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Guide to Surviving a Houseboat at Temenggor – Royal Belum, Malaysia.

Malaysia, Royal Belum


Breathtaking sceneries greet you everywhere you look in Temenggor Dam

What is a Houseboat?

A boathouse is what it says, a house-like dwelling built onto a boat-like structure that floats, duh! Houseboats are popular throughout the world where deep jungle river exploration are called for. If you’ve watch that movie where a group of people ended up as food for overgrown snakes then you’re pretty close to picturing what a boathouse is.

At last count there are about five houseboats operating at the Royal Belum National Forest of Temenggor. While they come in different shapes and sizes they basically have the same amenities.


The car park and boat docking area on Pulau Banding

What to Expect?

The houseboats at Temenggor are berthed at the docks of Pulau Banding (Banding island) where they wait for their customers and also to load supplies. Pulau Banding is an island dividing the vast Temenggor Lake with the northern section of the lake making-up the ranger and army protected forest reserves.

Two to three week prior application for entry permit is required to enter the Royal Belum National Park.

This is not a five star accommodation but you will be sleeping under a million stars when the sky is clear.


View you get looking out the “windscreen” area. The driver sits in the middle.

Basic, functional accommodation apt for that adventure trip

The houseboats are basic but comfortable, when compared to roughing it out in the open. For this article we will use the boathouse operated by Gopa, arguably among the best available out here, as the example.

The bath/toilets. This is an important photo, right?

The houseboat is made out of three sections with two baths right in the center. Yes, two baths. No, that is still inadequate, when you need to go!

Sandwiching the baths are two sleeping quarters on each sides. The four rooms are just big enough for two double decker beds that sleeps four persons, max.

Tip, watch your head when getting up after a sleep! I’d suggest keeping it at two or three persons if you prefer comfort.

An eight person trip (up to perhaps a maximum of ten anglers) is good. Add the boatmen/guides and cook, etc and you can find between thirteen to sixteen persons on board.

The metal frames of the bed squeaks. Light sleepers may want to bring ear plugs. That will spoil the sounds from the forest though. And you should enjoy the rainforest orchestra.


Rooms are cramped and basic

So with the baths and sleeping quarters making-up the middle section of the houseboat that leaves us with the front and rear or for you boat-loving people reading this, the bow and stern sections.

The front consist of an open area for you to enjoy the views and is also known as the hang-out place. Most tales of the ones that got away takes place here. [Read more…] about Guide to Surviving a Houseboat at Temenggor – Royal Belum, Malaysia.

Natural Exotic Fish Fishing Pond – Rawang, Malaysia.

Catch Report

UPDATE: In 2017, the Natural Exotic Fish Fishing Pond (NEFFP) has moved to a new location in Behrang, Perak. Click to see post about the new NEFFP location.

Address: Lot 13, Batu 23, Jalan Batu Arang Kampung Sungai Bakau, Rawang, Selangor.

Exotic name for a fishing pond. Complete with a spa that you passes at the entrance!

We signed-up a 3-hour session on our first visit. For the fishing, not the spa, mind you. It soon turned out to be an interesting introduction to the pond which opened for business just months before (August 2011).

Eventful

After paying the RM100 plus a RM50 deposit for a 3-hour ticket we entered the fishing area and I was surprised to see Nick Ooi of Tackle Box Adventures fly-fishing from across the pond. The moment we walked up to him he was already onto a fish. That’s Nick for you, always hooking-up.

Besides the good fishing, other events unfolded starting with Nick getting his expensive fly line bitten off. You must be thinking that must have been some fish that bit his line in two, but it wasn’t. The culprit is a Rottweiler! Yes, those mean breed of a dog that was bred by the Romans to fight off Lions and other big cats from feeding on their livestocks.

A little while later, Nick’s friend broke his Sage rod while battling a stubborn big fish just fraction of a second before I hit the record button on my Kodak Playsport video camera. Drat!

Finally, we witnessed a bloke setting the hook so hard from across the pond that there was a loud snap. Thought it was his rod but he somehow broke his reel instead.

So a bitten-in-half-by-a-dog fly line, a broken rod and a broken reel greeted three different individuals within a span of three hours.

The Sultan fish (also called Mad Barb), Leptobarbus hoevenii, is a fish species native to Malaysia, Thailand, and Borneo. This fish was caught by fly-fishing.

Fishing and Fishes

Natural Exotic Fish Fishing Pond (NEFFP) is made up of many ponds. At the point of writing this article, only one pond is open for fishing. This pond is stocked with “exotic” species such as the Giant Mekong Catfish, Chao Phraya Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Asian Redtail Catfish, Arapaima, Tapah (Wallago attu), Temoleh (Probarbus jullieni), Giant Snakehead, Striped Snakehead, and many more.

A Striped Snakehead that went for a black Wolly Bugger

Almost all methods of fishing are permissible at this pond. Baiting, live-bait, lure, fly-fishing all produces fish.

Although the rule says only single de-barbed hooks are allowed, I still notice many anglers fishing with treble hooks on their lures and many more ignore the need to de-barb their hooks.

Sadly, most anglers still have a long way to go when it comes to caring for their catch and making an effort to release their catch in the best possible condition to encourage survival.

A healthy population of fish will only benefit the anglers. That’s you and me. Meaning more catches and more fun.

I observed a half-naked solo angler who calls for assistance each time he needs to rig a live bait onto his hook and leaves his catch on the dry floor while he waits for someone to come un-hook his catch. The fish can be out of water for a good one to two minutes. Mr Macho clearly needs to learn that all that is part and parcel of fishing.

For those who lack confidence fishing de-barbed hooks I would like to say it makes very little difference. I fish this way most of the time even in the wild. Fishing with barbless or hooks with its barb flattened is better for the fish as there is less damage, makes unhooking really quick and easy. It is also safer for the angler and those around. It may even make you a better angler as you have to learn to keep a taut line throughtout the fight.

A Giant Snakehead
Alan’s 15.7 kg (35 lb) Black Carp held by a pond worker
Big amazon redtail catfish are common here. Landing one is the real challenge!
Big amazon redtail catfish are common here. Landing one is the real challenge!

New Pond

There are a couple of other smaller ponds at the compound but these are for stocks and breeding.

Initially we thought January 2012 will see a new pond dedicated only to artificial bait fishing (lure and fly-fishing) opening. We saw lots of big splashes and rises at this pond and can’t wait to give it a shot. As it turns out the new pond which opens on Christmas Day 2011 is stocked mostly with Giant Snakeheads (Toman) and Striped Snakeheads (Haruan). It is named Jurassic Game Fishing Pond (Rawang). Don’t ask.

[Read more…] about Natural Exotic Fish Fishing Pond – Rawang, Malaysia.

Small Diameter Blood Fluorocarbon Leader

Blog

Most fishing situations call for the use of leaders.

I have been testing out a new brand of fluorocarbon leader called BLOOD+. No kidding, that’s the name.

Everyone that first lay eyes on this fluorocarbon leader and touches it have doubts about its quality. You see, its diameter is really small for its breaking strain poundages. For example, the 30lb has a diameter of 0.35mm (compared to the usual 0.50mm) or 50lb with a diameter of 0.50mm (usually 0.70mm). That’s great. Smaller diameter fluorocarbon leader means even less chance of the fish spotting the line.

Going Limp

Another thing about this bloody leader, errr… Blood+ leader is its suppleness. It is really soft unlike many fluorocarbon lines or leaders out there. This means a more natural bait/lure presentation.

At a Bargain

There’s more! It’s price. We all know how pricey fluorocarbon leaders are. The Blood+ costs slightly below what you would normally pay for a standard 20m spool of fluorocarbon leader but here’s the thing, for that price you get a 100m spool! Imagine that, a 100m spool of fluorocarbon leader for roughly US$13 (at writing).

Thus far, I have used the leader on a couple of fishing trips including Arapaima fishing, caught a few Asian Red Tails with them and also used it during a multi-day fishing the Royal Belum Forest Reserves of Temenggor Malaysia.

I will be doing more fishing with this fluorocarbon leader and will share the outcome with you guys.

Why Do We Need A Shock Leader?

  • Reduced visibility. Less chance of spooking fish equals improved bite rate. If you can see the line so can the fish. Like so many animals fish relies on its survival instinct even when feeding. When it senses something is not right or unnatural it becomes even more cautious.
  • Absorbing the impact and minimizing line stress or breakage especially when the mainline is braid.
  • Abrasion resistance. The first section of the line is the most common area to come into contact with structures when the fish dives for cover or when a lure is worked through heavy cover. Many gamefish have parts of their build that can damage our fishing line such as rough scales, sharp gill plates of the Barramundi, rough bill of a billfish and even a fast beating tail when your trophy fish takes off into the horizon.

Take Me To Your Leader

To fish effectively, you almost always need to have a shock leader connection between your mainline and bait, lure or fly. Even when a wire leader is used it should be joined to the shock leader.

Finally, make it a habit to run the leader between your thumb and index fingers to feel for signs of abrasion or wear. You don’t want the leader breaking when you finally hook that fish of a lifetime.

Fly Fishing in the Rainforest of Royal Belum, Temenggor, Malaysia

Video


If you are from the urban city, when you get to the jungle, don’t forget to suck it all in! Take deep breaths! I can always feel the difference in the air, just pure oxygen-rich freshness.

Nick is the one who introduced me to fly-fishing in Royal Belum, who better than to do it with than Nick Ooi himself. The man who is among the pioneer of fly-fishing in Malaysia and owner of the first fly shop in the country, Tacklebox Adventures since 1996.

Check-out the video where we attempt to take you along into the rainforest and experience the sceneries of Temenggor and of course watch Nick fly fish for a Jungle Perch.

Will be bringing you guys more footages soon. Let me know if you like what you see.

Fishing Wallpaper: Casting into the Sunrise

Wallpaper

This is our first Wallpaper series of fishing related images as desktop wallpaper for your computers.

Click on image to see 1920 x 1080 px image and right-click to save the image to your computer.

Let me know if you like this idea and would like to see more of these?