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A night with the folks. A night to remember.

happywally

By happywally,
in Saltwater

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happywally Newbie

happywally

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hello everyone.

as most of you know, im back in Singapore for the summer break.

ive been posting my fishing reports of my new Shimano Scorpion XT setup at the game fishing pond, Fishing Paradise.
/>http://australianfishing.com.au/forum/81-overseas-reports/299403-scorpion-xt-draws-first-blood

do read that thread and enjoy.

however, not only have i been posting up pics for you guys, ive been showing them to my old folks as well.

turns out that showing them pictures of fish caught seems to cause some excitement in them :blink:

so much so that they asked me to show them the pond last night. so being a good son, i obliged :whistle:

i usually do my fishing nowadays between 12 midnight to 3am. i find that the fish are more willing to play under the cover of darkness. furthermore, there are less people there too lol.

but since both my parents have to work the next day. we agreed on an hour of fishing.

the pressure was on for me to put them onto fish :S

we reached the pond at about 1030pm, and i immediately went to work setting up the gear.

mom was walking around taking photos of the place while dad did what all dads do.... buy some beer. :P (well he bought me one so i aint complaining :laugh:)

i geared up. lines out. dad was in the meantime looking around and saying "there aint no fish here..."

Wally: "hey dad you wanna land the first fish?"

Dad: *gives me the sceptical look...*

FISH ON! a short tussel later, the first fish of the night... a good sized Patin Catfish.

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all of a sudden my old man's looking more interested... :whistle:

i walk him to another spot, line out, pass him the rod...

in the mean time im explaining what to do when the fish takes the bait, when to strike, and all the other good stuff...

after a short while of waiting... a suddenly see his line straighten and hear the unmistakable high pitched shriek of a spinning reel....

i shout for dad to strike and he goes into action...

a good sized Patin Catfish for my old man...

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Wally: congrats dad.

Dad: *muttering and smiling to himself...* "that was fun.... that was pretty fun..."

Wally: :dry: :whistle:

sadly the pond went quiet after that... but as all of you know... and can testify to... the prospect and hope of another fish just keeps you hanging on... :)

while we were waiting, my best mate (member: enzo) called me earlier and i told him what was going on. he popped by my place and picked up my Scorpion XT setup, and made his way down...

he arrived at about 12 midnight, right when the pond was quiet...

(its over an hour now... dad you've caught your fish... you need to work tmr.. mom needs to work tmr... we can always come back again... :angry:)

my theory proved correct though... i fish after 12 midnight cause thats when i believe the fish come out to play... and last night was no exception...

shortly after enzo arrived... he landed a good sized Patin Catfish too...

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in the meanwhile, dad was waiting patiently...

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i saw ripples around where his bait was... so i told him to close the bail arm and hang tight...

a few moments later, the water erupted in a big splash, followed instantaneously with the sound of a screaming reel....

he struck hard and went to work battling the fish... which was at the same time protesting by causing massive surface turbulance, headshakes and all... i knew it could only be one fish...

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the mighty Chao Phraya Giant Catfish... the second most agressive fish in the pond...

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this one was measured and weighed in at massive 8 kg... needless to say dad was immensly happy... :woohoo:

for those who are curious... the fish are netted and then dehooked by the pond attendents... then put gently back into the water after photos... but for big fish... they use those green net trays to lift the fish out of the water for photo taking... these trays are also used to rest the fish in the water after a long fight before letting it swim away... the pond and its staff pride themselves in taking great care of their fish... i even witness the staff placing his whole hand into a 6kg Chao Phraya catfish's mouth to rub salt onto a badly bleeding wound before releasing it.... :)

also. you'll notice in all pics that we're squatting... this is instructed by the attendents so that if the fish kicks and we let go... it wont fall from that great a height and hurt itself...

ok right about now... its now after 1 in the morning... and after landing such a big Chao Phraya, you'd think that Dad can go home happy... ... ... no.

he says one more. :pinch:

Mom: OEI! WE BOTH NEED TO WORK TOMORROW! :angry:

Dad: :evil:

Wally: :whistle:

thankfully... shortly after that dad hooks up and lands another decent sized Patin...

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now content with his hat trick... he and mom bid me farewell and leave... :cheer:

its now 2 am :blink:

the things fishing does to you.

some of you must be wondering where enzo is right now...

well... during all this while... he went to another spot to target the meanest baddest fish in the pond...

the mighty Redtail Catfish... the jewel of Fishing Paradise... and its official mascot...

he hooked up to 2...

the first one snapped his line

the second one he fought for a good while... as just as it was brought to the side and about to be netted...

it made one last mad dash and broke the snell at the hook. :(

so he and i sit down after mom and dad have gone off. i rig up my Scorpion XT setup and start to target the Redtails along side enzo. the pond closes at 3am, so with an hour to go, i wasnt expecting much...

i was wrong. so wrong.

i hook up to the Redtail No. 1. he straightens my #1/0 hook in 3 seconds.

i hook up to the Redtail No. 2. he snaps my line instantly.

elvine's line goes off while im tying on new leader...

did i say goes off? i meant goes off like a steam train...

he shouts in joy and starts to battle the fish... :woohoo:

i pick up the net and stand beside him...

but after 5 mins of battling the fish... i put down the net and go back to tying my leader and hook...

Wally: "call me when the battle is over..."

enzo: *grunt* *heave* *grrrrrrrrrrr*

after a long long battle...

enzo's first Redtail Catfish... weighed in at a massive 10kg...

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the setup that conquered... Megabass Destroyer Orochii X4 8-20lb rod & Shimano Scorpion XT 1500 reel

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what about me?

well.

i put my line out.

Redtail No 3. takes my bait. i battle him with all i have. even burn my thumb thumbing the line trying to stop him from running.

Resistance is futile. he runs into a structured area, and my leader gets snapped in half. :(

2.57pm. 3 mins to go til closing.

my leader is about 10cm long.

Wally: AH WHAT THE HELL! im not gonna bother changing leader.

i throw on a hook. debarb it. this is my rig.

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i bait up. and just as i put my line out, the lights at the pond go off. :angry:

i look around, and enzo and i decide to hang around for a couple of minutes.

just as i am about to reel in and call it a night.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

i instantly see my line heading for the same structure area that i lost No 3 at.

i close my eyes and strike hard. as hard as i can.

i open my eyes.

Redtail No 4. changes course and heads out towards the middle of the pond.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS :cheer: :woohoo:

GAME ON!

i battled and battled.

i gave it all i had.

the fish would put on blistering runs. and i would simultaneously blister my thumb.

but the pain didnt matter anymore. i soldier on and battled the fish.

7 times i brought him in. 7 times he ran back out to the middle of the pond. unstoppable. incredible.

he ran from the left of the pond, to the middle.

then he ran to the right, heading for another set of structure.

i used everything i had learned since i started fishing 2 years ago to turn him back.

he ran from the right of the pond back to the middle.

right about now i was screaming to enzo because my arms were like dead weights, and my thumb was on fire.

he laughed. :angry:

this awesome tug of war went on for an eternity. i thought it was never going to end.

the fish was running everywhere and spooking everything else.

we even saw a smaller fish jump right out of the water as my line zipped by...

somehow i managed to hang on and pull the fish in.

the attendents were already at the edge side with the landing tray...

i led the fish on to the tray and they hauled him gently over onto the grass.

i open my bail. breathe a sigh of relief. im trembling. my hands are literally shaking.

The Fish. The Setup. Shimano Scorpion XT 1703R 10-20lb rod & Shimano Scorpion XT 1000 reel.

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the fish was so heavy the 2 attendents had to lift it up and put it on my arms.

and instead of changing my pose for the front shot. enzo repositioned himself. i just turned my head. :lol:

final weight. 20.4kg

20.4 kg.

20.4 kg.

what a ripper :evil:

what a night

what a way to end the night.

what a way to usher in the new year.

needless to say. i was so pumped with adrenaline. i didnt sleep til 630am.

thanks for reading guys.

i hope you enjoyed this report and i apologise if its a tad too long.

cheers

Wally

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happywally Newbie

happywally

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Posted

thanks for the comments guys.

lol yeah now dad wants me to get him a rod and reel, much to mom's displeasure. :laugh:

Awesome red tails, they look good for a catty, what do you use for bait in the pond? Good reort mate B)

Bread and pork sausage (the canned ready to eat cocktail kind).

Bread floating on the surface is very quickly attacked by the Patin Catfish and the Chao Phraya Catfish.

Pork Sausage for the Redtail Catfish.

they love em.

the trick to using the bread is how you present it. if you present if right, the fish will attack.

as long as the presentation is not 100%, you'll have a hard time...

for the sausage, its about sight casting really...

i tend to look for the bubbles that appear on the surface (RTC bottom feeding...)

then cast near by and hang on tight...

as for rigs, i go line to leader to hook (much like a lure)

bread floats, and sausage sinks.

those are some pretty sweet catties wally. do they respond to lure fishing at all?

very interesting fish, i think my favourite would have to be the chao phraya giant catfish

cheers

dan

cheers mate.

yeah the Chao Phraya is an awesome fish to catch... alot of surface breaches and headshakes.... combined with long blistering runs... they are possibly my favourite too... (cause the Redtails are so hard to land... hook up to land ratio for RTCs are pretty bad...)

sadly the Fish in the pond dont respond well to lures.

HBs are nigh impossible.

SPs work to a small degree... but you almost must use white or bright coloured ones... and you have to work very hard...

not worth it if you ask me... cause you pay by the hour...

many guys ive talked to all tell me that if you wanna use lures.. you have to fish them UBER SLOWLY.

the theory is that the pond fish are fed regularly by the staff... so they've all gotten VERY VERY lazy and refuse to take fast moving lures.

so only bait or uber slow lures work. i will try out SPs before i return though.

and logically... if you're the pond fish... why chase a fast moving lure, when theres a tasty pork sausage right in front of you? :laugh:

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  • 2 weeks later...
happywally Newbie

happywally

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hey guys... seems like the dad's been thoroughly poisoned :laugh:

here are some of the catches since then...

i havent been fishing much... instead ive been the photo boy for the last couple of trips :woohoo:

Redtail Catfish:

07/01/11 - 8kg

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08/01/11 - 13kg

Dad's first Redtail Catfish! he was stoked! :cheer:

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09/01/11 - 10kg

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Chao Phraya Catfish:

01/01/11 - 1111!

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08/01/11 - Big one for mom...

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09/01/11 - My mate's first Chao Phraya on his first trip to the pond...

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11/01/11 - 10kg

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Walking Catfish

14/01/11 - 5kg

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P.S. to all those affected by the Brisbane flood... my deepest sympathies go out to you... :(

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