang Dam was unlike any other bodies of water I have paddled in. It looked like a large winding river with many branches, jagged edges and islands. It has so many turns and corners, it is easy to lose your bearings if you do not constantly keep track of where you are. A tracking GPS would be very helpful…but none of us brought one. 

The launch site

Tee and his Hunter Green Stealth 12.

Lim trying out kayak fishing for the first time

Ng and the first catch of the day

Yong and his brand new Stealth 12

Me and my Boogeese X'plorer

Howard and his trophy catch

We paddled and fished for about 3 hours, constantly making a mental map of our track, before we spotted a good site for our rest stop. Here, we took shelter from the midday heat and have our lunch. Tee, a keen explorer, recced the place for a campsite for his next camping trip. Ng, a hardcore angler, did not join us for the break, continued fishing non-stop. 

Half an hour later, we were back in the water. It was already past 2pm and we decided not to paddle too far off and just fish around the ‘bay’ as we would have to make the return journey by 1500hrs. 

Tee (left), Yong (middle) and Lim taking shelter from the midday heat

A view from our rest stop.

The catch for the day...an 11-pounder Toman (Snakehead)

Heading back to the launch site

The night before the trip, I have googled for more information about Talang Dam. Other than it is the largest dam in Negeri Sembilan and that it supplies water to the general population of Seremban and Kuala Pilah, I found no other useful information. GoogleEarth, on the other hand revealed far more useful information. It showed many kampungs in the vicinity of the dam. Instantly I knew, like many other large bodies of water in Malaysia, the kampung folks would have depended on it for their daily lives and the dam would have been heavily fished. True enough as we discovered. 

As for me, the real trophy catch is the fresh air, tranquility and beauty the dam has to offer…fishing is a bonus.

Hardly two weeks later, I was back at Empangan Batu. This time, to catch the Red-eyeds. I have always been interested to know more about our local indigenous species. So, I was all geared up to catch them…with fish traps and coconut kernel as bait. I have seen fishermen from Air Kuning used the same method to catch udang galah (giant freshwater prawn) and other similar fish. Our group included Azlan and his two sons, Isaac and Nick (whom I have difficulty telling apart even after so many meetings), his sister-in-law, Zawiyah, Mah and his wife, Irene and myself. Mah and I have brought our Tenkera rods specifically for the Red-eyeds.

Zawiyah, Nick and Isaac. No more rubbish...thanks to Earth Hour.

Azlan and his kids, Nick and Isaac, and his sis-in-law, Zawiyah...

Mah and his wife, Irene

My plan was to quickly lay the fish traps, set out to Eagle Bay for tomans before paddling up Sungai Pamah for the red-eyeds and then return to check the traps before calling it a day. I had laid the fish traps near some lilypads and weeds growing out of the shallow water not to far from the launch point. We then headed to Eagle Bay (named so after seeing a beautiful eagle hovering over the bay), stopping in between for shortrests and some casting.

Dropped my fish trap near some lily pads.

Again, my sonar registered a lot of fish and the fish were in small groups and swimming 5-15ft below the surface. So far, I have only caught tomans here at Empangan Batu. I have seen their red fries and stripy juveniles. The fish shown on the sonar couldn’t be tomans…adult tomans are solitary, usually hiding in some structures, while their juveniles, though in groups, usually rise up and play on the surface. The fish shown on the sonar don’t seem to behave like tomans. What fish are they? Could it be the sonar giving false information?

I have never been sure about the accuracy of the sonar. The only way to verify if the sonar is accurate is to install an underwater camera…but this is an expensive option.

Are the fish shown on the sonar for real?

A short distance away I could see a Pakcik in a small boat hauling up his net. I have seen the nets but I have never met the man until today. I decided to paddle towards him. As I got closer, I made a friendly hand gesture and called out “ada ikan?” (any fish?). He reciprocated with a smile and replied “ada tapi kecil” (yes, but they are small).I asked if there were other fish in the water and he said on better days he had brought up 2-3kg baungs, tilapias and kaluis.

I then asked if I could see them. He gestured to me to come closer to take a look. I could identify a few belidas, one soon hock or ketutu, a couple of tomans, and the rest were unknown to me. I quickly learned from him they were Mata Merah (red-eyed), Ikan Putih (white fish) and the third one…oops! sorry, my memory failed me.

As with most rural folks, he was quick to share his knowledge (of his trade) and trust outsiders. I felt humbled. Sorry folks, that much I can share.

I later bought some fish from him. I have asked for a few of each species so that I can take some pictures for this article. But he wouldn’t sell the belidas. He had wanted to save the belidas for his family as according to him they make very good fishball.

All these fish for RM10.

Mata Merah or Red-eyed

Ikan Putih or White Fish

Ketutu or Soon Hock or Marble Goby

Sorry, I forgot the name of this one.

The four species...plus Belida (featherback) and toman (snakehead) not in pic.

We arrived at Eagle Bay at around 10.30am for some toman action. We spotted at least two groups of toman fries on the eastside of the bay. Azlan and I were chasing after them…and were casting directly into the boils…but, no taker. There were quite a few big rises…again, no strike. By 12noon, it had gotten too hot and we decided to paddle up Sungai Pamah.

Eagle Bay...named so after watching a beautiful white & brown eagle flying overhead us.

Zawiyah and the kids have already gone up Sungai Pamah to take shelter from the midday afternoon heat. As we paddles along the river, we could hear the laughter of kids playing and the beautiful sound of river cascades. Mah and Irene joined us shortly.

Azlan and his kids, Nick and Isaac...taking a cool dip.

The Stonehenge of Empangan Batu.

Later Mah and I had decided to track upstream to try out his Tenkara rod. I had accidentally broke my Tenkera rod when it got caught in some branches while paddling. So, I could only watch. But, the red-eyeds were nowhere to be found. They were here just 10 days ago. Where have they gone? We tracked further up…still nothing. We could see tiny fishes and a few palm-sized ones but I was certain they were not the ones I spotted 10 days ago.

Where have they gone? Did they come upriver to spawn and then returned to the deep water of the lake? All I know, they have vanished from the river.

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.

Sporting a gleaming golden hue, stark black vertical stripes, and a conspicuous black mark framed in bright yellow on its tail like the peacock, the fish has won a regal name for itself in our local tongue. Its Malay name is ikan raja, while its Chinese name is wang ti yue (literally, “emperor fish”).

With this monster, Boon Cheng gets life membership to the Peacock Bass Hall of Fame.

It is a delectable fish. Its firm, white flesh compares well with saltwater favourites like the tenggiri (Spanish mackerel), bawal hitam (Black pomfret) and kurau (Threadfin salmon).

This is the sort of fish to fry. Or to make curry or asam pedas. Any attempt to steam it would result in an unhappy culinary adventure, for the fish is a speedy hunter that runs down its prey and it is, therefore, a muscular thing, low in juicy body fat. Being a carnivore, it is a difficult fish to farm.

Lake Kenneth

The hands-down, most popular place to catch the fish is in Perak. Specifically, in the ex-mining lakes of the state where the fish thrives. A well-known ex-mining lake to catch the Peacock Bass is in the general area of Air Kuning, not far from Tapah.

The lake has no official name of its own and is known informally to the sports fishing community as Lake Kenneth, in honour of one gentleman angler called Kenneth who helped spread the word about the lake.

Jubilantly hugging a 8.87kg giant snakehead.

Getting to the lake involves driving with 4WD vehicles across more than 20km of uneven, at times flooded, ex-mining terrain. Thus, the lake is far from human civilisation. Once badly scarred by tin mining activities, Lake Kenneth is now part of a naturalised, lush wetland system spanning over 200ha.

Viewed from Google Earth’s satellite images, Lake Kenneth exceeds 40ha in size. The rest of the wetland system comprises narrow canals, meandering channels, and weedy marshes. The system is also connected to the Kinta River, bringing with it a wide variety of fish species.

Over the years, sports anglers who make almost weekly pilgrimages to the lake have put fancy names to the fishing spots, such as Peacock Point, The Hideout, Toman Bay and Haruan Hole.

All in all, Lake Kenneth is a freshwater sports fishing haven, rich in Peacock Bass, Giant Snakehead (toman) and the Striated Snakehead (haruan).

Catching the Peacock Bass

Catching the Peacock Bass is not a simple matter of baiting a hook. The fish is drawn to schooling minnows. Here is where their brilliant colour becomes an offensive tool.

The Peacock Bass uses speed and its brilliance to thwart and dazzle a school of fish into chaos. Working as a team, a pack of Peacock Bass dart around a school of fish, bunching them together, preferably pushing them to the surface. When the prey becomes confused, the Peacock Bass picks them off one by one.

Juheni Omar, 28 and daughters Ratana (left) and Ariya out for a paddle on a Boogeese X'plorer.

They lunge at their prey with jaw-dropping dexterity.

The best way to catch them is to patrol the water in search of schools of baitfish darting around just below the surface for seemingly no apparent reason. Managing live bait while searching long stretches of water can be difficult, so the stock method for Peacock Bass fishing is to use lures.

The standard fishing lure is a thing of plastic, wood or metal that is shaped and coloured exactly like a fish and comes attached with hooks. When the lure is in motion, it will appear to swim like a fish — many in exaggerated wobbles like injured baitfish.

Since these hunters roam so widely, you need patience and a good eye to find them. Some means of moving on the water would help too. A boat and an engine would be conventional, but not optimal, because the drone of the engine can spook a hunting party of Peacock Bass.

A more effective method that is becoming popular in Malaysia is to use sit-on-top fishing kayaks. Sleek and light, the kayak is mobile and stealthy.

Traditional sit-in kayaks have openings in the middle for paddlers to snuggle into that leaves them visible only from the waist up. These are great for long distance paddling or white-water tussling.

Sit-on-tops are different.

Moulded from plastic, these allow fishers to sit on top of the water craft, granting them a greater degree of comfort and mobility. They allow anglers to roam about with relative ease compared to rowing a boat.

The following is a personal account of kayak fisher Arnold J. S. Loh, 37, who has been fishing Lake Kenneth almost weekly for two years:

The past week, the daily downpour had drummed down to a forgiving drizzle.

Lake Kenneth’s waters would have dropped a little. The Peacock Bass would have just left the grass-choked shallows and could be mulling about in the open. So the next morning, I found myself standing on the banks of Lake Kenneth.

Before I had time to unload my gear, a pack of Peacock Bass was busting baitfish in the water right beside my car! I hurriedly tied on a pencil lure, designed to flit across the water surface on a fast retrieve. They gave chase immediately. Two, sometimes three, V-shaped wakes tailed behind my lure as I skittered it back to me.

But they would not bite! Must change the lure. I picked a lure that would still play on top, but would sink the moment I stopped retrieving. They gave chase again. I slowed down the retrieve but kept the lure flitting on the surface. The predators closed in a little more. Then I stopped. The lure wobbled meekly as it sank. And suddenly everything became tight.

A Peacock Bass gulped in the lure and turned away in a flash. The hooks firmly set. I could not crank my reel. Must loosen the drag to let the fish pull some line out. A minute later, I guided the tired fish to the bank. Table-size, a little over 1kg. Victory!

The kayak finally in the water, I paddle to a stretch of shallows near Peacock Point. The water was shielded from the breeze here. It reflected the sky like a mirror. The slightest movement of fish near the surface would show. I stopped and scanned the water for several minutes. Finally, a disturbance.

A circular patch of water about a meter in diameter began to shimmer. Baitfish were being pushed to the surface. I closed in quietly and picked a top-water lure again. The swim here was littered with underwater vegetation that would snag a diving lure.

I cast into the centre of the shimmering water and made it streak back towards me. Nothing. They must be lurking a little too deep to bother. The shimmer died off. Then, the water rippled a little ahead at the edge of a solitary lotus leaf. It was just a small swirl. If not because the distance and direction of the rise made it so easy, I would not have bothered to send my lure there.

The fish was still swirling near the surface as my lure landed centimeters beside it. I twitched the lure only twice, and pandemonium seized my world.

That single lotus leaf disappeared beneath the water as a large Peacock Bass sucked in my lure with an oddly sickening sound. As it dove away, the tightened line caught the leaf’s stem, pulling everything under. The fish swerved to the right, tearing apart large clumps of underwater weeds that rose messily to the top.

I could only hold on.

The fish was pulling my kayak around. I regained some line when the fish stalled in its confusion. As I reeled it in, the fish realised that the silhouette of my kayak was a source of danger, and pandemonium struck again.

Minutes later, the fish finally tired out and came up gleaming beneath the mid-morning sun. It was the largest Peacock Bass I had ever hooked! A male, judging by the over-developed hump on top of its head. Length: 62cm. Weight: 3.1kg. I broke my Peacock Bass record!

I decided to try a further spot called The Hideout. The 2km of paddling was invigorating after the cold drizzle. On arriving at this system of broad, meandering channels, I had to grin. All the fish were having a party. Rises everywhere. A peculiar sort of rise caught my eye in the distance near a curving stretch of weed-line. Could it be?

I drew in closer, dipping my paddle silently into the water, hugging the weed-line as closely as I could to camouflage the kayak’s silhouette. The fish, a large one, rose again in the same spot. Oh! Could it be!?

As close as I dared to go without raising an alarm, I cast hard to reach the spot. The lure only just made it. Phew. I still had on a top-water lure. This time I moved the lure in a technique called Walk-The-Dog. By cranking the reel slowly and twitching the rod at a correct tempo, the lure began to swish left and right in a clumsy and heavy fashion.

Slorrp.

I swear that was what I heard before my line went so tight that it played a whining note as it rubbed hard along the rod guides. The situation was out of my hands. The fish made a break for the middle of the channel in search of deeper water, and I was compelled to follow on my kayak! I actually became scared that I had finally caught one too many fish.

Slowly but surely, the fish got tired of towing me and showed itself. A black torpedo with a white underside draped in emerald blotches. Meet the venerable Giant Snakehead. Length, 1.1m. Weight, 8.87kg. It is, in every sense of the term, a specimen size. Now I’ve broken my Giant Snakehead record.

An old friend once said: “A bad day at fishing is always better than a good day at work.”

Well, a good day at fishing is surprisingly quiet, making us feel humble and thankful to nature. Those wishing to fish Lake Kenneth are advised to observe good fishing ethics to preserve the haven. Stick to bag limits and take no more than three fish per angler.

Release all fish under 1kg. Avoid littering. Allow common sense to prevail. Be cordial to other anglers on the lake.

December 15, 2009 – Tronoh, Perak (by Gerald K).  The fishing was so good the first time, we decided to revisit this ex-mining lake in Tronoh which we named The Mayan City or simply, T1 . Tronoh, like most ex-mining towns in Malaysia are pockmarked with ex-mining lakes. T1 is one of the largest lakes in the area. This time we had five kayakers, Dr. Mah, Chris, Kenny, Arnold and myself.

Dr. Mah had arrived at my house at 3.45am. We quickly loaded our stuff and headed north by 4.00am. Next, we met Chris at the Rawang R&R and headed to Tanjung Malim to join up with Kenny. We had stopped at Tapah R&R for breakfast before continuing the rest our journey. Arnold, the fifth member of the team, would join us at T1. We finally arrived T1 at 7.30am.

T1 is about 1.5km x 1.0km in size. The deep end is about 100ft. For anglers, lake structures such as dropoffs, feeder creeks, shallow coves, lotus pads and side vegetation make good fishing spots.

We decided to launch our kayaks at Mayan Bay. The bay is shallow and covered with lush green vegetation. This bay is home to the Mayan cichlids. The Mayans are small. Averaging 6 inches in length. But, their small size belies their strength. I could feel my Mini-X move each time these feisty little cichlids burst to the side…unbelievable!

From Mayan Bay, we paddled north to the feeder creeks and were rewarded with even more and bigger mayans. Later, Dr. Mah decided to paddle further north to Sanctuary Cove. Arnold, Chris and Kenny headed east to Otter Bay. I stayed on at Feeder Creek 1 and continued catching those feisty little mayans. At about 11.0am, the belidas started to rise. They had rise at the same spot and time during my first trip. I knew better this time that they would not take my grubs and decided to just watch in contemplation instead.

The feisty little Mayan.

Later, I headed north-east to Lotus Cove. Arnold joined Dr. Mah at Belida Bay. Chris and Kenny were still combing the area around Otter Bay. The Lotus Cove is shallow and filled with lotus pads. The cove is definitely home to the haruans. Sure enough, I caught our first and only haruan for the day.

Haruan and Mayan Cichlids

My keep net

Arnold had plucked a few lotus pods for lunch. I have seen lotus pods being sold in markets but never eaten one, not raw anyway. Arnold had assured us they tasted very good and convinced us to try them. He taught us how to pick the right pods, remove the seeds and peel the skin. Indeed, the seeds tasted very good…and very fresh. It has a slight sweet and bitter taste. It tasted better than the sandwich I brought. I am glad to learn another survival skill…thanks Arnold.

The Lotus Pod

A slight crunch, sweet and better taste. Nothing rival its freshness.

 I decided to join Arnold and Dr. Mah at Belida Bay. Yes, the belidas were playing at the bay area and were not interested in what we had to offer. We continued to fish until 3.00pm before slowly heading back to our launch point. 

Kenny (left) and Arnold taking a short break before heading home.

The prize catch...1.5kg Haruan.

Each of us has caught so many mayans that we had lost count. We had released all the small ones and kept a few big ones for dinner. Yes, it has been a fun day at the Mayan city.

Good or bad, Air Kuning is not easily accessible by road. Yes, you need a 4WD to access some of these lakes.  But, that’s not all. You need a boat too, if you want to explore the many hotspots around the lakes and the river system. Air Kuning is definitely an ideal place for kayak anglers.

Our first stop is a lake we named Tasik Tucunare (also known as Lake Kenneth, depending on who you talked too). Other than Sungai Kinta, all other water bodies in the area are nameless. Tucunare is a common name for Peacock Bass in Brazil, the country of their largest native region. Tasik Tucunare (or Lake Tucunare) is the largest lake in the Air Kuning wetlands.

The journey to Tasik Tucunare from Kuala Lumpur took about 3 hours. I found the journey itself exciting. The drive from Kuala Lumpur to Temoh (exit Tapah toll) on the North-South highway took about 2 hours. From Temoh to Lake Tucunare, it was off-road for one hour all the way. Going off-road with a convoy of 4WDs and driving through oil palm estates and ex-mining areas was an exhilarating experience itself.

Lake Tucunare proper is approximately 380acres in size, making it easily in the top 5 largest ex-mining water bodies in Perak. Our depth sounder showed uneven bottom and depths of no more than 30 feet.  To paddle around this entire lake while combing the water for fish took us 6 hours. The whole wetlands system that Tasik Tucunare is a part of is about 2,000 acres. We’ve explored less than 10% of this area.

Peacock Point. Viewed by satellite, the amazingly good fishing in Peacock Point is understandable. This is the largest area in the lake that is a lagoon that ends in a narrow point of less than 45 degrees. We believe seluangs and lampams who find their way into this “V” will be boxed in for a time, leading giant peacocks to swim right into casting distance to hunt them. The largest PB we caught here is passed the 3kg mark.

Kenny with his catch at Peacock Point

Muara Tucunare (or Tucunare Inlet).  Here, a feeder creek flows into the lake and if you know where the drop-off is, you will find both PBs and tomans patrol this inlet. There is a slight drop-off at the mouth of the feeder where the water has gouged out a hole in the lake. Even a minor drop-off of only a few inches offers many fish a place to hold and wait in ambush for food washed out of the feeder creek. If you use teeny, tiny hooks to catch the really large minnows here and use them as live bait, you have better chances of hooking up good size PBs and even tomans. 

Muara Tucunare

Toman Bay. Frustrating place. We have lost some very good lures here. Our sonar showed a shelf in this location. The top is less than 8 ft. The bottom is more than 20ft. PBs are aplenty too. But on a windless day, anchor your kayak, light a cigarette, keep your rod cocked and ready, and vigilantly watch the mirror-like water. Tomans will rise calmly, showing only their pointy nose and not a ripple more. Some times, the rises are less than 10 ft from your kayak. Casting accuracy is so crucial here. Too close and you frighten the toman into the depths. Too far, and they ain’t bothered. The cast has to be just right and when done so, the strike is almost immediate and very ferocious.

Toman Bay. Caught a PB instead.

The Shallows. The water here is shallow and fighting toman in shallow water will be a challenge, but the number of tomans here are really shocking.

Buffalo Lake. We named it so cos the water smells like buffalo dung. A friend once caught a toman here that was so large that it was beyond control. Probably about 7kg. In the end, the fish crushed the treble hook and spit out the lure. You can also find PBs around 2.5kg here. The lake’s earthy, chalky, mineral smell and in some parts, it smells like buffalo dung, since buffalo dung is probably what contributes to the water’s tint, is probably the reason why you find the fish there. 

Mystery Fish Cove. There’s a lot of a strange kind of fish here. They school in packs of 30-50 strong and rise in unison, making a rolling motion that reveals the whole of their dorsal fins. Dunno what they are.  That’s why I call them mystery fish.

The River System

The trip is mildly challenging because you will have to paddle out of Lake Tucunare and cross the river system to reach this cove. The current is meandering and just nice to give you a good workout. Fishing pressure here is delightfully low cos the cove is impossible to reach on foot or wheels. Must have boats to reach it. And tomans and haruans abound here too but the water is shallow, so fighting a big toman here will be tough.

North of this system, there are two more small lakes where you can find more PBs and tomans, but prospect of getting the monsters are much higher in the Lake Tucunare system.

Lake Tucunare (also known as Lake Kenneth)

By the way, if you are there on Saturday, head into Kampar town pasar malam for the best luk luk ever. All the stuff is fresh, especially the cockles. The sauces are spectacular and if you love pedas, the chilli sauce will make your hair sweat!

Best Luk Luk ever

Last but not least, please practice ethical bag limits and release those less than 1kg size.

Day 1:  At 5:30 am, Chris and his son, CJ arrived at my house. It was still dark. CJ was busy playing his PSP he had just gotten for his birthday. We quickly transferred the stuff from Chris’ car to my pickup. By 6.00am we were on our way to pick up Ah Wah at the Petronas station on MRR2. Ah Wah was already there waiting for us when we arrived.

6.30 am.  We arrived at our rendezvous point, the BP station right after the Gombak toll. Sam and his friends, Gary and Loh, arrived 30 minutes later. We quickly transferred some of the stuff from Sam’s Kenari to my pickup and continued our journey shortly after.  

10.00 am.  We stopped to refuel and have our breakfast at Bera town. We wanted something light for breakfast but they only had nasi campur. We have had nothing the whole morning, so were famished and decided to go ahead with the nasi campur. I picked what I thought was my typical nasi campur fare… a fried egg, some vege and a small catfish masak lemak. After filling up my plate, I took it to the makcik at the cashier. With just a quick look at my plate and avoiding eye contact she told me it was RM15. I thought I had heard wrongly and asked again. She quipped, “Lima belas. Itu baung sungai, memang mahal”. Soon my RM15 breakfast became a joke the rest would poke fun at. We continued our journey right after breakfast. Just before reaching our destination, we pulled over to the side of the road and went out looking for oil palm seeds. The oil palm trees were everywhere and the seeds were scattered all over the ground. We picked a bagful of the oil palm seeds to be used as berley for fishing.  

11.30 am.  We arrived at the Persona Lake Bera Resort. We made a quick recce of the area and then headed to the reception for our registration and our welcome drinks. All of us were eager to get on the water and we decided we should go exploring the lake first and have our lunch later. It was half past noon when we launched our kayaks (and a canoe).  

Getting ready for launch...two kayaks and a canoe.

We paddled westward to a jetty near an orang asli village on the western side of the lake. The lake seemed small from land but as we paddled we discovered narrow canals hemmed in by rasau plants. As we paddled through the canals we discovered open waters (lubok) on the other side. The whole lake seemed like one giant maze. Sam was our guide and a keen angler, without whom we would not have ventured farther than we had. While two hours of paddling sounded like a long time we did not the least felt fatigued and if not for the lunch waiting for us at the resort, we would have continued on paddling. At 2.00pm, Sam called out to us and said we need to head back to the resort for our lunch, a very late lunch. I must say the food served by the resort was better than expected and the service was very friendly.  

Front (in canoe): Sam, Gary and Ah Wah. Back (in kayak): Chris and son, CJ.

After lunch, we set out again but this time we were all geared for fishing. Chris had brought along his echo sounder (fishfinder). The lake was between 2 to 5 m deep. The surface water temperature was as high as 35. We reckoned the high water temperature was the reason why the fish weren’t biting. We observed where there was shade, there were more fish and more bites. As the day got darker, the fishfinder showed more fish. We concluded that the fish went into hiding during the hot mid-day and came out from hiding during the cooler evening.  

Small fishes appeared from nowhere after we berleyed the water

The fish weren’t biting. So, Sam decided he would set a berley at one of the luboks we had passed earlier. We paddled back to the lubok and Sam started to dip his bagful of crushed oil palm seeds in the water. Within minutes there were small ripples everywhere. It seemed the small fish came from nowhere and they were on a feeding frenzy except that there was no food, only oil from the oil palm seeds. We thought the small fish would attract the big fish and immediately cast to the ripples hoping for a big strike but as it turned out, the big fish were not easily fooled. Before we knew it, it was getting dark and we had to return to base.  

Day 2:  Day two took us southward to the upper side of the lake. Tasik Bera drains its water from the south to Sungai Bera in the north before pouring its content into Sungai Pahang. We were set to explore as far south as we could and had brought along our lunch. Our plan was to return to base before nightfall.  

The journey south initially proved more difficult than expected. We could not find the exit canal and had to phone Encik Aziz, the resort manager, for direction. We eventually spotted the exit canal hidden inconspicuously among the rasau plants.  

Appearing out from a narrow canal...Loh, infront.

Sam, our guide, leading the way.

There were more canals and luboks. Some canals were so hemmed in by the rasau plants that they looked like narrow dark tunnels. Going through the dark tunnels and ducking the thorny rasau leaves and overhangs was nerve-wrecking initially but we quickly got over it. As we appeared out from the dark tunnels into the bright open waters the feeling was simply amazing. Seeing the open waters with high-walled rasau plants all around was like seeing a fishing paradise, if only the fishing could be as good.  

The orang asli have kept the canals open by regularly cutting the overgrowth and overhangs and burning the prolific rasau plants. We could see burnt patches of rasau forest here and there. Apparently, this “slash and burn” practice had in some ways controlled the spreading of the rasau plants and prevented it from proliferating the entire lake and devouring the other species. It was a fine example of Man living in harmony with Nature. Having said that, with the advent of modernisation and development, which is inevitable, is likely to upset this harmony.  

Rasau plants...everywhere.

Sam walking through the burnt rasau.

After the first day, we got wiser. We started looking for shady areas to fish. Our oil palm berley and fishfinder proved very useful. We started to land more fish. Though they were mostly small, we were equally excited. We released the small ones and kept the rest. We caught baungs, mini-baungs (baung kecil as what the locals would call them), lais and one or two more unknown species. There were some large rises but we simply could not get a hit.  

Sam's first catch, a lais.

CJ and his baung

Chris and CJ continued fishing at sunset.

CJ and his two baungs. Notice they are of different species.

CJ barbequeing his own catch. He caught 15 in total.

Day 3:  Our last day at Tasik Bera was supposed to be free and easy. Chris and CJ had decided the night before they would go fishing and would wake up at 6am. The rest, including me, would leave it to our “mood” come tomorrow. As it turned out, I didn’t want to miss anything. I woke up at 6.30am and found Chris and CJ had already gone. I guessed Sam didn’t want to miss anything either. He came to me and asked if I wanted to go fishing. We immediately packed and rushed to the water. We decided to take the canoe this time and joined Chris and CJ at the lubok we had fished in on Day 1.  

The morning was very misty. The lake had the calm and “mystical” feel. We could see the white mist gently floating above the calm glassy water. We paddled as gently as we could and the canoe glided through the water silently. The only sound we heard was the occasional sound made by our paddles pushing against the water.  

Misty morning...very calm and mystical

Soon we could see Chris and CJ through the mist. We decided to join them and fish at the same lubok. Chris and CJ had caught a few small fish including a mini-baung. Then we heard a blurring sound in a distant. The sound grew louder. We knew a fishing boat was coming our way. Soon we could see the boat. The boat had stopped about 100m away and two men were pulling up a net that had been set across the canal the night before. After they pulled up their net and blurring sound started again. They were coming our way. As they came closer, Sam signalled them to come over. They turned their boat and came toward us. We exchanged the usual niceties before getting down to real business. They showed us their catch…a couple of tapahs, a couple of baungs, one ketutu (marble goby), a few unknown species … and they were still alive. Sam said the tapah was good eating and suggested I should buy it. Since I had not eaten a tapah before I decided to buy the smallest (2.4kg) at RM36 per kg. After some hard bargaining, they decided to charge me 2kg for a 2.4kg at the same rate.  

The fishermen's catch...

We paddled for another half and hour or so before returning to the resort for breakfast. After breakfast, we started to pack and get ready to return to KL. 

In short, Tasik Bera is unique, very unique indeed. You have to paddle through its vast maze of canals and open waters (luboks) to see its hidden treasures and inner beauty. It is a nature lover’s paradise. Fishing is a bonus.

Lake with no name, Kota Bahru, Gopeng

I too couldn’t wait for another exciting fishing trip. We decided we should do it sooner than later. Two days later, exactly two weeks after our Tronoh trip, we were on our way to Kota Bahru, Perak. I arrived at Mah’s house at 10 past 5am and began our journey 20 minutes later. Like our Tronoh trip, it had started to rain soon after we left PJ.

We arrived at the lake 3 hours later and quickly surveyed the place for a launching site. We could see dark clouds hovering above us. We had brought along our ponchos and decided to push ahead rain or shine.

We decided to fish nearby just in case it started to pour. I had brought along my soon-to-be-launched Boogeese kayak (named after the fearless Bugis people of the Malay Archipelago aka the Bogeyman) for a real test. We quickly landed Mayans soon after. Not long after, the wind came and blew the dark clouds away. We then paddled out in search of bigger fish and the elusive PBs. The wind kept blowing and made flyfishing difficult.

In search of Peacock Bass...

A duck farm nearby

Me and my Boogeese

My catch...Mayan cichlids

Mah's catch...more Mayan cichlids

By 3.30pm we had landed only Mayans. I guess the PBs had taken the day off. There were big splashes too, but it looked like only the Mayans were interested to play. Half an hour later, we were on our way back to KL.

Another exciting kayak fishing experience nonetheless.