Paul Arden | Tuesday, 14 January 2025
As many of you will know I’ve been busy over the past years helping the Orang Asli (the local jungle inhabitants) learn about fly fishing so that they can guide anglers on their local C&R river. One of my friends, Bonhamy, has spent considerable time developing a website for them, and over the next two days I plan to help him get this website complete and live.
We are still in the Wet Season at the moment, but very soon the rains will stop and shortly after this River Tiang will be open and perfect for fishing. I hope that some of you will visit. It’s a truly wonderful experience. Mahseer behave in some ways quite similarly to trout; they eat dry flies, sometimes nymphs and small streamers, exist in runs and under shady banks, sometimes they sit out in the open and take up all sorts of positions where you would commonly find trout.
Where they differ is that they fight harder. Much harder. Typically I’ll fish 10lb tippet for these fish.
They are not easy to catch on the whole, not here anyway, but catch them you will.
The jungle is very impressive too. This part of Malaysia has never been logged and the rainforest dates back over 80 million years. It has amazing wildlife, there are even tigers around these parts, and you will likely see footprints, although we haven’t lost an angler yet.
The trip here is a camping exploration, heading upstream with the local guides. Having campfires at night, sleeping on hammocks, fishing from morning to night, with a raft trip out on the final day. It’s a remote location that only very few people are allowed to access. Access is one hour by speedboat, 45 minutes upriver by longtail, and then a hike through the jungle. You will need a moderate level of fitness to enjoy this location.
We have had lots of help from Sexyloops readers, donating tackle and helping fund their equipment through cash donations as well. We have also had sponsorship from various tackle manufacturers.
The website will be live shortly, and I look forward to welcoming you here. I will assist on the first few trips. However this is not my business and I just freely help! The local Orang Asli own and operate the business, will all monies going to the local OA guides and all profits going to their village community.
I really hope that this becomes an enormous success and a blueprint in the part of the world over what is possible through C&R fly fishing.
Here on the lake we have had some overcast, windy days. The snakehead have been behaving unusually. Hopefully things will be back to normal on Thursday when I have my next guest.
Have a great week.
Cheers, Paul