Zach Matthews of The Itinerant Angler, created this Instant Dropper Knot for fly-fishermen to tie a super speedy clinch Knot for the purposes of attaching a quick dropper.
Fishing for big pacu and patin at Sukida Resort
Sukida Resort is a picturesque place to wet a line. Located along Jalan Sg Lalang in the once sleepy town called Semenyih – located in Selangor, Malaysia (Google map at end of article), it has some of the Malaysian kampung (village) feel to it.
Only 3 bucks to fish?!
Sukida encourages catch and release, and stocks many freshwater fish. It is also one of the cheapest place to fish, costing only MYR10 or about 3 US dollar to fish from dawn to late evening. Yes, 3 dollars! Curiously, the fee have not increased since they started operations sometime around 2006.
It is made out of a couple of ponds though most fishing are done on the main, and biggest pond. The most popular target species here are the pacu (Piaractus brachyomus), pronounced as pa’ku, and patin (Pangasius pangasius). The patin is a native species and is commonly called the pla sa wai in Thailand. The beauty of Sukida is there are still many big ones here to keep many regular anglers coming back for more.
Some long time buddies have recently been visiting this place and the photos of huge pacu caught by Gary piqued my interest.
Fly-fishing for pacu
So when a long weekend came up we arranged a trip there and I wanted to catch something big by fly fishing. I’m happy to have caught a decent pacu using a nymph and on 10lb tippet.
Why 10lb? Because I was fishing a terrestrial fly just before I tied on the nymph and so I got a little lazy putting on a heavier tippett. Lucky for me this particular fish had the nymph hooked right at the corner of its jaw and no bite-off.
Most of my pacu are caught on nymphs either during the drop or slow figure-eight retrieve. The other flies I’ve had success with are the (dark coloured) woolly bugger and shrimp patterns which are slow stripped on the bottom. The patin fish can also be caught using the aforementioned methods (much less common).
Hard fighters
The fighting characteristics of the pacu – nicknamed the freshwater GT by some – is a finger burning sizzling run when hooked. This will be followed by many more runs while zipping to the left and right. If there is cover nearby, it will make a run for it. You will also know you have a pacu at the end of your line by the twitching rod tip. Again, reminiscent of a GT!
The patin on the other hand will give steady, less sizzling but powerful long runs. Your rod tip will bop up and down during the patin’s run.
On this day of fishing we lost two patins during landing. One was barely hooked and it pulled off when I had my hand on the leader and another snapped the leader when Poh grabbed it (Note to self: Bring landing net!).
Sadly though, the facilities and surrounding at Sukida is a pale shadow of its glory days. Sukida was THE place to fish back when they opened, even attracting anglers from Singapore who drove all the way here for some fishing. The only saving grace is perhaps the fishing can still be good with high probability of landing some big pacu and patin.
Watch this short video made when we took Marc Petitjean for a quick session in Sukida
Red-bellied pacu (Piaractus brachyomus)
Pa’ku
The pacu [Pronounced as pa’ku] originates from the Amazon and Orinoco streams and rivers. The pacu is a common sport fish in Malaysia, first making its appearance during the 1980s if I remember correctly. The local Chinese have an amusing name for it ‘sek yarn chong‘ which literally translates to human-eating pomfret referring to the mistaken identity as the piranha due to its appearance.
Initially thought as not breeding in the local waters, juveniles have been observed in local ponds.
Are they good to eat?
The pacu tastes horrible but puts up a good fight when hooked thus lending itself a formidable quarry on rod and line. Some anglers even label it as the freshwater giant trevally (GT) due to its speed and power.
Being an omnivorous species also makes it receptacle to many baits both natural and artificial, an especially great fish to catch by fly fishing.
How big do they get?
The red-bellied pacu is said to grow to about 1 meter and 25kg (3 feet and 55 pounds). The biggest I’ve seen to date is a beautiful specimen caught by David Samuel of around 15kg (33 pounds).
Jumps completely out of the water is not uncommon by the red-bellied pacu during feeding and when hooked.
A 5.5kg pacu caught back in the early 1990s
Now that is a pacu. Read about and see more photos of David’s cows of pacu here.
[video] Fight… Fight or Flight? – Sport Fishing the Maldives
Finally managed to edit the seven days worth of HD footages into one action-packed 12m 30s video. I’ll probably edit some clips of action on its own so this will act as a collection of action.
Let me know what you think about it.
Squid Fishing How To – Squidding or Egi
Squids are abundant around the months of June and July off the east coast of Malaysia. The most popular squid jigs are the pink/red-white colours but other colours such as green-white and blue-white also produces, even purple. The only way to know during that place and time is to experiment.
There are no real techniques to squid fishing or Egi, the Japanese name for squid fishing. Just keep in mind to let your jig sink all the way to the bottom and once there, do one of these routines. Jerk and drop. Jerk, jerk and drop. Vary between short and long jerks until you find something that works. Do not be afraid to rip the rod as squids are aggressive feeders and will chase down a prey.
Once you feel as if your jig have snagged into something (a squid has grabbed it). Stop jerking immediately and there is no need to strike. Striking may dislodge a squid as some may only have the tip of their tentacles hooked and striking hard may rip the hook off. Play the squid up to the boat in a smooth retrieve manner. Big squids put up a good fight and is a lot of fun on light tackle. It can be a very addictive type of fishing on its own.
Good Japanese jigs do make a difference. Yo-Zuri, Yamashita, Harimitsu, Tsuriken and Breaden makes some of the best jigs in the market.
Although they do not look that much different from [Read more…] about Squid Fishing How To – Squidding or Egi
The International Fly Fishing Festival: Sep 16-17, 2012
This is huge, don’t miss it!
Date: 16 & 17 September 2012
Time: 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Venue: Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam (Botani Garden Shah Alam), Selangor, Malaysia.
Entrance Fee is MYR40 per day / MYR60 for 2 days. Students with pass MYR20 per day.
The event is organised by the United Fly-Anglers Organisation of Malaysia (UFOM).
Invitations have gone out to some of the finest fly fishers, fly tiers and fly casters in the world for this event.
Participants will learn innovative fly-tying techniques, better ways to cast, to fish, exploring new fishing waters and fishes, make new friends and have a very good and memorable time.
Among the activities being planned are:
- Fly Casting demos & workshop
- Fly Tying demos & workshop
- Fly Casting competition
- Fly Tying competition
- Fishing Tackle Exhibition and Sale
Honorable Celebrity Fly Anglers:
- Hans van Klinken
- Marc Petitjean
- Peter Hayes
- Paul Arden
It will be a unique event for the region and especially for Malaysia and it is hope that with support from participants and anglers, it can grow into one of the biggest fly fishing events in Asia in the near future.
This event is open to all fishing enthusiast regardless of the style of fishing that you do. If you have never fly-fished this is the perfect event to find out more about it and perhaps try your hands on it.
Some event highlights
Fly fishing at Tuckamore Lodge with Hans van Klinken
Tuckamore Lodge – main sponsor – Hans van Klinken will share some wonderful stories about fly fishing in Tuckamore, Newfoundland in Canada… come see the show, hear the stories..
For more information about fly fishing in Tuckamore Lodge, click here.
Launching of Sexyloops fly rods
Paul Arden, FFF MCI and the big man behind Sexyloops, is launching his Sexyloops fly rods during the show.
Paul is also sponsoring a wt6 sexyloops rod (the 1st in the world) to the winner of the Accuracy casting competition. The talented lucky winner may also want to get Paul’s signature on the rod!
Fly fishing grand slam – Permit, Bonefish and Tarpon – in Cuba
Exhibitor and sponsor the Avalon Cuban Fishing Centers’ owner, Mr Filippo will be at the show and giving a presentation and slide show on Fly fishing Grand Slam – Permit, Bonefish and Tarpon in Cuba
For more information about fishing the Avalon, click here.
Stay tuned for more updates to this exciting event.
*Above information are subject to confirmation and changes.
