PEKAN, PAHANG - 9 MAY 2015

Pekan, Pahang – 9 May 2015

After 2 years, I’ve set foot again in Pekan, Pahang. Pekan, located on the banks of the Pahang River 50 km south of Kuantan and 280 km from Kuala Lumpur, is the Royal Town of the Malaysian state of Pahang Darul Makmur. Its name comes from a flower, the Bunga Pekan. Pekan is also the name of the district the town is situated in, and a parliamentary constituency in its own right. It is the home of the state’s royal family.

The best time to go out to Pekan is always during the early departure of the South East Monsoon and roughly starts from early March. Within that period, anglers would hit the coast of Pekan to try and land Diamond Trevally. It is a species that makes Pekan fishing special. We head out early Friday and overnight at the famous Chief Rest House. A classic and cosy place, with old school architecture really set in the mood. Prepare all our gear during the night and chit chat until 2.00am!! This trip was a bit personal to me as I’ve not able to land the trophy species and I hope tomorrow will be a good day.

Traditional Malay architecture, made totally from wood and it has been around since 1929.. Pretty old house but still sturdy.

Weather was perfect in the morning. Bright and sunny sky and literally windless condition. We head down to buy some supplies and had our breakfast to one of Pekan’s top food court. You can get all sort of local breakfast and the price is very cheap as compared to KL. The best thing is, the taste and quality are not compromised even they sell it cheaper.

The place was bustling with people buying their favorite morning treat and as we completed our breakfast. We straight away head down to the jetty and prepare for our day trip. Today’s trip was joined by 4 members, Botak (guide), Doug and Mr. Zaha an editor for NSTP Sports Section. An honored to be fishing with you guys that comes from different background and hopefully we will get a good result.

Good morning everyone!! Enjoying our breakfast 🙂 Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, you name it! everything under one roof.

Start your day with a fresh smell of sea water and dead fish knowing that you are going to have a good fishing trip haha!

We have planned for Karang Luas as our fishing spot. Several nautical from the shores, the sea was way to choppy for safe journey. We decided to stay closer the the mainland. The boat, equipped with sonars and fish finders scours the nearby area and spotted several fish. We begin our fishing session under intense wind condition. It was a challenging start, but I got the first two strike in the morning. My PE3 rod just bend dramatically and I guess I was a bit too harsh on setting up the hook and the fish broke the hook.

Second strike was the same, this time was a bit too late in setting the hook and the fish earns its freedom. Doug manage to get a couple of good strikes but could not convert. It was our captain that break the deadlock and scored his first fish of the day. A good size Ebek or Diamond Trevally sets our mood right as the strong winds does diminish our spirit to continue on fishing.

All set and lets go! 150hp Boat screaming past the bay and head down to our first fishing spot.

Ah Hong, in action!

A Diamond Trevally or locally we called it Ebek! A 11lb speciemen fallen for silver jig!

We continue on fishing but things were very slow at the moment. Not much activity and the wind continue to intensify further. Once again Botak manage to break the deadlock and found himself fighting with and aggressive opponent! The fight went well beyond 5 minutes and finally he landed a beautiful Golden Trevally! This time fallen again for metal jigs that are silver and green in color.

That rods can take the beating!

Golden Trevally or Gerong Belang! Good fighter!

Back to back action!

This time a Bludger Trevally or Jemuduk!

The condition does not improve even after the 12.00pm mark. This means we are not able to proceed to Karang Luas as the condition will get even worse at the location. Slight frustration as we are not able to go to our target spot. The captain suggest another location but requires us to catch live squids to be used as bait. We manage to find only a handful of squids and heads of to our next location. The location was filled with other fishing boat and we continue of fishing at this new spot.

The evening session shows no sign that condition will improve, much to our despair, we were joyously applaud by a group of Mahi2 or Dorado chasing after anchovies. We casts our jigs but they are not interested at all swimming pass our boat with several acrobatic maneuver.. Rubbing salt to our wound hahaha. We can only watch it pass by and not being able to do anything about it.. If only I bring another rod just for casting lures, I might have a chance but I guess they would lived for another day..

Doug scored his first fish of the day 🙂

Botak with another Diamond Trevally!

After fishing for the past 12 years in this area, Botak showed what his made off with another 11lb Diamond Trevally.. It was already late around 5.00pm, I just totally given up as the only two chance that I have was during the morning.. 🙁 but pushing our last few energy finally something took my bait but only for a few second it let go. All the sudden Doug’s rod was being pulled by an aggressive fish! Finally some real action for Doug after 3 fishing trip with me.

It was a fight of a lifetime for Doug. Smiling and brawling at the same time when the fish decided to let go it self. I was hoping that he would land this one as this could be our biggest fish of the day. After several minutes later, finally we have our first glimpse of the fish and it was another Diamond Trevally! The biggest of the day and definitely Doug biggest fish in Malaysia!

Look at the devilish smile in his face haha! Good job mate!

15lb Diamond Trevally! Proud of you my young Padawan haha

I guess its starting to get frenzy during the final moment of the day. Mr. Zaha got another strike but it was just a brief fight and the fish got away. We were just about to pack our stuff when one final species took Botak bait. This time it was way feistier than any previous fish. It kept going down and down and it can easily bend a 45lb rating rod. It can either be a GT or Long Fin Trevally or Sagai.

Well known for its ability to put a an extreme fight even stronger than a Giant Trevally. The fight was intense, I can see Botak was sweating over it as it kept going down without backing off even a bit. after a few minutes finally it surfaces. It was a 9lb Long Fin Trevally!! A fish that small can showcase great fighting spirit haha! That rounds up our day and it was a great trip after all. We were kept on our feet until the final moment and the one with the xtra hard work pays off handsomely. Thank for all for being part of this trip and hopefully we will be here soon again.