Paul Arden | Monday, 3 June 2024
Andy is unwell today, so I’m covering. I hope he gets well soon. Yesterday I posted on YouTube a video of a Giant Gourami I landed. First in a while!! And my first big one in a couple of years! Unfortunately the batteries in my electronic scales had died. I did use a BogaGrip rip-off to weigh the net and fish together, and then the net. Fish was over 4KG but under 4.5. A good one anyway. Any Giant Gourami here over 4KG is a serious fish. And this one was an absolute stunner. Excellent condition and a really nice light colouration.
I have huge respect for Gourami. That doesn’t stop me fishing for them of course! They have more personality than any other fish I know, which largely don’t have personality! I know this because I always keep a small one in the Battleship aquarium. They are never the same, and they all exhibit what I would describe as intelligence.
I got seriously interested in them when Dirk had a 5 minute refusal. I’d never seen a fish look at a fly for five minutes before. I haven’t seen it since either, but 1-2 minutes can occur regularly with these fish. Yesterday’s fish however just ate the fly. You can’t see it on the video but the shot was perfect. I actually went “ooh” when the fly landed. It’s difficult at distance particularly with fish that swims randomly around at the surface. These fish like to hear the fly land gently, they like to find the rings coming off the fly, but they don’t like seeing it land or the line in the air. It’s a very difficult cast :))) Too close they blow up. Too far and they don’t find the fly. Talk about pressure!!
Earlier in the evening I found another fish near the surface too (which was why I went looking for this one). Today I’ll see if I can find the first fish again – they are territorial, so if the fish is up and feeding again then I’ll find him in the same small bay. This other fish was also a big one. That fight, if I hook it, will be technical.
It’s a different type of fishing looking for Gourami. Different places to find them from Snakehead (usually) and you are looking for a fish up and feeding, cruising near the surface and they are spooky as fuck! I really love it because these adults are 4-5KG and eat dry flies, usually around size 10. That to me is just wonderful fly fishing and totally different to throwing poppers to Snakehead. The contrast between these two challenging species really for me makes Malaysia a very special place to fish, and totally unlike anywhere else I’ve fished. No doubt it’s the same in Thailand and some other neighbouring countries.
The second Gourami I caught on this lake, which was back in September 2015, was perhaps the most meaningful fish I have caught. It’s certainly in my top ten. And opened the door to catching fish like yesterday’s. Between my first and second Gourami there was more than 12 months of frustration and 9 fish hooked and lost. Numerous times I would spend all week fishing for them, looking for them, and catching zilch. Many days were spent not finding any Gourami at all… Snakehead yes, but I was ignoring those! And then when I did find one, and actually got an eat, I would then lose the bastard within ten seconds. Yes, those were interesting times!!!
I really need to tie some flies and start putting in almost all my shots. I need to up my casting game again slightly. Water temp has dropped, there are no babies, but there are shots to be had and this “summer” fishing to me is some of the best on the lake. Bring it on!!
Busy week ahead. Lessons every day apart from Friday at the moment. But I’m sure that will change and I’ll be teaching on Friday too. Back again tomorrow with a video for the Fly Casting Manual.
Cheers, Paul