THYE FISHING VILLAGE, KEDAH – 16 DEC 2013
First of all I would like to wish Selamat Pengantin Baru to my friend Anis Khakim who got married during the weekend. May them live happily ever after. =D
I’ve taken a 5 days holiday to return to my hometown, Kedah. To able to attend my friends wedding and to able to find some fishing time at local hot spot. What better place to take your time off and head to Thye Fishing Village, Kedah. As you all know, Thye Fishing Village is a Salt Water sports fishing pond stocked with Barramundi, Grouper, Snapper, Milkfish and Tarpon. It was more than a year ago since my last visit to this pond. Since it was school holiday at the time, I’ve planned to bring along my niece for some real fishin. As usual we head out early in the morning and reached at the pond around 8.00am. My last encounter here, I manage to land several large size Barramundi and today I hoped to top that result with some other species like maybe grouper or tarpon.
I’m on a light tackle, carrying Daiko Blue Spear ULS76SRS paired with an unlikely partner, Penn 2000 size reel. I would have like to bring my Daiwa Luvias 2506H but currently it was under maintenance. No choice but I believe it lives up to my expectation but the line is a bit to heavy for my liking. Prepared all the gears for my nieces and we head to our usual spot which is Pond 3. Nice little hut for some shade and we begin our fishing with some jigs and the boys started with fresh slices of fish (kembong)
Razin Nazri – Im readyyy!
To my surprise, Ima Gunpeki works!
Ima Gunpeki 7g jigs scores!
Razin Nazmi, must be a huge fish at the end of the line!
This one takes on SP Grub!
Razin Nazmi, steadily overpowering the fish! Impressed!
A good size Barramundi. Well done bro!
Table size Barramundi, cost RM15 per KG
In the morning, we manage to land at least 5 Barra’s and the boys have several takers but it is difficult to hook the fish as Barramundi’s usually will run away with the bait then only they will swallow it. It requires a correct timing to control the line tension. If we try to hook early, there is a chance the fish would simply release the bait, too late then the hook will be swallowed together with the bait.
It takes a while for the boys to learn on how to set in the hook correctly when the fish strikes the bait. I think it was more than 20+ strikes and we manage to land half of it. I think with fresh bait really entice the fish to take on our bait or simply the fish was very hungry hehe.
We continue on collecting our Barramundi catches and I enjoyed that all of us manage to feel how does a Barramundi fighting for its freedom. Yes I know, it is nothing close to the wild Barramundi, but at least we had a great time together and it feels great to teach them a trick or two.
My other Barramundi or Siakap
Finally after countless strikes, this time he get the timing right =)
Hard pays off hehe.. thumbs up!
Our final Siakap of the day.. not a bad size
After noon, it was pretty hot here in Kedah. Then I decided to rest for while and rig myself a last few pieces of bait fish. Having my lunch which I brought from home and all the sudden my reels were screaming. Pickup the rod, secure the hook and the line is still being pulled out from my reel. I knew it was not a Barramundi on the end of the line as this one is faster and fights really hard!! I knew it was a Milk Fish and finally I have a chance to add a new species to my collection.
The Milkfish (latin name Ruthos Mylescus) is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. (About seven extinct species in five additional genera have been reported.) The Hawaiian name is awa, without initial glottal stop, not to be confused with ‘awa, with initial glottal stop, the name for kava (Piper methysticum). It is called bangus in the Philippines, where it is the national fish.
The Milkfish has a generally symmetrical and streamlined appearance, with a sizable forked caudal fin. They can grow to 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) but are most often about 1 m (39 in) in length. They have no teeth and generally feed on algae and invertebrates.They occur in the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean, tending to school around coasts and islands with reefs. The young fry live at sea for two to three weeks and then migrate to mangrove swamps, estuaries, and sometimes lakes, and return to sea to mature sexually and reproduce. – Source Wikipedia
The battle lasted for 9 minutes and I’ve really stressed the rod to its limit and trust me, Daiko 762 ULS can withstand the power run of this fish. Man, it was an epic battle of the Ultra Lights settings. Surely this is one the best catches of the year. After 9 minutes, finally I’ve manage to land the fish thanks to a friendly spectator who netted the fish and he was able to revive the fish. I really hoped that it didn’t die from the prolong battle. With constant flow of water into the gills, the Milkfish shows some movement and the gills are moving to absorb the oksigen in the water. After a while it swims out our site and such a relief that it manages to survive the gruesome battle. Ensuring it survives is my responsibility as it gives me one hell of a fight.
New Trophy! Milkfish weighing 9lbs! We ended the day and we will be back for more action!
