Baited hook line and sinker

A GENTLE tug on the line, then it slowly tautened.

Picking up his fishing rod, the angler could feel the fish swimming off with the bait. He gave a firm strike and the fish immediately zipped away at high speed.

Keeping up the pressure, the angler got the upper hand and reeled the fish towards the riverbank. Then, with skillful manoeuvring, he landed the fish hook, line and sinker.

It was a tangkadak, weighing 370gm.

For the moment, Danvel Jediah had hooked the biggest fish. But at the end of the competition, it was only the second biggest. One of the participants had outdone him with a lampan jawa, weighing 1.2 km.

The fastest catch was by angler Yanto Jihog but his baungonly tipped the scale at 60gm.

Not many fish were caught that day but the participants just loved fishing. Some may breathe and live fishing as do so many other fishers out there.

No need for all the flashy gears, a simple hand line will do. Indeed, when it comes to fishing nowadays, it can be as simple as driving to the local waterhole, boat ramp, wharf or even the earth pond.

According to a fishing quote, “the best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.”

Basically, there are two types of fisherman – fishing for sport and fishing for fish. Regardless of which type, one of life’s simplest and least expensive joys is spending the day fishing with friends, family or fellow anglers in friendly competition. You enjoy the natural world and maybe even hook a fish or two.

Fishing is fun, at least to enthusiasts and if they land a fish, they are filled with pride and satisfaction.

Fishing also takes people to places where they can talk without distractions or just sit and enjoy the solitude together. And probably through fishing, they will also cultivate patience, problem-solving skills and an awareness and appreciation for the natural world.

Not so difficult

Going fishing though is not as convenient as walking to the playground and kicking a soccer ball. But it is also not nearly as difficult as it looks.

Danvel and Yanto were among some 60 anglers trying their luck — both for fish and cash prizes — and having a great time doing it last weekend at a fishing event

they had never joined before — the Sungai Semadang Tagang@Fishing Festival.

The water at Semadang River or Sarawak Kiri River over the past one and half months had been shallow, crystal-clear and probably warmer due the dry weather. But last Saturday, it was murky following a downpour on Friday evening, making it hard to spot any fish.

But still, there was everything to be angling for as fish  were conserved under the Tagang system in Semadang River.

The Tagang system is a smart-partnership between the local community and the state Agriculture Department in protecting and reviving the depleting freshwater fishery resource in the river.

The system empowers the local community and the Department to protect, revive and harvest the fish in a sustainable manner. The harvested fish are shared equally d among the registered members of the community.

The system was introduced to the villagers as a viable concept of preserving and sustaining fish population in the river by the state Agriculture Department in 2007. In this respect, Sungai Semadang is deemed ideal as it is home to several high-value fish species.

So far, the system has replenished the river with massive supply of fish such as jelawat, lampan jawa and tangkadak.

Once or every two years

According to Kampung Semadang headman Samson Manggang, the villagers have the option to either harvest once a year, or every two years.

However, he noted that since its implementation, only once did the villagers harvest the river with a haul about 250kg of fish. After that, there was no more harvesting as the villagers did not want to disturb the system.

Harvesting, he added, was done responsibly with the small fish — and those of breeding size were released back into the water.

Samson said since implementation of the Tagang system, the villagers had become more responsible — and are now looking after the stretch of water closest to them.

“The villagers are actually the guardians and protectors of the river. They see to it that nobody fishes or casts nets in the waters all year round.”

The main objectives of the Sungai Semadang Tagang@Fishing Festival were, among others, to promote fishing as a tourism product for Kampung Semadang and highlight the benefits of Tagang system.

Public Health Assistant Minister and Bengoh assemblyman Datuk Dr Jerip Susil officiated at the event.

Jelawat, also known as ikan sultan, lampan jawa and tangkadak, were among the species released in the system several years ago.

During the competition, anglers had the chance to lure these fishes with all sorts of bait for sport or the table. Only bottom fishing was allowed. Casting was prohibited.

Not all the baits worked though. Some participants went home with prized catches while others left empty-handed.

For the heck of it

Of course, there were people out there who did not care what type of fish they caught or the size or the number. Even if they caught nothing they did not bother. It was all about the fun of the competition.

They had come to enjoy themselves at one of the prominent sections of the river with deep water where most of the fish called “teruak baru” by the locals normally gathered during feeding time.

Apparently, the anglers need not be the best to win. Just hoping for some good luck was good enough regardless of ability.

To some anglers, river fishing might be a slow and boring style of angling because the fish do not put up much of a fight. But for many, just lowering the line class makes it even more of a challenge trying to land a lampan jawa, jelawat or tilapia.

Hooking a fish weighing slightly over a kilo would rouse the excitement of spectators waiting patiently for something to happen. Whether the participants hooked a big or small fish, the crowd would cheer them — with the noise probably chasing the fish away from thesurrounding waters.

Although there were many fish in the area, the catch rate had been slow and low. The suspicion was the fish could be wary of human presence.

Many anglers, sitting a few metres from each other, could be waiting for over half an hour or so without getting a single twitch on their lines.

There were some disappointed faces from the long wait. Some might be wondering where had the fish gone after seeing so many boiling to the surface to feed prior to the competition. It would have been good for the soul to land one or two fish.

The participants may have studied the habitat, worked out where the fish were and then, if possible, got them to bite. If they persevered and with some luck, they would probably catch some fish in future competitions.

And if they did not catch any, they would still have the satisfaction of fishing the next time, given Samson was seriously considering making the competition an annual affair in the state’s tourism calendar.