A fly-fisherman working a spot on a canal in Batu Kawan, Penang.
A group of fly-fishermen, members of the Perak Fly Fishing Syndicate (PFFS), learned that after formally registering their society, they gained surprising benefits.
They formed PFFS in 2017 and held workshops and coaching sessions for friends to learn this 2,000-year-old art.
Learning to shoot fly lines is usually done on a grass field, and the sight of people in community football fields whipping rods to make brightly coloured fly lines form large overhead loops drew attention. (No hooks are at the end of their lines during practice.)
More people wanted to learn, and even kampung folk, where PFFS members go fishing in Perak, began to try fly-fishing.
“Then state government officers liked seeing our community activities.
“They wanted to provide support, even funds, to make our events more meaningful, and they suggested that we register our society,” said Hafizal Hazeri, the group’s vice-president.
On Dec 29, 2021, they became the Pertubuhan Pemancing Layang Negeri Perak (PPM-007-08-29122021), though they still socially call themselves PFFS.
Then the really fun part began.
“Fly-fishing tackle businesses were happy to sponsor our events.
“It is complicated for businesses to support informal groups because companies answer to shareholders and auditors, but since we are a registered society, it is an official process,” explained Hafizal.
Internationally renowned fishing tackle distributors and retailers supplied PFFS with rods, reels, lures, fly-tying material, and more.
“So when we hold fly-tying competitions, for example, our society offers exciting prizes that attract highly skilled participants to join,” Hafizal added.
Groups interested in registering their societies can refer to the Malaysian Registrar of Societies’ website, www.ros.gov.my.
The quality of the sponsorships was evident during the 2023 Northern Fly Fishers Tarpon Challenge, organised by PFFS and Sahabat Pancing Layang Utara on Oct 7 in Penang.
They had a table full of fishing paraphernalia as prizes for contestants.
A good-sized tarpon.
The Indo-Pacific tarpon found in Malaysia’s brackish and freshwater rivers and ponds is not an easy fish to catch.
Though it can grow to about 50cm long, it is not a voracious predator and is really an opportunistic feeder of tiny fish, insects and crustaceans.
This makes the fish a fine target for fly-fishermen, who can present tiny flies weighing as little as 0.01gm to the fish, something nearly impossible to do with other fishing techniques.
Forty-three fly-fishermen from Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor took part in the tarpon challenge.
The Gurgler, weighing less than 1g.
The tournament’s base was in the Bandar Cassia community hall on mainland Penang, and contestants had a choice of three fishing zones (rivers and canals in Batu Kawan, Bukit Tambun and Jawi).
To keep it simple, the winning factor was just fish length: those with the longest tarpons won.
Contestants only needed to snap a photo of their tarpon laid on top of the official measuring tape; they did not need to go through the mess of bagging their catches and hauling them back to the tournament base.
The top three winners with the longest tarpon, Mohd Fazli Ramli (46cm), Mohd Hamirat Hassan (43cm) and Muhamad Hisham Salleh Huddin (43cm), went home as proud owners of premium baitcasting reels, sponsored by an international fishing tackle distributor.
All other contestants won something too, because there were enough sponsored prizes for everyone.
The Crazy Charlie, weighing less than 0.5g.
Fly-fishermen are sometimes labelled as “classy anglers”, in part because of a book first published in 1726 titled The Gentleman Angler, which had many hand drawings depicting well-dressed fly-fishermen, even in jackets and neckties, wading in streams.
Reprinted many times over the centuries, it reinforces the culture of fly-fishermen wearing smart and sporting outfits to reflect the dignity of their sport, since the technique itself requires patience and concentration to execute deliberate, well-timed strokes of the rod to send a weighted line and nearly weightless fly out a good distance.
Years ago, said PFFS president Rizal Effendi, fly-fishing tackles were prohibitively costly.
“A good fly rod would cost well over RM1,000. It used to be something like a rich man’s sport.
“But not anymore. With modern technology and materials, the gear has become affordable.
“We fly-fish along shallow rivers in small towns and kampung all over Perak, so we attract the locals to learn.
“It is wonderful to see even kampung folk becoming fly-fishermen,” said Rizal.
