This time, I used the Malibu Kayaks Pro2-Tandem. The cool thing about this kayak is the center hatch. It’s water tight. And you can even store your sleeping bag inside for extended travels. But for me, I open it and leave the hatch in the pickup truck. Then I have a hole in the kayak where I securely put my tackle box, and any fish I want to keep, I just throw it into the hole.

Not very good fishing. Heavy rain has the water level up by over a foot from last week. I did have one take. A strong toman whacked my redhead Rapala Skitter Pop. One yank and the line broke. Sigh….another lure bites the dust.

Arriving at Third Lake was exciting for me. This lake has quite a lot of jelawat (sultan fish). Can’t wait to bring my kayaking fly buddies to come and try the fish.

Then I got hungry. Only had a glass of Nescafe and biscuits for breakfast. And I forgot to bring lunch.

So what to do? Luckily, I spied a large patch of lotus. Ah…..free lunch.

When you read enough about nutrition, you’ll know that seeds are great food. High in energy, zero trans fat, easily digestible and full of good quality minerals and vitamins.

This lotus leaf is big! Nearly 2ft in diameter.

I must collect some next time. There are very good for a wide variety of cooking techniques. Steamed fish, rice, chicken taste well when wrapped in lotus leaf.

I rowed right into the lotus patch. And started picking young lotus seed pods. Never take the big ones, the seeds tends to be rather bitter, unless you are in the mood for bittersweet. Nonetheless, the fatter, green pods are still quite edible in spite of the bittersweet tang.

In a short while, lunch is served.

A bunch of lotus seed pods, with the MalibuKayaks Pro2Tandem, the lotus patch and Third Lake in the background.

Eating the lotus seeds is easy. Peel off the thick pod to get the green baubles out. Peel off the green skin. Eat the little white seeds. The sweetest seeds are those with a bit of lavender purple on the tip. Brownish colour tip will tend to taste bitter.

Note the little lavender purple tip of the seed. Sweet and refreshing taste, they give.

I sat in the middle of the lotus patch, happily popping one lotus seed after another into my mouth. It’s a warm, happy feeling to dine on Mother Nature’s wild offerings while sitting on a kayak. And with no one else around within 100 acres, one will discover one’s nobility.

It’s like this. When one is satisfied with a simply nutritious meal provided by Nature. When one is using a craft propel not by automation but only by one’s will and way. When one is cut off temporarily from society like this. One learns the meaning of composure and keeping a level set of shoulders, and being true to oneself.

I’ll not trick you. There are dangers. My kayak buddies often chide me for being alone in such wild places. But it’s addictive. There are moments of insight found in solitude in the wild that can never be found anywhere and anytime else.

I even had entertainment during lunch! Haruan and maybe toman were coming up for air, making their unique gulping sounds.

No chance of hauling them out of the lotus patch, though. I ruefully mused that I would need a rod made of 100% pure fiberglass, and braided line of at least 50lb test in order to yank them out among the tough, spindly lotus stems.

Lunch done, I rowed on and explored Third Lake. The windblown lake made it hard to spot fish. But at one corner, when the wind died down for a few precious minutes, I saw movement: toman fries!

Adrenalin coursed through me as I paddled stealthily to the spot. Closer, I realised they were juvenile tomans. Their parents were no longer looking after them. If they were small fries instead, I at least had the chance to catch a good-size toman for the home freezer.

Out of boredom I cast at them. As usual, all 200 over of juvenile tomans tried to eat the lure at once, resulting in a boiling frenzy. One of them inevitably caught the treble hook. I reeled the lure back to free the fish.

Not bad. Over 11 inches long. I sampled fried juvenile toman nearly 10 years ago, out of curiosity. Quite good eating. Fine flesh.

Then I remembered that my family needs fish. And these juveniles were ideal for making fried fish so crispy, that you could chew the bones.

So I caught 19 of them for the house.

Some of the 19 juvenile tomans I caught. Used a variety of lures. They will attack anything that moves so just have to choose smallish lures to easily set the hook.

The easiest way to dress them is to cut off all the fins and the tail, and also the head. There is so very little flesh in the head so it’s a waste of time and energy frying the head too.

Dressed, frozen, and thawing.

A fine and productive day it was. Such are the pleasant joys of a kayaker.

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.

Tasik Biru, Kundang

I quickly introduced myself and wasted no time to unload the kayaks. Yes, I had many hands to help me unload. We quickly warmed up to each other and like the saying, the rest is history.  

...a light breakfast alfresco by the lake.

Sam singlehandedly unload the Mini-X.

Some briefing on safety and paddling techniques before testing begun.

The Man Vs Machine Race...the motorised Mini-X eventually outran the two manpower Pro 2 Tandem.

For the final test, Sam did the “stand up and cast” stunt. Sorry! no pix taken…he was too far out in the lake for his pix to be taken.

So, if you are interested to test out the Malibu kayaks, feel free to contact me at +6(019) 3122 181 or send me an email at geraldkhoo@eco-sports.com.my.

Gerald