ASK any deepsea angler and he will tell you Eron is a dream catch.
FRUITFUL OUTING: Erons and other fish Soh and his team caught during a recent expedition out to sea.
Some seasoned sports fishermen may take a year or two to land one while others never do.
The mere mention of Eron never fails to light up the face of an angler, especially in Kuching.
And usually, there is a lot of stories to tell about the encounters with this game fish – if the angler is lucky enough to hook one.
Whenever an angler’s leader line broke, it was always the big one that got away, and in such an instance, chances are Eron is at the other end of the line.
Croakers or drums
The name Eron – a fish commonly known to anglers in Kuching – is believed to have been coined by the fishermen in Telaga Air, a village not far from Matang. But no one seems sure how or where the fish got this name from.
In Bahasa Malaysia, Eron means Ibu Gelama – in English, it is known as Black Jewfish (protonibea diacanthus), also known worldwide as croaker or drum due to the distinct drumming noise it makes, using its swim bladder.
The fish has been observed to change colours – from silver on capture and to black after death.
It is believed to grow up to 150cm (six feet) long and weigh more than 30kg.
Eron is highly desired by anglers because of its reputation as “strong fighter” – the power of its drag and its large size and quality.
It does not take the bait easily, seemingly choosy about the freshness of the lure, usually starting off with a few small bites followed by a sudden strong drag.
Eron has distinct characteristics in rising to the bait and the resultant excitement spurs anglers to go after it hook, line and sinker.
The feeling of a successful catch is similar to that of a mountaineer who has conquered a lofty peak.
Biggest catch
In my 15 years of deepsea angling in Kuching, I have been on the trail of Eron on numerous fishing expeditions and usually, I returned empty-handed. But occasionally, I managed to catch one or two – usually between 5kg and 8kg.
And it was not until last week that I made the biggest catch of my life – 16kg of fish meat which is a personal record of sorts.
I owe all I know about Eron fishing to my boat skipper and mentor – Azmie, the Eron king of Telaga Air and also popularly known as Gimmy.
He is skipper of a 70-foot wooden boat named Telaga Air Emas which can comfortably seat 10 and has a maximum speed of 11 knots.
The boat is anchored at Telaga Air wharf, about 30 minutes’ drive from Kuching city.
To Gimmy, catching Eron is a normal routine. With over 20 years experience in deepsea fishing, his record catch, so far, is 19 Erons per night trip and his biggest prize, a 28kg whooper.
According to Gimmy, a lot of patience, determination and endurance is needed to catch Eron.
“Sometimes you wait and wait for the whole night and still catch nothing,” he said.
Fishing especially around culvert areas, one must stay alert at all times and be quick to respond to a bite. The strength and drag of a 15kg Eron is so tremendous that even a 50-lbs leader line may not be strong enough to hold it.
Once Eron takes the bait, it’s best to fast-lock the break of the reel and start reeling as quickly as possible to prevent the fish swimming towards the culverts which can easily cut the leader line.
Never hold on to the drag – it has to be a head-on clash with the fish, reeling really fast without stopping till the fish surfaces, and this requires a good degree of physical fitness.
Of all the stories I have heard about Eron fishing, the most common one is that when the leader line broke, it’s always a very big one that got away, leaving the angler to rue over what might have been, and the “missed opportunity” would haunt him for the rest of the night that he got outsmarted by Eron out at sea – or even months.
Debunking a myth
There are anglers who still believe to catch Eron, one must not talk loudly or play loud music; must use a steel leader line with a very special big hook; must hide the hook inside the bait so that the fish can’t see or feel the hook when it takes a bite, and cannot use bait with a hard shell as the fish will not bite.
From personal experience, I find talking loudly and playing loud music do not actually frighten Eron away because when sound hits the water, it bounces off the surface, causing very little vibration to pass through the water. Moreover, fish do not have ears.
Eron preys on crustaceans (prawns), squids and fish. A leader line of between 100lbs and 120lbs with an ideal number of six or seven hard steel hooks (depending on the size of the bait) is good enough to handle Eron upwards of 20kg.
The most popular spots for fishing Eron are at the Lundu culverts, about two hours’ by boat from Telaga Air; the Satang culverts; a location known as the Japanese Boat, and Tanjung at the Indonesia border on western tip of Sarawak.
Knowing the locations and the tidal conditions is the most crucial in determining the presence of Eron. The best season for fishing this fish in Kuching is between April and July.
Gimmy can be contacted at 016-8773038 and the writer at [email protected].