Have you ever seen the rain?

The weather was a bit cloudy when we left for the afternoon.From far we can see dark cloud toward the direction of the lake.But we keep going,hoping that it wouldn't be too bad for fishing.

We tried to check the river nearby,but the rain was getting heavier so we made a U-turn and went straight to the lake.The rain was a bit heavy but still we grab our stuff and start casting.It got heavier until at one point I ran back to the car to take cover and light up my cigarette.

After a while,the rain stop and the sun showing up again.But the sun didn't come alone,it brought with him a fisherman with a couple a nets! This guy starts setting up his nets around the lake.No wonder there were less and less Adong and Toman in this lake...we were not alone..and our competitor is equipped with better weapon and doesn't leave any prisoners behind...of course, you don't expect him to catch and release.

But we just keep casting...there is still hope..
Only one strike received at the main lake.Didn't know what fish it was,the rain was too heavy to see that far,but the way it stroked,it could have been an Adong.This area has about five or six lakes.The biggest lake has the most and the biggest fish.But the lowest level lake gave the most catch,maybe there are not much room for them so they are more concentrated and notice the lures easier.

We started at the main lake as usual,and then to the second biggest lake.It was until the lowest lake that I get a strike and landed the most co-operative fresh water fish,the Snake head fish.It's not really a great fighter compare to its cousin,Toman (the Giant Snake head),but sometime,it's enough to make your day.

Took some pictures with it before I let it go and let ourselves to go home to call it the day.
Since the last trip here I didn't take any picture of the surrounding,so today,I make sure I take enough pictures to share with the world.

The mist over the limestone hills.

The mining road leads until the water.

The calm before the storm.

The limestone hill foot touches the water.

The higher level and the second biggest lake.

The rocky bank.

The cave at the end of the road was a gold mine.

This is when I have to take cover from the rain.

The ever friendly and co-operative Snake head fish.

Better background for the picture.

The Return of Adong...

  Since most rivers are murky due to the raining season,and the sea is choppy,so,this evening we went to a lake.It was an ex-gold mine,many years ago,and now it's become a home to many species of fish that we are not sure how they get there,except for some hundreds of giant snake head fish that we released there couple of months ago.Now they have grown up to more than a feet long,and start chasing lure,but no hook up so far. 

  The weather was okay,it was just after a heavy rain.The water is clear as always,the scenery was fantastic as always,with lime stone hills as the back drop,shame that I didn't take any photo of the surrounding. 

Mr.Matan got a big strike from a decent size Adong but it didn't get the hook of the plastic frog lure.Another strike he got was from the giant snake head,end up the same story. 

 I changed spot and start casting at a nearer place to where we park the car.After more than 20 casts,I noticed a series of small bubble about 3 meters away from me.I cast a bit further than the bubble and start reeling in at a medium speed.And suddenly I get a strike on my golden color spoon lure.It fight for a while before it went to the grass.It was a decent size juvenile Adong. I brought it to the car to take some pictures of it and then keep it in a plastic bag with water to let the other guys see it before I let it go again.

  Ernesto came back with a Runtu,an upper river snake head fish! The first one we caught in this lake after fishing here for more than three years now.I never know that they are exist in this lake.That's actually very nice to know,now we have more options in this lake.

 We fished until it was dark.And we headed to the nearby town for dinner at a coffee shop and chit chat with the waitress and playing with the dogs. It was a well spent evening after the rain.... :)

If we can't catch you in the river,we catch you in the lake..

Not a bad size for a short evening session.

The golden spoon that fooled this guy..

The first Runtu caught in this lake..more and bigger to come.

In the quest for a new fishing heaven...

Weather is not really friendly for fishing lately..it's almost impossible to go out fishing to the sea.Couple of days ago,we were almost crash to the rock by an island by two big freak waves.And made things worse,the engine died on us,and took us quite sometime to start it in a panic situation. This afternoon,we went out driving out of the town to try a new river that according to a source,is a territory for the jungle perch.The rain was a bit heavy on our way to the area.But there was hope since the sky toward the area was clear. We get there with a fairly nice weather for fishing,not sunny,slightly cloudy,but not pouring.After calling the source for a detail direction,we park our car by the road side and walk down along the river bank from a bridge. The water was slightly murky...but it didn't stop us from keep going and casting. Not so far down,2 strikes were received,one from Runtu (snake head fish) and another one was probably Adong,the jungle perch. A loud sound from a bird,a kind of a hornbill, followed us from the bridge down the river.It was a big lonely black bird,sounds like it was telling us something,but we didn't understand or just ignorance. Along the way down the river,we found a durian fruit with no durian tree around the area..weird! And then a close encounter with a king cobra that just changed its scale.You still can see the old scale left on the ground. And then a water snake swimming across the river.Strange signs that as seem as telling you to go back. And the final one,a sudden down pour of heavy rain.So we rushed back to the car,drive back home and called it the day. And the rain continued all the way till we get home,with heavy vehicles on the road made the journey back felt so long... Another bad day fishing...

Giant Snakehead @ Toman Sungai Sarawak

This fish caught about one and a half year ago...it's dead few minutes after landed due to the long fight to reel it in,which took about forty five minutes.It was weighted about 13kg and about 1.8m long.

Our fishing videos on You Tube.

 
Watch more videos at our channel here-> Anglers Belong

Another Video here-> Sea sick pirate fish party.

Sebarau ( hampala barb ) on fly !

Yes..it's finally happened...fly fishing can catch fish in Borneo..the first species was hampala barb...well,actually it was a barracuda but it didn't landed so doesn't count.
We were back to Belong 2 days ago,to a place where sound system doesn't really matter in a karaoke bar,to a place where in the colonial days the tribes warriors had their last frontier against the intruders,to a place where you still can make peace and bond with the nature.
We leave Kuching around 3 in the morning and get to Belong around half past six.And later we reached at Nanga Spak ,where the Spak river meets the mighty Layar river.It was a big surprise and heartbreak to us,the water was like the coffee with milk that we had for breakfast that morning.
They told us there was a very heavy rain the night before and the road construction upper river made things worse.

Early morning view of the longhouse folks coming back from checking their fishing nets.

The murky water of Nanga Spak...

It's no harm trying...'Ni nemu!'

Layar river was a bit better,so we decided to go upriver hoping that it will be clearer upstream.Things didn't seem to get better,and make thing worse,one of our boats,lost its propeller!After searching for it with our legs in the cloudy water,we managed to find it and fixed it back to the engine with the classic Iban style,'main tanchang'..which means, you tie it!

Heading up river in hope for clearer water..

Still optimistic anglers..

We decided to go to another river,the legendary Skrang.Met some relatives of friend's there and they were kind enough to let us use two of their boats.Skrang,surprising,always murky,but this time around,it was clear enough for lure fishing.

Welcome to the new ground,Skrang river.

New river,new hope...

Preparing the weapons..

While waiting for the boats to be ready,we were casting at a smaller river near the longhouse and caught one 'runtu',the upper river snake head.

This activity get the attention of the longhouse folks...

Good introduction of the day,the ever friendly Runtu ( upper river snake head fish )

Thank you very much,see you again next time..

From Nanga Murat,we went down river,since the upper river was a bit busy with long house folks transporting the subsidized fertilizer from the government.

We stop for lunch..

Pork barbeque on the rock!

While waiting for the lunch,every second counts!

Fly it high..

Matan can fly too!

This was the first time we were fishing here,and contradict to its reputation for a heaven for fishermen,we were disappointed.There was no action at all.So,after our lunch barbeque by the river side,we headed to town and called it the day.But along the way,we stop at a swamp lake and did some casting for snake head.We caught four snake head fish.Not really satisfying,but at least not 'beluku',or zero catch.  

Again,we had problem with the propeller..so here we go,river towing..

The luxury floating hotel in the jungle...

The ever co-operative snake head fish.

We spend the night at the town and after dinner,we entertained ourselves at a local karaoke bar.But we get to much attention here so we leave not long after and called it the night.
The next morning,we decided to check the water situation at Layar and Spak.Layar was clear enough while Spak was still too murky.
So we drifted down river,but the water clarity get worse so we went up river...

Second day,back to Layar.

Here the water was better,and kind enough to give us some actions..and let us made it to 'Borneo Book of Records' to catch the first fish on fly..
Thank you very much....Adonger!.... :) 

They like spoon lure...

They like plastic frog too...

Also they like tail dancer...

And now..ladies and gentlemen...they like fly too!

Fly fishing trolling

Couple of days ago,we decided to try some fly fishing around two islands not far from Kuching.We also did some trolling and some popping.The weather was perfect,the water was almost like glass,no wave,especially the part of the sea that get covered from the wind by the islands.But the water underneath was not really good,there was no current,so the fish were not so active.And the big downside,it was  full moon!

The ever happy anglers

The ever happy boat boys..

Loco's new toy

Trying new technique,fly trolling..

The ever proud angler..

This part of the island was a bit choppy.

This part was a lot calmer..

Super calm sea.

The beach where the turtles land and lay eggs.

Trying some fly fishing..

Trying some popping..

One barracuda jumped out of the water but missed the popper..

This poor bill fish just managed to get his head landed on the boat..the other parts of its body were taken by a big barracuda.

Not many action on this trip..the closest one was a big barracuda.It was almost landed but it managed to escape the hook when we were trying to hook it up to the boat...
Anyway...its always a good trip.