LURE FISHING FOR TOMANS

This article was published in the June 2003 issue of Rod and Line Fishing Magazine.

“Aiya, it is very warm and humid today lah!” I complained while unbuttoning my shirt buttons with deliberate slowness. Four pairs of eyes were locked in focus at my chest.

No, no, I do not have a sexy and hairy chest. Neither do I have hormone treatment to enhance my cleavage. The object of all my friends’ attentions was a Rapala Stainless Inox (dehooked) hanging loosely around my neck (no prize for guessing where I got the idea).

This magnificent specimen grabbed my Redhead during one of my previous trips.

What was so special about this Rapala was the number of teeth marks on it. Toman teeth mark of course, what else? The lure was so badly punctured it looked as though my dog had chewed it up. When all of them had examined it, two bottles of my favorite beer magically appeared on our table. (It is our favorite weapon for prying out secret spots).

Well, of course I finished the whole lot before I started talking so that I do not have to share it with them (Just to rub it in, as they would have done the same to me).

I wore this badly punctured Rapala (dehooked of course) around my neck just to make my friends envious.

The secret spot was actually one of our regular hunting grounds. There was nothing spectacular about that place. But that day when Baskaran eased our hired fiberglass boat into the cove, we knew we were going to hit jackpot. Rises could be seen everywhere on the surface of the water. Once in a while, some corners of this vast stretch of water were boiling with juvenile tomans tearing into some baitfish schools.

Flipping my Cobra Jig fitted with a rubber tail to a rise nearby, I immediately had a hook-up when the jig was reeled pass the disturbance on the water. That 3-kg giant snakehead was released with just its pride dented. That was the only time that a jig was taken.

Changing over to a ‘Rapala Deep Running Shad Rap’ I tossed it to another rise nearby. After only a few turns of the handle, my tackle was almost pulled out of my hands. A few fast runs later, another toman was released.

Baskaran was the next to see action. He got a specimen that weighed about 5 kg. Wow, could that brute fight! Baskaran had to dig deep into his reserve to subdue that fish. This type of action was repeated many times. It was either Baskaran or I grunting and fighting the ferocious snakeheads.

By 1.00pm Baskaran had enough of the action. Fighting ferocious tomans in the hot sun was no easy task. From the look on his face I realized that he needed a rest badly.  

Dropping him off at a landing with some trees, I eased the boat out again (strike while the iron is hot, as the saying goes). Changing to a Rapala Stainless Inox, I almost immediately tied on another brute. I did not know what got into the toman, as almost every three casts resulted in a hookup. If this was fishing paradise, then I want part of it.

In the end I had no choice but to stop fishing, as I was too exhausted from all the action. Looking at the Rapala, I suddenly got the idea of wearing it around my neck to rib all my other friends.   Picking up Baskaran we headed for home happy and satiated.

The following week, James and I were heading out in my newly bought aluminum boat (partly to test my new boat and mostly to get him off my back). Just like a child with a newly acquired toy, I was happily soaking up the qualities of my new love.

Along the way, I was extolling about the qualities of my new boat to James. Taking the chance to brag, I went on and on. Of course I had to shout above the din of my outboard. I even bragged that my boat could plane with him sitting in the front. When I noticed that he was looking up to the sky, I had no choice but to stop (never seen him to being so religious before).

Reaching our destination, we began casting. The result was a total disaster. Even though it was not the fasting month, the fish seemed to have lost their appetite. It was when we decided to move to another spot that was when realized our exit was blocked by a floating mass of weed and water hyacinth the size of a basketball court.

To our horror, we suddenly became aware that our oars were left at home. After discussing, we decided that I should sit at the bow to pull up the weeds to clear a passage for us to row forward with our umbrellas (because I do not have a big waistline to hamper my work). Progress was painfully slow.

After one hour of back breaking work, we were stuck two meters inside the weed patch holding two broken umbrellas.

Baskaran releasing one of his tomans.

With the hot sun beating on us (no umbrellas, remember?) our tempers were worn thin. James was blaming me for not washing the boat with pomelo leaves before using it. Suddenly we heard sound of outboard in the distance. I removed my T shirt and stood on the bow waving like crazy (I wouldn’t have done it if it was Jenny instead of James. Getting trapped in a small boat in the middle of nowhere with a lady is God sent lah). After many attempts, I finally managed to throw my anchor line to the other boat. Attaching our anchor line to his boat, the boatman gunned his outboard. Half an hour of maneuvering and pulling, we did not make much progress. Another boatman saw our predicament and came to our rescue. With two boats pulling at full rev, my boat just skimmed on top of the weeds to open water. Thanking our saviors (a bit poorer in the process) we were busy stowing my cameras and gears as the sky was opening up.

Mong and one of his prizes.

Suddenly that mass of floating vegetation started moving with the wind and our previously blocked passage was open water again. We both looked at each other and up to the sky and asked, “Why?” No wonder all the religions stress on the virtue of being humble and not to brag. He definite dislikes braggarts.

Only Mong and I could make it the next time around. This time we were more adventurous. Many coves, passages and ponds were explored. My main problem was I got lousy memory for recognizing landscapes. Most of the time I couldn’t find my way out of places I first explored. That is why I never take my boat to Temengor. Got nothing left for the GPS after buying the boat.

With Mong as navigator I felt more at ease. We came across a pond, which looked quite deep. When everything quieted down rises began to appear on the surface. Out flew two Rapalas, I struck when I felt a tug. My tiny Morrum’s drag handled the initial rushes with ease. When the rushing stopped, my boat was been pulled steadily around the pone by that fish (heh, heh, another great fisherman’s story on the way by adding just a little pepper, sauce and monosodium glutamate). This type of action was repeated many times. Suddenly the boat rocked wildly. Looking back, I saw Mong struggling with his bent rod. The grimace on his face told the whole story. In the end he still had his photo. After catching and releasing many tomans (we lost count), we called it a day. Mong declared that lure fishing for tomans is still the best way to enjoy the sport.

The 'Shad Rap Deep Runner' also accounted for some fine specimens.

I dislike using any steel leader on my lures for toman fishing. In my opinion catches will be drastically reduced if I use it. My lures are always attached to the mainline by snap and swivel. The snap and swivels I used were mostly those with wide rounded snaps to allow free-swimming action and also the fast changing of lures. An occasional lost lure is still worth it if the numbers of hook-ups are increased many folds. Of course, if you are one of those overworked and underpaid guys like me, then you have to stinge on some other department to replace lures.