Since then, the fish has spread to many parts in Pampanga and even up to Nueva Ecija, further up north of Luzon - perhaps intentionally released or maybe by accident through flooding. Nonetheless, they are now widespread and have grown in population as well as sizes. The biggest so far (that was caught by recreational anglers) was 10kg plus. (The IGFA world record is around 13.6kg from Malaysia.) They are now living in the wild and spawning aggressively and taking over their new habitats. After 10 years, I am quite certain that there are monsters out there --- 15 to 20kg fish. Quite honest, it is a tragedy for local fishermen but a cause for excitement for recreational anglers.
If you have tried fishing for these monsters, you will know that they are practically lure and tackle killers. They are friends of tackle-shops because after just one sizable fish, you can bet your bottom that your brand spanking new lure will be destroyed and if you are not careful, they will break your precious rods. My biggest catch in past was 4kg plus fishes in the confined pond of Lakeshore. I was using a Medium Heavy baitcast setup with 20lb braid and 30lb leader. Though tomans love loud topwater lures, e fight was ok and felt just like big largemouth bass when hooked. The preferred lure was buzz baits and loud knocking WTD lures.
Just recently, I was able to fish a secret not so secret wild Toman spot. The area was a huge marsh with lots of deep open water and lots of vegetation- perfect Toman habitat. I brought a slightly heavier toman tackle. I upgraded the line to 30lbs and the leader to 40 and used a Heavy 15-30 7ft baitcast rod from Graphiteleader. I brought a few brand new buzz baits and prop baits because I heard that these were the hottest toman lures for that area. Just after 15 minutes of casting my prop bait near the edge of the bank, I got an explosive strike and pulled drag from my Daiwa Fuego BC like it's just a UL spinning reel. The first run startled me and by instinct, I held the spool to stop the fish. It fled underneath the boat and pulled so hard that the rod tip got pulled underneath the boat. The last thing I heard was a loud crack of my precious Graphiteleader. Just after 15 minutes of fishing, the fish took my new lure, broke my Heavy rod, and it shattered my ego. I had to go home. I did not bring a backup rod at that time.
The following day, I decided to return for round 2. I brought a couple of MH rods - A short MH Shimano Scorpion BC rod and a 6ft Lakeforce Stage MH BC rod. I also brought new prop lures and upgraded the hooks to #1 Owner ST046. I was able to get a lot of hookups but they often get unbuttoned. A lot of the owner hooks got bent when they spin just near the boat. These tomans are absolute fighters. Maybe because they are well fed and have a lot of exercise. They fight really hard compared to their Lakeshore cousins. After half a day, I only managed to land a small one.
After that trip, I decided to make my own lures. They have to be loud and their hooks should be huge Definitely either buzzbaits or propbaits. Because we can't source propbait hardware locally, I decided to make my own buzzbaits. I used the heavy wires from old Japanese surf sinkers. I had a few old buzzbait blades and made double bladed buzz baits for that extra noise. One tip if you decide to build one, make sure the blades are counter-rotating. Don't use blades that rotate on the same direction. For trailer, I used a huge punching jig and attached a soft plastic. For the other one, I attached a 65mm weedless frog so I can cast to heavy vegetation.
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