FG & KH Do 'Sebarau'land (Pergau)

photos by FG & KH

FG & KH descended upon Pergau on a freezing wet period. A big change from a week back when Jeff & I had a ball with great weather (even got sun-burnt, imagine that!). Well, FG & KH didn't need to take off their raincoats. yet alone apply any form of sunblock!

Nevertheless, the catch size was awesome! Let the pictures tell the story..

Oh, and by the way.... note those sexy, red rods.... want one? ;)

Check out the size

New colour of the Clackin' Rap 06 - Red Crawdad

Revived and released

Minnow Rap GFR was also another top producer

Tail Dancer in Chrome/Clown colour also produced the goods

Monster Sebarau! "KH: Likey my rod?" ;)

This biggie knocked the lip off the Tail Dancer

Double hookup!

This one got its tail chomped off.

'Sebarau'land - Part 2, Where Clackin' Rap reigns!

Day 2...

Jeff & I awoke to the freezing morning. Dawn had broken and it was time to ambush those Sebbies. A quick brush of teeth and off we went! Our neighbours were still asleep.

Did I mention again.... it was SUPER COLD!!!

Beautiful ain't it?

First stop: the submerged island which we fondly named 'Gilligan's Island'. There were some nice drop offs around the area which we felt were worth checking out in the morning. True enough... as the Clackin' Rap 06 Hot Steel made its way down the depths, a nice Sebarau pounced immediately onto it.

Make no mistake about it... Hot Steel was to be literally the 'hottest' lure for Day 2. Shortly after releasing the Sebbie, we made our way to the 'Alley' where many of our fishes we landed the day prior.

On the third cast in front of the bushes, the rod buckled and line spewed from the spool. I thought it was the mother of all Sebarau until it surfaced - a Toman! I was informed that Toman were around in Pergau but were not abundant as the Sebarau. This one tipped 8lb on the Boga. It was quite a nice sized one for the kind with the light, purplish hue - which were usually around the 2kg mark. Usually the bigger ones were those 'watermelon-patterned' types. Anyhow, it was a welcome catch on Clackin' Rap Hot Steel! Amazingly, the thin VMC SureSet hooks held shape!

The Toman engulfed the Clackin' Rap 06 whole!

Revived & released

The SureSet Hooks held solid

Notice the beautiful orange tail - again, on Clackin' Rap 06 Hot Steel

Later that morning, we chanced upon a fishy looking snag. Jeffroman immediately cast an Olive Clackin' Rap 06. Before he could hardly crank, the line took off and went limp! Lure was gone with leader busted.

Toman...

Not one to give up, Jeff felt we should check out other places and return to the spot later once the fish have calmed down a little. About 20mins later, we returned - Jeff clipped on a spoon and cast right into the snag. A brownish-red torpedo shot out to hit the lure but missed!

Again, we left the place and returned another 20mins later. This time, Jeff clipped on an X-Rap 08 Hot Steel. The same thing happened! The torpedo shot out but missed the lure altogether! This was getting frustrating yet extremely exciting! Jeff vowed to land the fella!

To cut the long story short, Jeff tempted the fish 6 times before he landed the biggie Sebarau from that snag on X-Rap 08 Muddler pattern! What an experience!!! We tagged the snag as "Jeffry's 6"

Check out the facial muscles!

Hip Hip Hooray for X-Rap Muddler!

It was indeed a trip of surprises and definitely one with many new things learnt for both of us newbies to Pergau. Rest assured, I will be back....

Coming up in the next posting....

FG & KH's super Sebarau trip (only 4 days after us!)

Stay tuned!

'Sebarau'land

Photos by Jeffroman

Gee... didn't realize it has been THAT long since my last post.

So I heard about this dam in Kelantan called Pergau some months back in early November. As usual, Jeffroman 'poison's me with a SMS.

"When are you back?? There's this place INFESTED with Sebarau!"

I figured by the time I head back for the holidays during New Year's eve, the fish would have already been wiped out.

And before I knew it, the Pergau spot was appearing in blogs, Facebook photo galleries, magazines and such. Reports came in fast and furious - arguably one of the better Sebarau luring spots up north of peninsular Malaysia. Too bad if the fish aren't there when I head up, I guess... but that's the only time I can make it. No earlier.

December end came...

And one early morning saw Jeffroman and myself driving up to the highland immersed in clouds.

We were finally at Pergau.

Cold morning mist. Brrrr!!

We 'checked in' to our chalet on the water. It was quite a comfortable place - with well thought of amenities such as a gas stove, mattresses, a squat toilet ensuite, carpeted floor, clothe hangers, racks and topped with even cutlery, dishes, pots, pans (ADVICE: bring your own as these can be quite filthy. Jeff & I even brought our own sleeping arrangements for fear of bedbugs inherited from goodness knows who previously slept on the mattress!).

After dropping all our supplies & stuff, we jumped onto the 12ft craft powered by a Suzuki 5HP outboard - off we went!! Woohoo! Sebarau, here we come!

We checked out all the likely spots: fallen trunks, snags, bamboo leaves jutting into the water, but the fish were just not there. Strangely enough during our 2 day stay, baitfish were hardly seen! What on earth do these fish feed on? Jeff had earlier advised (as advised to him by our Longkang Gang pirate, "Lannun": forget all you know about typical Sebarau fishing, they are not your 'usual' Sebbies.

Okayyyyy....

Don't underestimate coves such as these

Debbie the Sebbie surfaces!

My first lure of choice was the Luhr Jensen Krocodile. Ironically, I asked Jeff while driving up to Pergau...

D1: Bro, are there crocodiles in the lake?

J: Yes!

D1: Huh?! Serious?! So high up in the mountains??

D1: Yeah! When you cast out that Krocodile spoon of yours, that will be THE crocodile in the lake!

D1: *Not amused look*

Nevertheless it was THE lure I used that morning. And boy was it HAPPENING! First few casts and letting the spoon sink down near a tree stump produced an instant thump on the drop! Hookup! The Sureset hook did its namesake. SURE SET ah! A moment later, Debbie the Sebbie was landed and duly released after photos.

Close up of the Krocodile Rainbow Trout & Debbie the Sebbie

Jeffroman was also teasing fish after fish with spoons. They were not monsters, but nevertheless beautiful fish; good fun on light tackle. Somehow the minnows that usually worked did not produce that day.

Except for ...... *drum roll* RAPALA FLAT RAP!!

Jeff & myself were casting at a half submerged island. He had just landed and released a baby Sebarau when we cast together at the tip of the island where some clump of grass were. The water swirled and the line went taut! Shortly after, the beauty emerged and I proudly showed my molars again (Hmm.... Colgate should sign me up for an endorsement!)

Rapala Flat Rap ROCKS!

Released to fight another day

Of course that was not the only lure that RAWKed that day. Towards the evening, Jeffroman had a few takes on the ol' faithful Rapala X-Rap. He didn't even have to crank it - the fish whacked the lure outright when the lure landed!

Scenic rapids of Sungai Pergau

Isn't God's creation marvelous?

Like a scene from a Chinese painting

We didn't even fish really hard. Jeff & I both took it easy; we ate a lot, snacked a lot, laughed a lot and relaxed a lot on Day 1. We merely enjoyed the scenery and fresh air. Of course, fishing was a bonus!

Nightfall descended and we retired early for the day, in anticipation for an early appointment with Debbie the Sebbie.

Oh, and did I mention it was FRIGGIN' cold at night?!?!?!

To be continued...