DO: It’s not the rod, it’s how you swing it

2009/10/02

SEET CHER HUNG

SEET CHER HUNG goes back to the basics of angling and observes how it has evolved over time.

WHEN I started fishing many years ago, it was with a wooden reel loaded with line, sinker and hook.

This was how my father taught me to fish. It’s almost as simple as the proverbial “Hook, line and sinker”.

However, there were some disadvantages to this basic method of fishing. I remembered once, a big fish took my line. As the fish surged away, I could feel the line cutting deep into my fingers. The fish won, earning its freedom while leaving me with multiple cuts.

For freshwater fishing, we used long bamboo poles. Bamboo has a high flex factor, allowing them to absorb the sudden surge of a fish trying to escape the hook-up without snapping.

However, longer bamboo poles can be heavy and difficult to transport if you don’t have a car. Then came the fibreglass rods and the modern fishing reel in the late 1960s.

These rods are lighter, and with a reel, can cast further, improving the effectiveness of almost any angler.

Initially, these rods and reels were costly. However, as technology advanced, they became more affordable.

In the late 70s, carbon fibre rods started appearing. They were lighter and stronger than fibreglass but were more expensive.

They didn’t really catch on until the early 80s when we started seeing carbon fibre and graphite in almost everything — golf clubs, tennis racquets, bicycle helmets and of course, fishing tackles.

Carbon fibre rods are so much lighter and stronger. A typical 3m to 5m rod weighs only a few ounces.

Local snakehead provide good fun on pole rods

Telescopic rods allow you to carry a 5m pole in your car which you can whip out and fish with in a matter of minutes.

What’s more, you can fish all day without getting a sore arm. This brought about a resurgence in pole fishing.

In some parts of Europe, pole fishing tactics are used in tournaments where competitors are judged by the total weight of fishes caught.

In these instances, where speed is of the essence, nothing is faster than the basic pole rod. No reels and long lines to tangle with. With these modern, lightweight rods, the popularity of pole fishing took off in countries like Japan, Taiwan and Korea, where anglers use rods of up to 10m in their rivers and lakes, catching carp and other freshwater species.

A variant of pole fishing called Ayu fishing, has taken some of these countries by storm.

Almost every major fishing tackle manufacturer makes a range of pole and Ayu fishing rods these days.

How does pole fishing play a part in the local fishing scene? Pole fishing is an excellent way to introduce fishing to your family.

Many new anglers, especially children, are put off by the complexity of today’s high-tech fishing equipment. Casting is another skill that has to be mastered if you want to enjoy fishing with a conventional rod and line. People who are not yet into fishing will find these basic skills of casting and operating a rod and reel frustrating to learn.

With the prices of today’s modern fishing tackles, you won’t want your kids to play with your high-end fishing setup. With a pole rod, there are none of these problems. There are no reels to operate, no casting required and no messy long lines to tangle with. Just bait up, swing it out to the water and watch the float bob up and down until a fish takes the bait. Pole fishing is also gaining popularity these days as anglers have taken these super long rods to some of our rocky shorelines to catch more exciting saltwater fishes.

As you cannot cast with a pole rod, species caught are usually limited to those that inhabit our rocky shorelines, piers and jetty. Groupers, small barramundis, mangrove jacks and rabbit fish (also known as Chinese New Year fish) are some of the more common species caught.

What do you need to introduce your family to some good fishing action? A reasonably good pole rod of about 3m would be ideal.

The longer the rod, the bigger the fish they can handle as they have more flex than a shorter rod.

The flex in a pole rod acts like a shock absorber, preventing the line from breaking, and at the same time, tiring out the fish.

However, for starters, 3m is just about right. Anything longer can be quite unwieldy to handle. A spool of monofilament line of about 100m and 4.5-6.8kg breaking strain is ideal.

Some floats, split-shots and various sizes of hooks are all that is needed. Depending on what you want to catch, hook sizes can vary.

However, the most popular sizes are those from size 8-16, although you can go larger for carps and bigger species.

The whole setup of pole rod, line, floats, split-shots and hooks could cost between RM200 and RM500.

However, for beginners, I would suggest sticking to the lower end to mid-range.

In Malaysia, some of the most popular fishes to catch using pole rods are the ubiquitous tilapia.

There are various species, including the popular red tilapia, which makes a wonderful table fish. Other species include the local catfish, local snakehead, marbled goby (soon hock) and various species of carps, including kois.

If you are lucky, you may also hook up good size louhan which used to be (and can still be) a prized aquarium fish.

What about bait? It all depends on what you are going after. Tilapias and catfish will eat almost anything, so bait selection is easy.

You can buy worms at local tackle shops, bread and steamed tapioca.

If you are in a real hurry, bread will do just as well. If you are going after predatory fishes, you can also buy worms or cheap prawns from the local wet market.

Where do you go? The Klang Valley is littered with ponds and lakes which are ideal for a day of pole fishing.

There are numerous disused mining ponds which are full of fishes as well. However, care needs to be taken as mining pools are deep and can be dangerous.

Some hotels and resorts are next to lakes. Some of my favourites are the Holiday Villa Subang, the Mines Resort and Hyatt Saujana. Up north, there’s the Clearwater Sanctuary Resort near Ipoh.