Quick Fix in Coloong

Our trip to Lakeshore did not push through. Even the planned recon trip somewhere in Pampanga, around 50 kms from Manila did not push through. It's a Sunday and I had nowhere to go. I just couldn't let the day pass without wetting my line.

So I decided to go to Valenzuela. At first, the plan was to check out Tagalag. I have been hearing a lot about Barramundis on one of the ponds and a rumored catch of Toman's on one of the rivers there. IT was almost 9am when I hurriedly drove to the said location. Alas, when I got there, all the waters around Tagalag are "owned", meaning every inch of water is now staked and bounded by nets. There not a single free area where I can cast without paying. When I got to Llenado's Pond. I was politely turned away. I was told that their stocks are quite small and it's a waste of time fishing there. So, the rumor about Barramundis and Tomans, are really rumors.  

So, no choice but to go to Kapitan Larry's to pass the time. I can't let a good fishing visa go to waste. 

I was not expecting to catch anything there. I was told the week before that they electro-fished the area to rid them of Haruans. Barras are also gone due to the Ondoy flooding. Still, I thought the river on the edge of the ponds may hold something promising.

When I got there, there was not much anglers around. The worst part is there was not a single bite for the next two hours or so. Instead of fishing the pond, I targeted the river on the edge of the pond. Nada! Then I saw a couple of boats rigged for electro fishing. They were electrocuting the damn stretch of the river. It's bad enough that the river is polluted, they even made it worse by doing illegal fishing.  @%#$@%#^!


Anyway, when the ferryboat passed by my spot, I signaled the pilot to fetch me on his next trip. While waiting, I went back to casting. This time, I casted on the pond's edge. After around 30 or 40 casts, I got one. It was a mad Haruan and it made several jumps before I got to land it. It swallowed my pogy with spinner. A very lucky fish, considering the electrocutioners combed the pond the week before. This 1.1kg fish deserved to be free.

Another "Recon" Trip

We went to another favorite Haruan spot this Sunday. We were supposed to go to Lakeshore but got an invitation the night before we leave. 

The bites were slow. Only Bong seemed to haul them in. He got 7 in the morning using cranks. Our froggies were not getting much action. I was only able to get one using the my fave froggy and got 3 on spinners. 

Even late afternoon after the rains, there were no takers. I think these critters have started breeding and does not want to feed that agressively as before. 

My only consolation was that I was able to catch one using a Walk-the-Dog stickbait. They say that it was very uncommon to catch one using that lure. 

Jessica is Free Again [7-10-2010]

This was a late post. I said goodbye to Jessica. Jessica is what my fellow angler named the 3.11kg Haruan that I caught last June 27, 2010. She was taken to an aquarium on one of the Tackle Shops here in Manila for display. 


We picked her up at Alex Tackle the afternoon of July 10th. With the help of Obet, my angler buddy, we placed her on a 48qt cooler. She was massive. She can barely fit inside the cooler.



Me, my wife, and my youngest daughter drove to the Wildlife Center and showed her to the Center officers before the release. We carried her near the spot where I caught her.











At first, she wouldn't move and just stayed where I released her. Maybe she couldn't believe her fate. I had to nudge her a bit and that's when she swam to deeper water.

I hope she breeds more baby haruans for everyone to enjoy.

Thank you so much to the officers and staff of Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center. You guys and girls are awesome!

Recon Haruan Trip (7-11-2010)

We received and invitation from Matt to fish with a VIP and also conduct a recon for a potential Haruan Hunter Challenge leg.

Bites were slow very early in the morning. The first blood was from RC. It was a nice sized Haruan. 17inches and could reach more than a kilo.

When the sun started to heat the place, the bites picked up a bit. Miko and Obet are getting strikes all over.Bong and Richard got some as well. But me, nada. 

At first, I used my Revo Inshore mounted on 7ft rod. I was planning to chuck those lures really far. Well, the cast did went far but I can't seem to get anything to bite. I decided to change gear and used my home made 6'4" rod with my Daiwa round reel. True enough, I finally was able to get them, 7 of them to be exact.

Then in the afternoon, the winds picked up and then bites just stopped. I never got anything since then. Even so, RC seemed to get all the luck. He was able to haul more in the afternoon. I think his total was 5. Bong, Mikko, and Richard also hauled in a lot of fish.

Haruans we caught were released immediately.

I think everyone will get a real thrill when the HHC challenge is held here. Lots of fish that are eager to bite. All we need is a little bit more rain. 

Kayak Fishing Zambales (7-3-2010)

We went to Zambales for the 96th birthday of my wife's grandma. We left for Manila at around 10:30PM. But coming from work, I was too tired to drive further and we decided to spend the night in Olongapo and continue driving the following day.

7am Saturday, we went ahead and drove almost 3 hours to our destination. 10am, I hurriedly unloaded all our stuff and rigged my reels and the kayak. The birthday party will start in late afternoon so I still have a few hours to fish. I rested for a bit then drove to my favorite spot and launched the Kayak. It was almost 12nn and it was scorching. The tide was good so I fished even when the sun was unbearable.

To get away from the sun, I paddled into the narrower tributaries to get under the shade of trees. Rested a bit and then paddled back again into the deeper part of the river. Here's what the tributary looks like. When the tide is right, there are big mangrove jacks cruising in here.

When the water reached the peak tide, I went back to the deeper parts of the river. Luckily, the clouds covered the scorching sun and it started to drizzle.  I threw a huge popper/walker and got a decent sized Mangrove Jack. Around 1.5kg.

The strike was awesome. It was like someone threw a big rock into the water. Like all jacks, it swam full speed to the direction of snags. It was a good thing my reel's drag was recently replaced with Carbontex from Smoothdrag. It was really smooth and subdued the fish with ease.


I still wanted to fish but it was almost 4pm and I had to go back for the party.

Too bad the vacation was very short. We had to drive back to Manila Sunday. We were supposed to leave very early sunday but my hangover was unbearable. I had to sleep it off until lunch. Because of that, I also missed the Haruan tournament in Bulacan. Anyway, there's next time.