Lakeshore Pampanga [8-30-09]

I think this was my fifth attempt at catching Lakeshore's Giant Snakehead (Toman). On previous attempts, I never even got a solid strike. Today, I got lucky (in a way). Twelve-times lucky :-). I managed to hook 11 baby Tomans and 1 mama Toman. But, I only landed seven (7). The mama Toman got away after a couple of short hard runs. The hook of the swimbait failed to set properly. Well, at least I was able to get a glimps of its back and it was huge maybe 6 to 7 kilos.

Three (3) tomans caught using topwater frog. After so many strikes from baby tomans, my frog is now full of cuts and holes from the baby toman's sharp teeth leaving it unusable because it started to sink.

These four were caught using Berkley swimming pogy with Bong's spinner arm.

And the biggest is probaby 3/4 kilo. It's already showing the Toman stripes.

The pogies were also not spared. After the outing, the tomans destroyed four pogies.

All Tomans were released.

I am definitely going back there for the mama toman --- soon.

Coloong (August 16, 2009)

After 2 weeks without fishing due to bad weather, I finally was able to wet my line this morning. I went to Kap's Lawak with my cousin and Mikko Boy. 2 hours passed and no takers. I decided to rig a Pogy with a spinner blade from Bong.

After fan-casting for about ten minutes, I got a strong strike and set the hook a couple of times.

The fight lasted about 7-10 minutes and got an 8.06Kg Barramundi.

Rod: Shimano Clarus 6' BC Rod
Reel: Abu Garcia Revo SX
Line: Powerpro 15lb braid
Leader: 20lb Flouro
Lure: 3" Berkley Powerbait Swimming Pogy rigged with Spinner Blades courtesy of Bong the Haruan Hunter.
Fish: Barramundi
Weight: 8.06 kilos
Fight time: 7-10 minutes
Date Caught: August 16, 2009 ~11:30am

Kapitan Larry's Pond Part 2 (July 19, 2009)

Remembering the disappointing trip last week, I decided to go to Coloong for a quick fish and hopefully to settle a score with the Apahap that got away. Left the house at 3:30pm and reached Kapitan Larry's pond at around 4:15. The flood was still high and the dikes were very soft. No choice, I cannot go to Lawak so I settled with the main pond near the videoke. It's a good thing nobody's singing.

At first, i tried a heavy vibrating lure and a couple of swim baits. No takers. I switched to a spinner bait by Bong. After the second cast on the corner of the pond, a solid strike. I thought it was a dalag because it does not jump and it runs really fast and really long. It swam from the corner of the pond near the kubo of Kap's crew up to the opposite corner near the entrance to the fishing huts. When it reached the huts, it surged up to the water's surface. It was a barramundi and a nice size too.

I remembered the mishap last weekend so I loosened the drag a bit to something like a kilo or less. It was a good thing I did because the hook was lodged outside of the mouth and could have torn the flesh.

It was an awesome fight and after 10 minutes or so, I landed the fish with my trusted lip grip.

It was not the 10+ kilos that got away last week but it was good enough (specially with the lure used).

5 kilos and it fell for Bong's amazing spinner bait.