Jungle Luring Singapore: First Fish For 2010 Jungle Quest

New Year's Day was SUCKY for me and i needed to "Turn Luck". Met my hardcore kaki early in the morning and we trekked in to the mini jungle. I forgot how many right or left turns we took but we rode on our luck and after foraging around for almost an hour, we reached our first pit stop.

0830 hrs - Arowana Preview
I was aghast at how pristine the background was. It was a little "lagoon" which stemmed from the main reservoir. It was surrounded by trees, so we weren't affected by the wind... This meant still, enticing and sexy waters.

I clipped on a small popper and went to a good casting area. It was important not to spook the fish here as they have rarely seen humans. Even tree branches snapping on the forest floor can cause them to bolt. Before i casted, two handsome Arowanas were cruising the waters. Arowanas are obvious to spot and most of the time, they are just swimming below the surface.

I was filled with excitement and casted just beside the pair. The fishes responded immediately and circled my popper while i slowly worked it. Just when i thought that one of them would take the lure, they swam off in the other direction!

0930 hrs - BIG MISS!
We casted out and worked hard but we had no takes. But suddenly, my friend had a big take and line went out peeling... and then the line went slack and the lure floated up. We were casting right on a school of Toman fries and suspected the mama came out to play.

We worked our lures along the school to entice the mama but we ended up hooking many fries instead. Well, at least my first fish landed for 2010 is a Toman!

Ever Aggressive Buggers

1030 hrs - BOOOOOOOF!
We bashed for openings and casted out. If there were no takes within a few casts, we moved on. We had lots of ground to cover and could not afford to dilly dally. We got to the opposite of the original spot and after popping for quite a few rounds, a big boof erupted below Darth Vader's Halco Roosta and his popper went under.

Line peeled out and i went over to kaypoh but at the same time help him land the fish. Darth Vader kept complaining it was a small fish but he was sweating it out real bad. When the fish came closer, it was a little green devil that was on the line. It was landed easily after a breathtaking fight.

Darth Vader and the dark force did it again...

1100 hrs - Darth Vader KELONG!
We moved along as the area was spooked by the fight. We inched and bashed slowly along the forest trail. Arowanas could be seen playing on the top but they were easily spooked. However, Vader managed to get a good 5lb Toman up with small minnow. He hooked up a big arowana too but it threw hook.



Me? I managed to get a few small snakehead on frog. Here's one.

1200 hrs - Downpour... Forest style.
The sky had suddenly turned an ominous black and within minutes, it was pouring non stop. Lucky for me, Darth Vader had a spare raincoat... Welcome to the dark side, he said. We waited for the rain to stop before continuing... The rain wouldn't stop and got heavier.

The downpour didn't dampen our spirits.



1230 hrs - ONWARD!
We got tired of waiting and bashed to the next spot so that we could fish after the rain had stopped. For freshwater, rainy days are good for the fish especially afternoon rain. Even more was that at this catchment area, rainwater and surface run off was relatively not very muddy.

1400 hrs - A FIRST!
After continuous bashing and taking cover when we got tired, we finally reached a good fishing hole. There was numerous fallen logs and overhanging branches. I waded out into the water and tried my luck... With the trusty Humbug. On the third cast, i had a good take resembling that of a Peacock Bass. I gave the fish a good setting but i was surprised that it did not falter... Instead, the fish was peeling line at a good rate before making spectacular leaps.

"AROWANA!" shouted Vader.

I kept my focus on the fight and made sure i did not lose the fish. I have lost many Arowanas before and have not had the luck to land any yet. The fish's mouth was bony and a solid hook up was required in order to land one. Luckily for me, i was using the Humbug's stock hooks which were sharp and thin Daichi trebles.

After a pulsating fight and a few great leaps, the fish was subdued! I carefully handled the fish and i was glad that i persevered through the tough walk, rain and sweat. It was these type of catches that are so fulfilling and not those catches when you know you will get them easily.

Wet but happy...

Luck seems to have taken a brutal change...

1500 hrs - What a MISS and a burst line...
We bashed in even deeper and we split up to cover more ground. I found a superb place with MANY fallen logs and overhanging branches. I spotted 3 Arowanas and upon casting to them, all of them rushed to my lure! One of them took it ferociously and i gave a good set. It gave an extremely vociferous first burst before leaping up into the air... and throwing my lure back at me. The fight was over in an instant... A beeming fish and a angler with brusied ego.

1530 hrs - DON'T TOUCH MY FRIES!
I used the butt slide technique to get to a seemingly unreachable spot and slowly creeped on the fishes. It was a big school of RED Toman fries... They were juvenile Tomans. I casted a white "Bakau" shallow minnow and i was shocked for a moment... A watermelon mama came out of nowhere and took my lure down!

Everything happened in slow motion so my reflex action was all good. I gave the fish two good sets and it was on its way off to the fallen logs... I was already on max drag and thumbing the spool! I was losing my cool because i was about to lose the fish. I was trying all sorts of Japanese pro angler fishing styles but they didn't seem to match the sheer power of an angry mama...

Alas! The fish didn't even need to reach the log... My line burst... Steel wire and all. The sudden breakage made me lose balance and i almost fell into the water. There goes my watermelon...

1630 hrs - Bash OUT!
As both our quotas had been hit and it was getting late, me and vader finally bashed out... and left paradise behind us. The green clear waters... The lush scenery and perfect holes.

WE'LL BE BACK! Believe in the force...