Freshwater Shark and GT

Well, not quite the actual thing but the pacu does have the reputation of being called the freshwater GT due to their powerful runs and the patin is called the Iridescent Shark (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus).

One of the place we fish for these two species is located near Semenyih town, between Sukida and Fish Valley – if you are familiar with those.

Between the two target species, hooking a pacu is like snagging an accelerating Ferrari, quick and violent – while the patin is like hooking onto a train, both fun either way.

Fly Fishing Setup for Pacu and Patin

If you’re expecting good sized fish of 5kg and above, 7 weight tackle will be a good all rounder. We use floating lines when fishing for pacu and patin.

Flies for pacu can vary from woolly buggers and nymphs, which they often take on the drop or figure eight slow-stripped.

Both the patin and pacu are omnivorous fish and opportunist feeders especially when young. As they grow older and bigger the patin will become increasingly herbivorous. Thus they are usually caught using fruit baits or mixed dough or bread.

When fly fishing for patin, it is common to chum the waters with bread, wait for the fish to feed and cast a ‘bread-fly’ out tied from rabbit zonker.

Both the pacu and patin are basically fish that spooks easily.