Together with Bong, Mikko, and Rich, we did a recon trip to Bulacan River up North a few months back. The trip was organized with the invitation from Irving.
There are very little paved road going to the area -- some areas have worn down asphalt a quarter of the way to the spot. The rest is a dusty dirt road, and when it rains, it's practically impossible to get to. Anyway, we got to the place by boat. Probably an hour's boat ride from the main town. We were very lucky when we arrived, threadies were active. You can hear exploding water when they feed on mullet. Some are almost feeding on the banks. It's basically sight fishing if you want to target the threadfins.
When there's feeding on an area, I had to rush to the scene and throw my favorite topwater. I was running all over the place when there's feeding but in most cases, I always arrive too late. Fortunately, on the late afternoon, the threadies got bolder and they don't leave the area after feeding. Then one explosion on the water occurred near my spot. I immediately casted my lure to the spot. After a few twitch, the fish took the lure. The problem is, the strike occurred too near the banks where there are a lot of bamboo snags. I fought the fish for a good two minutes but it dove under the bamboo poles and wrapped the line. I had to call the boatman to check if he can retrieve my lure and the fish. When he got to the snagged lure, the boatman dove under the poles and got only the lure. No more fish. I swear it was a big one because my Revo Inshore was not able to stop it from diving down the snag.
I then changed posts and move downriver a bit. I saw a threadie gave out its location. I casted and in one swoop, it swallowed the lure. This time, the spot I was in is on a very steep bank. The fish was able to angle me and swam so close to the bamboo poles sticking out from the bank. I had to reach out with my rod using one hand to get a good angle on the fish and prevent the line from fraying from the bamboo poles. And then the unthinkable happened --- fish made a very strong dive. The Majorcraft reel seat was slick when wet and in one dive, the fish was able to yank the rod from my hand. I froze for an instant, fearing that I lost a brand new rod with a Revo Inshore. Luckily, when the rod and reel fell into the water, it snagged from another set of bamboo poles preventing the fish from pulling it into the deep.
Without thinking, I jumped down the water's edge even it was about 5 feet from where I was standing. I grabbed back my rod and fought the fish. I still had to climb the last set of poles at the edge of the fast running water --- the fish keeps on diving near the bank. The spot where Rich was taking the video is where I first fought the fish --- where it took the rod from my hands. Anyway, here's what happened after that.
Shy of 2kg. This is the fish that almost took away my Rod and Reel.
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| Photo and video courtesy of Richard |
At the end of the trip, Miko got Mangrove Jack and Richard got a Threadfin. It was a very nice trip considering we hardly know what to expect from the place. It was a very challenging river and finding the perfect time is not easy. This was actually my 2nd trip there. My first was with my cousin JB last year. We were invited by fellow anglers from the North who frequent the spot. At that time, despite a lot of strikes, I basically got skunked. My cousin JB was a little luckier. He got a Bikaw (a juvenile Threadfin Salmon) using live bait. Lucky for me that I was able to hook up twice on the 2nd trip. I hope to revisit the place with a perfect timing --- perfect enough for us to hook a wild Barramundi. I hope sometime soon.
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