Lake torpedo

Met up with Charlie after the Jazz Fest.

This fishing spot is kind of a secret. Would not usually withold a location, but this case is by request, so I shall...

Picked up the ciggies and Kopi Tarik for bribes from the mamak's on the way there...yes, bribery was required to get in...

Bait was frogs picked up from Chai Leng Park while on route to Ipoh earlier in the day...

And we were set!

Fishing went ok, with a few strikes on my frog, but no solid hookups...After awhile, Charlie was first up with a decent sized Haruan...

About and hour later, the toll from the day began to set in...body became lethargic and useless...i put my rod down for the night...cursing, but i just couldnt continue...

Immediately after, Charlie hooks onto a torpedo. On relatively light setup, this fish was pounding the equipment...Maybe it was the unexpected strike of something so massive, or just a bad hookup, but charlie tried locking his drag down, which resulted in him losing that fight.

During the excitement, i was lively again, cheering on the fight...with the loss of that round, my body reverted into shutdown mode again...Charlie was determined to get another go at that monster, but i decided to crawl to a spot on the ground and catch a few Zzzs.

I woke a shortwhile later to the sound of a reel being pummeled by abuse again...Charlie had another hookup! Sweet...watched him fight awhile, adrenaline now keeping me awake...Cheered him on a bit, then he did something i wasnt prepared for in my semi-comatose state of mind...he passed me the rod!!

I guess he thought this was definitely a fight i wanted in on...I humbly accepted of course :)

I would have been just as happy if Charlie fought it, but i thank him greatly for offering me the thrill of that fight...After playing the monster down for a bit, and tiring it out, we could finally identify it...a Patin!! and a fine specimen at that!

Having not had Patin for awhile, we discussed 'catch & release' or 'makan'...finally agreeing on taking this one specimen for eats, we proceeded to bag it. I estimated the weight between 6 to 7 Kilos...

Heres a pic from weigh-in at the market where i got it gutted and cut. I underestimated the weight.

This will be officially the LAST Patin i take home tho...not because it tasted bad, in fact it was damn tasty!...but this fish has more fat chunks than a pork trotter!...Its one of those fish you could probably eat once every 2 years or so, without feeling you have over-indulged...this is one fatty fish!!! Dinner for 12 with just a third of the fish at the restaurant that night with the gang...a Fish Head Curry and Steamed Fish dish.

The rest went to my momma...cos shes a sam-chan (pork fat) fan too! :)