Haruan fishing offers some excitement for anglersWHEN a banker friend extended an invitation to fish with him in Sungai Siput, Perak, it was an offer I found hard to resist.

A week earlier, Chua Ton Tin, who works for a Penang bank, had showed me four stacks of his photo albums, one of which chronicled his haruan fishing adventures in Sungai Siput’s wild ponds.

The postcard photographs of him posing with the snakeheads, also known as Frankenstein fish because its ability to stay alive without water, revealed the fish were all above one kilogram.

Whopper: Chua using a lure to catch the snakehead.

“You have to fish there to believe it,” he said.

So, I rounded up three of my fishing kakis , including Karl Karlsson, a Swede who used to work in a hotel in Penang, for the trip.

The first stop in Sungai Siput was to pick up Chua from his home before we headed for Jalan Intan to grab a quick bite of home-made noodles breakfast and coffee. We then proceeded on a bumpy and dusty ride on a timber trail into a banana and oil palm plantation, some 45 minutes away from the main road.

The fishing spot was scenic. The plantation was overlooking secondary jungle known for its communist activities in the late 1960s and 1970s.

The morning mist was still hovering above the forest trees when we arrived.

The barking calls of the hornbills could also be heard. One could also observe different species of birds, including swallows, fly past the pond, which was the size of two football fields.

The splashing sound of fish catching its prey among the tall grass along the banks could also be heard loud and clear.

In my years of haruan fishing, I learned that one has to be a good observer to be able to spot the movements among the grasses, and have a good listening skill to track the splashing sound to stalk the fish.

One has to be sharp and quick to draw the casting action to directly cast the bait into the moving grass or the spot where the splashes were heard to lure this vicious predator out.

Haruan are very aggressive and attack with a ferocious hit. To catch them, a live small frog would be ideal bait. A long shank, which is attached to the clip swivel and tied to the main line, would be good for this type of setting.

It would be best to have a big swivel with a long clip to double up as a weight and, at the same time, secure the frog lips. The clip would also function as a wire leader to prevent the razor shape haruan teeth from cutting the line. The point of the hook is then embedded onto the lower part of the frog’s body, allowing its legs to move freely, to simulate the amphibian’s swimming action.

Spinner bait like the bomber bushwacker or bucktails and crankbaits, such as the Rapala fat rap, are also popular for haruan fishing. Soft plastics and artificial frogs could also be used as alternative bait but nothing beats the live frogs.

One can also repeatedly cast at a particular spot, nearer to the edge of the weeds, for a short while to entice or lure the haruan to come out of hiding and take the bait.

And when the fish bite, a fisho has to wait for few seconds to allow the snakehead to gulp down the bait before one can set the hook in. If the striking action is carried out when the fish yanks the bait, chances are the angler would ended up losing its catch as haruan do not normally swallow food instantaneously.

As for the rod, a long stiff stick, preferably seven foot, is recommended. A longer rod would give fisho more casting distance.

Wellington boots have also been known to be the best footwear for haruan fishing, as it allows a fisho to wade through muddy and soggy ground.

What is really fascinating about snakehead fishing is that it is not only a great fish to catch and eat, it’s willingness to take the bait, its strong run, a good tug-of-war and its aerobatic acts in trying to get off the hook make the fishing fun. It also enhances one’s hunting ability to spot and catch the elusive predator in the wild.