Hot season for prawning

Giant freshwater prawn or ‘udang galah’ can weigh as much as 500g each.

THE hot spell has brought plenty of joy to anglers who are keen on prawning – especially those seeking to catch giant freshwater prawn or udang galah.

With the scorching heat and the water level in many rivers taking a dip this dry season, the freshwater prawn or lum kong as it is popularly called, congregate in more dense areas along the riverbank to hunt for food, giving anglers a better opportunity to get a good catch.

While there has not been a bountiful catch in many of the popular and favourite spots among anglers across the country this season, their catches are not too poor either, with many sizeable blue claw prawns being pulled out of the rivers in recent weeks.

Catching these giant prawns is an art and requires patience.

It is not an easy task like fishing, where one just casts the line and waits for the fish to take the bait.

A lone angler prawning in the middle of a river.

In prawning, one has to feel the line and wait for the slow tug or pull by the prawn as it nibbles the bait slowly with its soft mouth.

And like a crane, one has to lift up the rod slowly and reel in the tiny spinning reel to lift the catch as it is met with resistance by the prawns peddling backwards.

A sudden tug or jerk could damage the prawn’s delicate mouth, spoiling the chance to land the catch. As such, one has to move slowly, like in tai chi.

In prawning, one also uses more than one rod to increase the catching rate.

But this can be tricky, especially when there are double or triple catches at one go.

A special motorised gadget is used to tie a 2lb line to the tiny hook used for prawning. This device can be found in local tackle shops.

I picked up prawning from my buddy Sam Cheong some 25 years ago and we used to travel around the country together in search of giant prawns.

There were many success stories between us and in our adventures along the riverbanks, we also encountered crocodiles on many occasions.

The catches back then were also plentiful. In many cases, we caught more than we could eat. But today, such record catches are history.

The catching rates are much lower compared with yesteryear.

The dwindling catch is attributed to river pollution, where toxic effluents are discharged into the waterway, killing or reducing the prawn population drastically as

the crustacean is sensitive to the water salinity.

The one that did not get away, a giant blue prawn caught with a rod.

To prepare for such an outing, an ultralight rod with a 4lb line on a tiny reel is recommended.

A short leader, attached to a small hook, between size four and seven, is needed for the job.

The hook, attached with a common snell knot, is tied to the leader.

But the task to tie a 2lb or 4lb line to the tiny hook can be a big challenge for any angler.

Worms, chicken liver and even guppy fish are used as bait to catch these prawns.

The art of handling a soft light rod, balancing the tug of war between the prawn and spinning gear, is an important element here.

For those who are keen on prawning, they can head to Kuala Selangor to start their adventure or travel north to Sungai Dulang or Slim River in Perak, or head to Rompin in Johor for some river fun.

Happy prawning.

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