Paul Arden | Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Peter did well and had the biggest fish of the year so far. At least I think 5.5KG has been the biggest so far. These mid-summer months can often produce some of the biggest fish. I actually lost one last night to some stumps that was over 6KG. When they go over 6 I have no idea what they weigh until I actually weigh them, even in the net! Fish 6KG and under I can usually tell in the water. Anything over 5KG is a T-shirt fish and a trophy.
There is always a second spawning in July/August. Less fish with babies, but we find them. With Peter we averaged finding 4 sets/day and there are freerisers around as well. We didn’t see a single Gourami. Contrast that to the Wet Season and the freerisers are usually non-existent but we can see typically 8 sets of babies/day plus/minus. Anyway it’s also possible to find none too, and 4 sets is very fishable!
I’m still recovering. 12 hour days on the water living on 6 or 7hrs sleep/night, when here in the jungle tropics I typically average 8 hours. It was a great time. And I’ve recovered a few items from the boat flip of a few weeks ago, and have found my shovel, forceps and spot lamp for the boat. I’m still a deep cycle battery down but I think I’ll find that when the water level drops some more. So I’ve lost very little actually. The 4-stroke 25hp is running perfectly again but I’m not sure I’m going to refit it! Instead I might buy another boat, a slightly larger one. We shall see…
I always learn on these trips and we figured out that the SA Bonefish line is a better line for Snakehead shots than the Infinity Salt. In fact I lose about 2 metres distance with that line when starting with 6’ of flyline on the water.
The new 115hp 4-stroke Battleship motor is tremendous and uses about 1/4 of the fuel that the 85hp 2-stroke did. I knew it would be more economical but hadn’t realised that the difference would be so great. This will mean the need to carry fewer canisters of fuel on weeklong trips.
This week I’m flat out Zoom Coaching again. Ronan is over for a trip soon. The Wet Season is looking very busy for guiding with two one weeklong trips booked almost every month now, including a couple of new guests who I’m very much looking forward to meeting!
It is very challenging here. It’s all about the shot. Or at least it’s all about the shot when being guided. When fishing solo it’s also about finding fish, reading their direction, boat positioning (which is a huge part of it), as well of course making the shot.
And while there is only 1-2 seconds to make the shot normally, you need to see/plan it first. Just going straight into the cast doesn’t work because the backcast target needs to be mentally positioned. The cast needs to be very deliberate and if the fly lands on a saucer then the fish will, 90% of the time, eat first or second Bloop. Slightly out of that (“red”) zone and they will probably chase, of which only around 1/3rd actually eat. If the shot is more than about 3 or 4 feet off target then you can forget it. Blooping that cast will not result in a fish and will most probably serve as a warning of our presence and then, the next time the fish rises to breathe, it will be spooked. Best is to allow the fish to carry along on their merry way, oblivious to our presence, and to put the next shot in right on the money.
What makes this all very difficult is time pressure, that every shot is different, it often involves changes of angles, there can be no false casts (one opportunity per week might be a slow enough rise to allow for one false cast!) and if the shot doesn’t happen relatively quickly, then the fish just gets wind of the boat. So it’s tough tough tough!!
But consequently this also makes it extremely rewarding. The fights can be brutal. I went very hard on the lunker last night and it still stumped and busted me. So landing any of the bigger fish, say fish over 5KG, really is an enormous challenge.
I’ve been here over 10 years now. Fished well over 3000 days, closer to 4000. I’ve certainly learned to put the shots in and expect to put 80% of my shots right on the money first opportunity and 90%+ certainly in the first two opportunities. I still work on improving my cast because I want to be better, particularly on that first shot. Most fish I catch here are with the first cast. With babies I expect to get one in three, sometimes one in four, fish into the boat. I’m working on this. There are losses, there are fish that miss the fly or fail to hook. There are a lot of elements that can go wrong! But this game for me is a shot game. It’s not like other fish species where you can put the perfect shot in first time and they don’t eat. The only time that happens here is if the fish is already spooked or (I suspect) if I’ve caught it previously and it knows to avoid poppers.
For me it is an absolutely amazing fishery. So difficult, yet so rewarding. So critical of imprecise casting, and yet, if you put the fly exactly where it should be, first time, and quickly enough, then the fish is almost certain to eat. It’s extremely addictive!!
If there is a better sight fishing shot-taking fishery then I don’t know what it is. I expect to be here another 18 months. It’s possible I’m here for one more year after. What an absolute blast it’s been.
When I first came here I thought “finally a fishery that requires the casting skills I’ve been developing!” But I was wrong and I needed to improve my skills and develop new ones. And I think they are going to be very useful in the Salt. A few years ago I found myself picking out individual Ladyfish out of bust-ups. There is no question that Giant Snakehead fishing gave me this ability.
One thing that I haven’t talked about online in the videos, that Peter ran into this trip, is change-of-angle Snakehead Shots. It’s basically aerielised Spey Casting with slipping and shooting line at every opportunity. I’ll make a video on that when I get a chance. You need it for freerisers and occasionally for babies/adults too. I’ve only taught it to a very small handful of people.
Anyway great to see Peter again. Always a blast. Fantastic first fish! Shame about the last one that stumped. Hopefully we meet again in the Wet! Peter is off chasing Sailfish in Rompin now. Me, I’m off fishing! I have a lesson tonight at 7pm and I need to make a few shots myself now and preferably get another shot at that lunker that beat me yesterday :))
Cheers,Paul
PS Peter’s T-shirt fish is the bottom left of course. Not the Facebook pose of the top left, which was actually not a Facebook pose but Peter showing me there was another hook in the fish’s mouth, which we then removed!