Do: The mighty toman

2009/11/28

If you are game for a challenge, SEET CHER HUNG recommends the giant snakeheads, famed for their firm and sweet flesh. IN 2002, the United States discovered the existence of the Giant Snakehead in a lake in Maryland. Instead of rejoicing at the presence of a new species and one of the most awesome freshwater sport and table fish in Asia, they kicked up a hullabaloo, citing environmental danger and spawning claims like, “can walk” on its fins and “live on land for days”.

They claimed that the voracious Snakehead would devour everything in its path and will be a big threat to the ecosystem. There may be some truth to this claim as the snakehead’s a voracious and savage predator that could render some indigenous species extinct.

However, North and South America have their own equally predatory species, some even more so than the feared Giant Snakehead. They even drained the whole lake just to make sure these Giant Snakeheads didn’t stand a chance to survive, and the term, “Frankenfish” was coined for it.

It even spawned a couple of ridiculous movies like Snakehead Terror and Swarm of the Snakehead which portrays the snakehead as a man-eating fish. These movies make the Great White look like a poodle! How anyone put these lovely creatures in a completely wrong light stumps me.


Getting to know Snakeheads or the Toman

Poppers provide exciting surface action for this angler.

Snakeheads belong to the Channa Striatus species which covers a wide range of species, such as Channa nox (Night Snakehead ), Channa asiatica (Chinese Snakehead) and Channa amphibeus (Chel Snakehead). Their native habitats are in Asia and Africa although they are most commonly found in Southeast Asia.

The Giant Snakehead (Channa micropeltes) is the largest in the Channidae family, growing to 1.3m and can weigh up to 20kg, although most of those caught by anglers are between five and 10 kilogrammes. The Giant Snakehead is native to Thailand and it’s widely distributed from India to Vietnam.

In Malaysia and Indonesia, they’re called Toman.

They’re one of the most majestic sights to behold in fresh water. Often, you see them gliding gracefully to the surface to “breathe”, their striped dark shiny green and black armour camouflaged against the green weedy water.

Tomans build nests by burrowing in the mud, and are the top predators in many freshwater lakes in the region. They feed on almost anything — smaller fish, frogs, baby tortoises and even baby ducks. The giant snakehead’s tolerant of low oxygen conditions because they’re endowed with the ability to gulp air from the surface, which they often do in murky water.

It must be this ability to survive in anaerobic conditions that gives them their reputation of “walking on land” and surviving for days without water. Juvenile snakeheads swim in schools, but adults are solitary predator although they sometimes swim in pairs, especially when protecting their young.

When you find their babies, they’re almost always nearby, to protect their young ones. These juvenile Tomans, with nary a care in their young life, create ripples on the water surface as they swim and frolic on the surface.

Tomans are very territorial, especially near their nest or young and casting a popper or lure to a school of frys will almost always result in a ferocious strike by one of the parents.

Fighting dirty

Tomans are one of the strongest and “dirtiest” fighters. It’ll head for the nearest snag and the strongest of lines and rods will not dislodge it once it finds a snag to wrap the line on.

The catch rate for Tomans in heavily snagged waters can be low, which makes catching a trophy-size Toman such a memorable achievement. The biggest Tomans are usually found in areas with lots of over-hanging vegetation, which makes them really tough to target.

The Toman and its local cousin, the local snakehead (haruan), are two of the most common species of fish that many budding anglers usually start their fishing career on. They can be found almost everywhere, including padi fields, ponds, lakes, reservoirs and even in slower moving rivers.


Luring Tomans

Tomans will readily take a lure or fly. However, the best action can be witnessed when using poppers, when these ferocious fish will strike with wild and raw power. They’ve been known to attack water fowls and ducklings swimming on water.

They exists in heavily snagged waters where they lie in ambush for targeted prey. They will then burst out with lightning speed for the kill! Tomans are also often caught on live baits. Small live catfish and frogs often make ideal bait for these giants, although in reality, any small fish from seven to 12 centimetres in length will make good bait.

Dead bait such as chicken liver works as well, although these can be smelly and messy to work with. Tomans generally feed best during the early morning hours and in the evening, although they can be caught any time of the day. During the rainy season, the fishing can be good all day long, especially during heavy rain or overcast weather.


Where to lure Tomans

Some of the more popular places to catch the Giant Snakehead in Malaysia are the Kenyir Dam in Terengganu as well as the Temenggor Lake resort in Perak. Both these lakes have much in common. They’re two of the largest lakes in west Malaysia and both are man-made through the construction of a dam to generate hydro-electricity.

Both lakes are breeding grounds of Toman and many other local species including the Kelah, Sebarau and Belida. Many resorts line the shores of the lake, including hotels and spas, but the favourite of many anglers has to be the house boat.

These are rustic looking floating accommodation which can house a number of anglers who can then take a motorboat or kayak to their favourite locations to fish. A portable GPS is important and highly recommended if you are fishing without a guide, as you can easily get lost in the many tributaries and inlets in the area if you wander too far.

For the less adventurous, many smaller lakes nearer the bigger cities also offer Toman in abundance. The Klang Valley region is blessed with small lakes which are also rich breeding grounds for the giant and local snakehead.

However, smaller, easily accessible and heavily fished lakes and ponds tend to be less productive for obvious reasons.

If you’re more adventurous and willing to travel out of the country to pursue your passion, Thailand is one of the better places to catch the Toman. Many fishing resorts also stock them for the angler’s pleasure.

In Chiang Mai, Sirikit Reservoir is one of the best places to land that giant snakehead. The Bangkok vicinity offers many large fishing resorts which stock good-sized giant snakeheads. Such resorts are also found further south in Phuket and Koh Samui area.


Tackling Tomans

So what tackle do you use? It all depends on where you intend to fish for them. In open waters and lakes, a nominal spinning or baitcasting outfitted with 4.5kg to 5.4kg line will do the job quite well. Fly fishing tackle should be in the 7-8wt range.

However, in lakes where there are lots of underwater snags, a stouter rod with 6.75kg to 9kg line would be a better bet. Fly tackle should go up a notch to 8-9wt so that you can out-muscle the beast from those snags. Many anglers use a short wire trace in front of the lure or hook when fishing for Tomans as their razor sharp teeth can slice through normal monofilament fishing lines.

Incidentally, the Giant Snakehead also makes for excellent food. They have fine light colour flesh that is firm and sweet when steamed or fried. They are farmed extensively as food fish in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand as well.

The Chinese use the Giant Snakehead extensively to make fish porridge and their flesh, together with that of the local species, the Haruan, are claimed to have medicinal powers for healing wounds as well.

Tales that they will attack humans swimming are totally unfounded. There has never been an attack on humans recorded in Asia so far. Neither is there any truth to tales that they can “walk” on land and live for days out of water.

When you catch them, you’ll know that they cannot survive without water just like any other fish.

However, as mentioned earlier, they can survive in murky and muddy water with low oxygen due to their ability to “breathe” from the surface. Tomans do have a set of ferocious fangs though and unlike the piranha which attack in schools, the Giant Snakehead is very much a solitary fish. The only time they are found in pairs is when they are guarding their young.

So there you go! If you ever come across any of these fishes... grab your rod and be ready to do battle, instead of rushing out to kill them all!