The chase for the Peacock Bass is never ending. With more and more people discovering fly fishing as the preferred way to target this hard fighting freshwater sportfish, fly patterns to specifically target this species are getting more and more elaborate and some are adding more accessories to the flies that are designed to catch the angler.
Picture this, you have been working non stop for the pass few weeks and finally managed to squeeze in just a couple of hours to fish. As you arrived at the fishing spot and just as you finished your preparation, it starting raining like there’s no tomorrow, totally ruining the day.
Peacock Bass on Fliptail Clouser On water test in CWS Clevin Kham FFI CCI With the launch of the FTN Silicone and Latex Fish Tail, many variations of baitfish patterns emerged and we took the opportunity to tie a few to test it out on the Malaysian favourite sportfish, the Peacock Bass. Brought into the country in the 80s as an ornamental fish, this fish found its way into the many ponds in the country. With its predatory nature and hard fight, this fish is sought after by fly fishers. Various fly patterns are specifically designed to target this fish. The long weekend, in conjunction with the National Day holiday, was an opportunity to test out this fly. The target species, Peacock Bass. The location, Perak. The fly, Flip Tail Clouser. The equipment, #6 rod with floating line. Darrell and I drove down from Kuala Lumpur and met Asrul Affendi (Asrul), Khairulniza Arifin (Ija) and Aimar Aizat (Aizat) who were so gracious to be our guide on this trip. Arriving at the location just after 8 am, we choose a spot where there was a small stream feeding into a large pond. This is the ideal sport as the PB will be waiting in ambush for the baitfish. Occasionally, the baitfish would be scattered by some large predatory fish. This was a sure sign our target fish was there. I casted my #6 floating line connected to a 7 foot leader. A chartreuse Flip Tail Clouser tied on Ahrex NS150 Curved Shrimp #6 was connected to a 20lb tipper. Many would think that clouser is a sinking fly and thus be fished with a sinking line. I decided to do the opposite. Using a floating line will allow the fly to be stripped upwards and as the fly descended, it will create an aggerated movement of the flap tail. It will have more action than an ordinary clouser, making it more attractive to the fish. Well, this was all my hypothesis. Only the fish can prove this. I cast to a spot near the outflow of the stream and allowed the fly to sink before giving it short but crisp strips. Pausing, to keep the fly in the strike zone longer. As I resumed stripping after the pause, my line was stopped and instinctively, I stripped strike. The fish didn’t like it at all and proceeded to speed off in the opposite direction. It fought doggedly, zig zagging in the water. It was a tough but short fight. Soon, a dark green fish with an unmistakable black eye fringed by a yellow circle near the tail was gently guided onto the bank. It was a good fish, almost 33cm in length. The fish was safely released after a quick customary photo shoot. The scene was repeated several times. About lunch time, we grab a quick lunch and checked in into CWS and started fishing in the fishing club house spot where the wind started to pick up. Darrell and I moved to another spot just right outside our room, successfully landed a 35 cm fish. The Flipper tail seemed to be working like a charm. It is simple to tie and easy to swim either on a sinking or a floating line. The action seems to drive fish crazy. Try it the next time you target the PB. The beauty of this fly is that can be used as a spin fly on UL spinning gear. ~More Gallery Click Here~
Take a kid fishing? Why not take a kid fly fishing? With the intention of promoting a healthy sport to the younger generation, the idea of a fly fishing camp was mooted and plans were being drafted out in the early September. The FTC team at that time has been actively conducting weekly fly casting lesson at the SS15 field and the respond has been very encouraging. Riding on the momentum, the next step would be to take the new casters fly fishing. To make this event a success, careful planning has to be undertaken; from choosing a suitable location, the type of equipment to use down to the food. FTC managed to get the help of Mr Dron Lee, the renowned fly tyer from Fly Tying Nation, (You can follow his blog for his realistic fishable flies.) and the FFI Casting Instructor, Mr Ben Foo. On the morning of 9 December, the YFFC participants arrived at the private pond in Semenyih. We could see Ben on a small boat casting to the peacock bass in the tranquil pond. After a short briefing, equipment was set up and flies were tied to the tippets. Ben gave us a briefing on the history of peacock bass in Malaysia and the tip on how to best catch them. Then it was off to fishing. The morning session was a bit slow and the fish sluggish as it had rained heavily the day before. But that did not stop the youths from fishing. They were casting non stop and Xuan Lih, on his first fishing trip, caught a respectable tilapia. A surprise catch as out intended quarry was the exotic peacock bass. This catch has converted the happy angler into a lifetime fly fisherman. The next highlight was night fishing. The pond owner had just recently introduced Pacu, another exotic South America fish into the pond. That night, it was a frenzy of pacu. Fish after fish were landed and some of the notable catches were a jelawat, belida and a ketutu. The night fishing is a fishing competition among the participants and the prizes were 2 fly boxes filled with premium flies tied by Mr Dron Lee. It was a great prize and all the participants were fishing hard. It was good fun filled with excitement. The biggest fish award goes to Chen Yong Qi, a fist time fisher with a Pacu of 38 cm. The smallest fish goes to Phyllis Yong with a ketutu of 9 cm. We believe in sharing through experience and during this camp, we share about the proper catch and release methods and conservation and preservation of our world. To allow for themselves to experience the beauty of our world would encourage them to care and protect it. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHVhXsh57QA ~More Gallery Click Here~