A perfect loop unfurls against the blue sky, the timeless rhythm of fly fishing.
On a still morning in Sungai Kampar, as mist rises off the water, one can glimpse a flash of silver just beneath the surface.
A flick of the tail, streaked with red, and it vanishes again.
It’s the lampam – the local tinfoil or tail-fold barb.
A lampam weighing 1.1kg, lifted out from Sungai Kampar before being released back into the wild.
For villagers along this river, some 50km from Ipoh, the lampam has long been part of their diet, fried crisp with sambal or cooked in curry.
But for a growing group of fly-fishing anglers, it has become something more.
For eight years, the Perak Fly Fishing Syndicate (PFFS), a local angling community, has worked to turn this humble, overlooked river fish into an icon.
It’s not just about sport, they say,
but about reshaping how people see the river, the community around it and the fish itself.
A triumphant smile with a prized lampam, the jewel of Malaysian fly-fishing.
Members have spent hours waist-deep in water, testing different flies, documenting catches and spreading the word.
Today, Sungai Kampar is on the global fly-fishing map. Anglers from around the world now travel here to try their luck at catching lampam – not a rare or endangered species, but one now prized for the fight it puts up.
Thanks to a stocking programme backed by local fishing authorities and stronger community awareness, lampam numbers are healthy and sustainable. The river has also become an engine for eco-tourism.
Villagers run homestays, small resorts and campsites for visiting anglers, while local youths – once just kids splashing in the river – have grown into part-time guides, proudly sharing knowledge of their home waters.
With its gleaming silver scales, forked tail lined with gold or red and coin-like eyes, the lampam is a striking fish.
Anglers wading waist-deep into the current to chase the lampang.
The Lampam Jawa is usually palm-sized and weighs only a few hundred grams. But the Lampam Merah, with its fiery crimson tail fin, can top 1kg – a pound-for-pound fighter with surprising stamina.
Hook one on light tackle and it won’t surrender easily.
Just when the line feels tight and the catch seems tamed, the reel screams as the fish bolts downstream, zig-zagging across the current to shake the hook.
In their search for holding pools, fly fishers move quietly along the sandy shallows.
Some say the fight feels 10 times the fish’s weight. Even as it nears the net, it often finds one last surge of rage, twisting and darting in a desperate bid for freedom.
Land one and you’ll beam all day. Lose it, and you’ll be haunted all week.
Fly-fishing for lampam isn’t just about casting from the bank. It’s about wading waist-deep, feeling the stones underfoot and the current pressing at your legs.
Sharing the river with water buffaloes is a classic Sungai Kampar fly-fishing scene.
It’s about skill – the delicate placement of the fly, the way it drops onto the water to mimic a drifting insect.
Too fast or too stiff and the fish will turn away. Get it right and you’ll see that silver flash, feel the sudden tug and the rush of adrenaline.
If western anglers boast of their trout, Kampar can now hold up its lampam as a worthy rival. The thrill lies not only in the fish’s strength but also in the finesse it demands – manoeuvring, tricking and finally landing it.
But the lampam’s rise is about more than fishing. It’s a story of rediscovery – of finding new value in what has always been there.
Brightly-tied nymphs are small but deadly, crafted to tempt river fish.
PFFS has helped transform the lampam into a symbol of sustainable tourism, community pride and simple joy: a small fish that fights far above its weight.
The lampam may never reach the mythic status of trout. But this tail-fin jewel of Perak gives Sungai Kampar a new identity, the community new hope and anglers everywhere a reason to wade into its waters.
Know your lampam:
Lampam (Tail-fold barb)
• A common freshwater fish found across Malaysian rivers and lakes.
• Recognisable by its silver body, forked tail and golden shimmer along its scales.
• Typically weighs between 300g and 700g.
• Omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, algae and small insects, which makes it a natural fit for fly patterns.
• Hardy and not endangered, making it a sustainable sport-fishing target.
Lampam merah (Red-fin barb)
• A distinct variety of lampam with bright crimson fins and tail.
• Prized by anglers for its size and strength, with record catches exceeding 1kg.
• Known for its aggressive fight, often making sudden, powerful runs that test an angler’s skill.
• Considered the “trophy catch” of Sungai Kampar fly-fishing.
