Bass Fishing In Perak

BASS FISHING IN PERAK

(This article was published in the January  2002 issue of Rod And Line magazine)

     Peacock bass, a transplant from South America, have adapted themselves so well to our water that you can find them all over Perak, especially the Kinta area. Any pond that is connected to the Kinta River system contains a sizable population of them. Like its cousin the tilapia, this cichlid breeds as though the world is going to end.

     Being ferocious, the peacock bass usually hunt in packs. There is no doubt about the threat they pose to local fishes. Therefore I would like to urge anglers to go out and fish for them. One thing I can vouch for is you  will never regret it. At the same time this is one of the few fishes that you do not have to feel guilty when you take your entire catch home for food. Well at least we are contributing in its population control.

     Therefore when Chong told us that his son and gang had come back from their foray with peacock bass of more than a kilo in size, we all sat up and listened. Until now, my experiences with this fighter were only confined to the junior league.

Yours truly holding up my catches.

     With great anticipations, James, Ronnie, Chong and I were at the pond side the next Sunday evening. our baits consisted of the silvery seluangs that were in plentiful supply in most aquarium shops. Settling down at one likely spot, I cast out my bait and waited. Surprisingly this isolated pond was rather small. Being in the middle of nowhere, the bass must have been thrown in by some hobbyist. But on closer examination, I found a small stream flowing nearby. The fish must have found their way here by swimming up the stream.

     James was the first to see action. The 600gm fish was landed without any fanfare. When my bait was taken, my Shimano 6lb Stimulus rod was bent into a semi circle. After taking line in short bursts while sweeping to my left and then right, the 1 kilo plus bass finally surrendered. James, Chong and I landed one more each before we were forced by failing light to pack up.

Peacock bass is spreading fast and furious in Perak, as evidenced by these harvestz.

     Well, most fishing trips were just like or even worst than this. Most of the time it was a "pak kor" (empty handed) trip. As anglers, our aims were to enjoy the outing, to relax, talk rots and clown together just to forget the daily stressful rat race. The catches were bonuses. If you go with only one aim of getting plenty of fish by hook or by crook, then you would behave as though the whole was at fault on a fish-less day.

Almost every pond connected to the Kinta River contains a sizeable bass population. The fish are more active in the morning or after four in the evening.

     Our next peacock bass foray was a bonanza. This time our destination was a huge pond located near Lawan Kuda, Gopeng. Accessing this pond was a cinch as James had just acquired himself a Ford Splash. Surveying this huge expense of water we finally settled down under some trees.

Two more bass fell to Mong's free swimming seluangs.

      In fact James caught a 1.5 kilo fella just a few days earlier from here. With his enthusiastic gestures and exciting description of the fight, I just couldn't wait to get a dose of it. My chubby friend was again the first to see action and landed four before I even got a nudge. As always, the digging and needling started. I was getting quite impatient as James was the only one getting all the attentions from the bass.

     Suddenly some snorting was heard coming from some 50 meters out in the pond. "Damn otters," I cursed. There were at least ten of them hunting for fish out there. Contrary to what we we believed, instead of spoiling our fishing, they saved our day. Because of the presence of the otters, the fish were driven near to our bank.

     When my line moved I struck. The fish headed straight for the surface.With gills flaring and mouths wide opened this cichlid deserves the misnomer, bass.  All in I caught thirteen fish while James landed nine. Though not big (mostly about 800gm) but the fights they gave on light tackle were something one would never forget for a long time. 

     When you started to fish for peacock bass, you tend to hunt for them successively for a few weeks or months at a stretch. This speaks volume on its addictive and heart stopping fights. When first landed the beautiful greenish yellow glow on its body was something like the dorado. The flesh, well it depends on individual taste. Some praise it sky-high, while others would condemn it fervently. As for me, I like it steamed (plain or with sambal paste).

A good size bass landed by James.

     The third successive Sunday saw Mong, James and I surveying a pond near Mambang Diawan, not far from Kampar. The old mining ponds did not look as though it was infested with the peacock bass. As they say, do not judge a book by its cover, so we were wrong in our observations. We nearly went home empty handed too after one hour of fruitless wait.

     Our usual method of fishing was not producing any result at all. Some young boys who kindly showed us how they tied their hooks directly to the line with no weights or swivels saved our day. Without being hampered by any weights the small seluangs could swim around on the surface. Should there be any peacock bass around the strikes near the surface were heart stopping. From then on we were into fish after fish.

Ronnie posing proudly with his junior bass.

     After catching my share of the bass, I began to move around this pond. Seeing two men casting near the far end of the pond, I sauntered over to have a look-see. They were spinning with spoons and spinners. The spinner was the beastlier here as it produced two fish. Both the fish were of about almost 2 kilo each.

     Our experiences were that the peacock bass would feed early in the morning until about noon. After which the action slowed to almost a standstill. By four when the sun was not so hot, they began to get back their appetites again. As could be seen, live baits were the best and the most productive.