Giant Snakehead Fishing in Rawang

Regular readers may have noticed one of my earlier tweets about us being humbled by the fishes in a newly discovered fishing spot. Here’s the story.

A Delightful Discovery – Pond Full of Toman

On one of our weekend fishing trips we stumbled upon a pond located in Rawang with clear water fringed by vibrant green vegetation. All 5 of us practically jumped with joy seeing the many toman or giant snakeheads (Channa micropeltes) cruising the clear waters with the occasional surface explosions away from the waters edge – obviously the work of respectable size fishes.

In no time our favorite lures launched through the air and dived into the water. We held our breaths as our lures were being chased and followed. But that was it. That was about all those damn fish did! No bites except for one that took Alan’s surface lure which eventually had its hooks spat out by the fish.

We threw everything we had at them short of the tackle box

Poppers, crankbaits, plugs, pencils, soft plastics in all assortment of colors, in all shapes and sizes rained down onto the water. But nothing.

And to add to our frustration we could clearly see the fishes just feet away from us cruising in and out, up and down and turning to look at our passing lures only to turn away at the last moment.

What do we have to do to get these toman to bite? Live bait perhaps? Are they too educated and heavily fished?

Soon the activities simmered down with less fish spotted and splashes fewer in-between. I concluded that the giant snakeheads, being the aggressive fishes that they are, had initially been attracted by all the commotions we created but later retreated back into the depths after getting alerted/spooked or finding nothing that interested them.

We packed up and walked away dejected.

We’d soon be back. But not without some serious thinking to hopefully solve the puzzle of getting the giant snakeheads to bite.

We Are Back for Another Go

This time we made the pond our first stop unlike the last trip where we fished and explored other spots. Hopefully we’ll catch them during their breakfast.

When we got there, the big surface splashes were there but far out in the middle of the lake. While the lake edges looked conspicuously quiet.

YTL and Lawrence went looking to catch our lunch (haruan or striped snakehead) while Alan and I went looking for giant snakehead action.

After 30 minutes or so of casting I had a hit from a toman.

A few more casts later over the same spot the first fish was on. I have to admit it was kind of a relief! The fish though not exactly a giant gave a good account of itself on my 10-pound setup.

Meat Hunters

Shortly after, we were interrupted by the arrival of four “pro-anglers”. More like meat-hunters actually. These guys are the no nonsense type that uses only natural bait and heavy tackle – they take everything they catch.

We moved to another spot to avoid the ruckus that those fishermen were making and it was a good thing that we did. I got all excited seeing a bunch of deep-red toman fry making intermittent rises not far from us. The dark red fry-ball will then dive and disappear into the depths only to reappear again nearby every now and then.

We knew big mama and papa are likely around fending off predators. Cast like crazy we did for almost a good hour. We could see papa toman poking its snout out of the surface just next to the fry every now and then but no sign of mama. Until one time when a huge wake and I kid you not, a wave actually washed ashore just in front of where Alan and I were standing as something big swam by us.

Big Mama

I half couldn’t decide if I wanted to capture the moment on my camera or cast my lure! So I alternated between filming and casting. And then I heard Alan shout the fry-ball were rising just in front of YTL and he casted the Rapala Skitter Pop just beyond the commotion… pop, pop, pop – through the swirls and boom!, a loud splash as water erupted on the surface, line tightened resulting in a good bend on YTL’s rod – the fight is on.

After a brief but exciting struggle big mama was quickly landed, photographed, weighted and release back to her babies. Brooding giant snakeheads must be released as quickly as possible, in order to encourage the survival of the next generation of fish.

Disgusting Disgusted Anglers

One of the earlier said pro-angler unfortunately spotted the commotion and ran over and squatted behind us as a spectator. I only realized his presence after we released the fish when he asked in disbelief, with eyes wide open, “why did you release the fish?”!

I told him straight in his face it’s for fun and to ensure the survival of the species and our sport of fishing! He replied “but there’s still papa fish in there to take care of the brood”! He shouted over at his three stooges and soon they were casting like men possessed into the water hoping to catch something. Though the chances of the fish biting again is extremely remote their behaviour was a disturbing sight nonetheless.

I caught and released another two smaller toman that day. As with most of our weekend fishing trips, we called it a day just before noon. Overall a decent day out except for the sad attitude of those anglers whom we could see still casting with determination as we drove off.

Mama Giant Snakehead Caught & Released on Video

This big mama toman was spotted guarding her school of bright red babies right near to the shore. The male can also be seen coming up for air occassionally much closer to the babies.

It took many casts and many lures before it finally went for a Rapala Skitter Pop in a huge surface explosion.