Revisit: Kolam Mancing Harmoni

Paypond:  Kolam Pancing Harmoni

Location: Pulau Meranti, Puchong

Date: 24th March 2019

Time: 10am - 6pm

Directions: Just Waze- Kolam Pancing Harmoni

The Revisit series focuses on reviewing some of the ponds that I have previously visited to give my readers an update on the ponds that I frequently visited. Kolam Pancing Harmoni has been my go-to fishing pay pond ever since I picked up fishing. I have been a regular customer for almost 3 years now. Click here if you want to read about my first visit there.

The entry payment is still the same, RM 30 per rod for 8 hours of fishing. One of the reasons why I like this pond is that the payment is very reasonably priced. Even better, recently the owner has made an update to the pond regulations: For every fish that you catch that is 9kg and above, a RM 10 reward is given to you. The reward has no limit, as long as the fish you landed is brought to the weighing counter with a net and the rod you used to catch it, leaving the hook in the fishes' mouth as a proof of catch; or "boll" as we anglers call it.

A "boll" means that the fish is caught with the hook in its mouth, a sign that your bait has been successfully eaten by the fish. A foul hook (fish caught with hook attached to anywhere of its body except its mouth) however, will not be rewarded.

The pond has been renovated and more sheds have been added to the pond. The ground has also been cemented so that anglers do not have to walk through muddy soil to get to the sheds. 

Across the pond from my shed are the newly constructed sheds.

If you look closely, there are a few more new sheds on the left across the pond.

During the trip, I caught my first Asian Big Head Carp, a.k.a. Tongsan using a V-Rig with marshmallow baited with Butterscotch bread. Learn more about the V-Rig here. Besides that I have also managed to claim a RM 10 reward once with a 9.915 kg Patin. Close call!

New species! Tongsan carp. 

Just managed to squeeze into the reward weight range of 9kg and above.

The fish that won me RM 10.

The Patin was caught using pellets as bait. Learn more about how to catch Patin catfish here. I landed a total of 5 fish throughout my 8 hour session here. Not the best session but at least I didn't leave home empty handed. 

Strawberry infused 6363 pellets with a bomb V-rig.

All in all, this pond has received very good reviews from many freshwater pay pond anglers, including myself. Just avoid coming on Fridays and weekends if you are a novice because the crowd can sometimes be too overwhelming.

Tight lines and until next time,

Wisey.

Catch Report: Kolam Pancing Seksyen 24

Paypond: Kolam Pancing Seksyen 24

Location: Seksyen 24, Shah Alam

Date: 3rd February 2019

Time: 5.30 am - 5.30 pm

Directions: Waze - Kolam Pancing Seksyen 24

Report:

Continuing my hunt for a pay pond to be my new regular spot, I have finally decided to give the reputable Kolam Pancing Seksyen 24 a try. This pay pond has a reputation among fresh water anglers for having big Mekong Giant Catfish in it.

The pond is operated 24 hours a day. Anglers can fish for 12 hours with a fee of RM35 per pond, abiding by a strictly CnR policy. Anglers are rewarded with RM10 for every fish above 11kg during weekends. 

Given that I have already known in advance that the pond will be crowded during weekends, I have decided to visit the pond as early as 5.30 am. Even then, as I walked in, the pond was PACKED. I am talking about one rod stand (rod holder) staked to the ground every 2 feet along the perimeter of the pond. I could barely get a spot! 

Entrance of pond. No specific signs of any sorts but you know you're heading to the right place when you see a large pond.

Parking area packed with cars. Imagine the amount of anglers within. Photo taken later in the day when lighting was better.

Counter and weighing area.

Ticket given to anglers upon payment.

At last I found a spot at the corner of the pond near one of the aerators. The pond was large, about the size of a football field:

Right side of pond from my spot.

 

Left side of pond from my spot. As you can see it is a fairly large pond.

I started off by using cut pieces of walking catfish (keli fish) as bait. I heard that the High fin catfish (Chaopraya Catfish) here bite very well on cut pieces of keli. 

2 whole catfish that I bought at a supermarket. Pretty wallet friendly price.

I requested the fishmonger to chop it up into small pieces.

Hook, line, sinker. Nothing special required to catch the Chaopraya catfish.

I tried to use a float initially. It got a few good bites but no hookup. I switched to a bottom presentation afterwards but again, I can clearly see something tapping on the line but nothing really pulled drag from my spool. The fishes usually just give my line a quick, short tug and then dropped the bait again. It seems that they are very hook shy. A fellow angler next to me had better luck catching the Chaopraya catfish with chicken skin on a float. 

I noticed during the early morning, the Chaopraya catfish would congregate at the foam created by the aerators, their high fins giving away their positions. A few anglers casted their bait with a float at the foam and let it drift down, but it wasn't productive despite having their baits drifting just in front of the fishes. I guess the fishes are just not in the mood to feed. 

There is one of this aerators on each corner of the pond. Chaopraya catfish tend to gather near the aerators when they are switched on.

I tried to fish with cut bait until roughly 12 pm when I decided to switched to Strawberry flavoured pellets with a floated V-rig to try to catch the Patin and Mekong instead. I got a solid tug at roughly 2pm, and my rod almost got pulled into the water! Luckily I managed to get to my rod in time to grab the base of the rod. After setting the hook, I fought the fish for a while before losing it. Oh well, there is just something wrong my hook ups... I have experienced multiple incidents where I hook up, fight the fish for a while before losing it, and I have yet to find out the reason why.  

I attribute the reason why my rod almost got pulled into the water to my rod holder being staked too shallow into the ground. When the fished pulled, the rod holder got ripped out of the ground and sent my rod dragging on the bank towards the pond! I was lucky I managed to recover both. I was told that other anglers aren't as lucky as I was.

By the time I ran out of bait, it was roughly 5.30 pm. I headed home after that without landing any fish. As we fellow anglers would say, Bangau.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts:

There is definitely fish in the pond. Anglers around me have been hooking up to fish and some are in excess of 10 kg. There are good fish in here. There is a reason why the pond is renowned among fresh water anglers. I think I should have been more patient with my fishing. If you want to catch Chaopraya catfish, bring cut pieces of Tilapia or Keli and fish it on the bottom. Leave the bait for 1 hour before checking it. You will eventually hook up. To catch Mekong and Patin, you really need some knowledge in flavoring your bread and pellets as the waters here are heavily pressured and you need to change up your flavours every now and then. The counter offers pre-soaked pellets at the price of RM 10 per kg. Anglers are known to purchase it and then flavour it with their own flavours as the pellet itself isn't flavoured. 

All in all, the pond operators really do have the anglers in mind. The counter serves also as a mini tackle shop; selling hooks, leaders, and baits of any kind. I personally find the soaked pellets being available as a plus as it saves us time soaking it beforehand and new anglers who are not so good at soaking pellet type baits can just purchase it ready made.

Not catching a fish on my first visit to a fresh water pond is within my expectations. Fresh water pond is unlike a salt water pay pond, where you just change your bait from fish to shrimp to squid depending on the fishes' mood. Fresh water pay pond fishing involves flavouring your bait, be it bread or pellet or flour mixture. The "setting" of the flavours, as we anglers call it; takes a few visits and asking around the regular customers to figure out. 

Definitely worth a second visit, and the knowledge learned from this trip will be applied on my next visit so that I won't leave empty handed. This trip has been very insightful to me; a relatively new angler. Just a tip, avoid coming on weekends.

Tight lines until next time,

Wisey.

Catch Report: Kolam Memancing Tangkas

Paypond: Kolam Memancing Tangkas

Location: Kampung Sungai Tangkas, Kajang

Date: 22nd February 2019

Time: 2.15pm - 7.15pm

Directions: Waze - Kolam Memancing Tangkas

Report:

Ever since Kolam Memancing Harmoni has been closed till further notice, I am on the hunt for a new paypond to make it my regular spot. Kolam Memancing Tangkas has been the first for me to try out. 

The operating hours and payment of the pond are as follows:

Monday to Thursday: 2.00 PM - 2.00 AM

Friday to Sunday: 2.00 PM - 4.00 AM

Payment is RM 25 per rod for 3 hours or RM 30 per rod for 5 hours of fishing. Every additional hour costs RM 5. It is strictly CnR here; however, anglers are rewarded if they catch certain species of fish heavier than the weight set by the pond. Rewards include cash prizes, additional fishing time and hampers. Each species has their own rewarding weight.

Entry was easy to identify as you drive up to the pond:

You know you're in the right place once you see this sign.

View of Entrance Area. A small gate leads into the pond.

First impression of the pond? Rather small. The pond is roughly the size of a futsal court. Sheds were set up along the banks for the comfort of anglers:

View of back end of pond from my shed. I sat in a shed around the midpoint of the pond.

View of entrance and entry counter from my shed.

I started by using plain white bread cut into 1cm by 1cm cubes as bait paired with a floating V-Rig. Learn more about my favourite rig here. 

The floating V-Rig. Used a marshmallow as my float as use of floats and bobbers were not allowed in this pond. 

I used plain white bread first as I didn't want to waste time without my bait in the water. In the meantime I am cutting up more bread and adding some artificial flavours to them.

Crushed dried breadcrumbs. You can make your own by drying bread crusts under the sun and crushing them into fine pieces.

Once the breadcrumbs are added to the cubed bread pieces, I added some banana essence and mixed them together by hand.

Also added some strawberry emulco syrup. You can make a bomb rig by packing more cubes of bread around a hook baited with cubed bread.

Using Chinu type hooks. I find them to be more forgiving compared to conventional J-hooks.

As I was cutting up more bread, I noticed that there are a lot of small bait fish pecking at my bread when using a floating rig. From my observations, there are a lot of small tilapia living in this pond, like A LOT. They pecked at my bait till the marshmallow came detached with my line and the bread packed around the hook were all eaten up. I then switched to plain bread with a bottom rig set-up to avoid bait being stolen by the small fishes as they tend to dwell more on the surface.

While preparing and flavouring the bread, the line was suddenly peeling off my rod! I had a fish on! Plain bread, second cast, and within the first 20 minutes of fishing? The odds were phenomenal. The fish was darting really quickly so I assumed it was a small one.  I fought it for about a minute before it popped off.  Oh well, these things do happen. 

Fighting the fish for a brief moment before losing it.

I recasted with my fully prepared strawberry flavoured bread. Again with a bottom rig. I let it sit for rougly 15 to 20 minutes each time before I rebaited. A dry spell hit me as I go fishless for hours.

At about 4pm, I just couldn't take it anymore. I decided to do some hand lining while my bait sits in the water. I noticed a lot of tilapia were feeding close to the bank. I baited some small hooks with bread and casted it out by hand and held the line with my hands. It didn't take long for them to show up:

Caught using a hand line. 

Some type of tilapia or cichild. I can't be sure. Let me know what species it is in the comments if you do!

Most payponds condone you pole fishing or hand line fishing by the bank without extra payment, but be sure to ask the operators! Such types of fishing can be a small break from your main fishing as they give you something to do while waiting for the bigger fish to take the bait from your main rod. It also does the paypond a small favour by eliminating small fishes from the pond so that they do not disturb anglers' baits (which this pond needs to work on big time).

Another one; barely hooked.

I gave my hand line catches to a local boy who seems to be also hunting for small tilapia at the same pond. My guess is that those fish are to be consumed.

By roughly 6pm, my line went tight again and I finally hand another fish on! It too came off the hook after a short fight. I think I didn't set the hook hard enough by jerking the rod straight upwards after the fish has taken the bait, the hook isn't embedded in the fish's mouth deep enough and it gives them a chance to spit the hook by violently shaking their head. Tough luck, despite using Chinu hooks instead of J-hooks, things like this will still happen so be sure to set your hook right.

At about 7pm, as I was reeling in my line to change baits, I realized that I has snagged something. It was fighting back by pulling out line! It turns out I accidentally snagged a Patin by its tail:

Even I was surprised. 7.38 kg Patin snagged.

I took it to the weighing counter anyway. It was 7.38 kg in weight. Not my biggest fish but hey at least I ended the fishing session with a good note. I packed up and left after that since I ran out of bait as well.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts:

The pond lacked fish activity on the surface, i.e. there were not many fishes "boiling" on the surface of the pond. Patin catfish are known to do that and the lack of "boils" tells me either there is not much Patin catfish in the pond; or they could be inactive due to the hot weather. The operator also did not turn on the agitator (pump) for the pond throughout the pond's operation. I think this could be the main reason Patin are not "boiling" on the surface due to lack of dissolved oxygen in the pond. Since I hooked up twice, I think that there are fish in the pond, just that they are not active enough. The water quality seemed decent. My only comment is that there are too many, like WAY TOO MANY bait fish sized tilapia disturbing my bait when using a floating rig. I advise anglers to switch to a bottom presentation to avoid them stealing all your bait. I hope the operators could take notice of this and address the issue. It is not fair to say that a paypond is not worthy of visiting based on one sole fishless visit. I might just come back and try a variety of different baits before jumping into conclusions.

Until then, tight lines and until next time,

Wisey

Update: Back From Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I apologize as I have not updated my site for a long while for the year of 2018. This is due to my commitments in college.  After about a year long hiatus, I am back bringing you the best content related to Malaysian paypond fishing!

Throughout the time I was not blogging, I was either engaged with my studies and you guessed it, fishing! I have been a frequent and regular visitor of Kolam Mancing Harmoni, Puchong. You can read my catch report about my first time here.

The fish have been bigger and the fishing has always been consistent. I have yet to go home empty handed. I use mainly either flavoured bread or 6363 feed pellets as my primary bait. 

Unfortunately, to my dismay; Kolam Mancing Harmoni has been closed till further notice due to unforeseen circumstances. So is the nearby Kolam Pancing A-Park which I have yet to have the privilege to review. I am currently looking for a paypond that offers the same rate as Harmoni so if you happen to know one, do let me know in the comments below!

I have updated to blog with a Rig section, do head on over to check out my favourite type of rig to catch the Patin catfish. The V-Rig works with almost any type of bait fishing, salt or freshwater, as long as you size your hook accordingly to your target species. Expect to hear more from me in the near future.

Tight lines and until next time,

Wisey

Catch Report: Empangan Sungai Air Kuning, Taman Botani Negara, Shah Alam

Paypond:  Empangan Sungai Air Kuning (EAK)
Location: Taman Botani Negara, Shah Alam
Date: 9th August 2016
Time: 10.30am - 1.30pm
Directions: Just Waze- Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam and proceed to the dam via car referring to the map provided at the entrance

Report:
Firstly, the location of the paypond itself has caused many confusions. The location I visited has many names, such as Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam, Bukit Cerakah, Taman Botani Negara, and Taman Pertanian Negara. All these refer to the same venue, but the park itself covers a large area. What we are interested in is the dam located in the heart of the botanical garden.

The dam splits the pond into 2 locations, the upper dam and lower dam. At the time of writing I chose to fish at the upper dam, as fish there are smaller. I brought my ultra light set-up and did not want to go home with a broken rod or reel like the last time at Harmoni's. The lower dam has bigger fish, but covers a larger area as well. The upper dam pond spans the area of about 3 to 5 football fields, and is a large area to cover. Boats are available to be rented but you can only use a paddle as it does not come with a motor.

The species of fish available here are typical paypond fishes, with the exception of rohu, there are Patin, Pacu, Keli, Tilapia, Amazonian Red-tailed Catfish, Snakeheads (Toman or Haruan), and Peacock Bass. The upper dam consists mainly of Pacu, so prepare your wire rigs or add a pin or snap clip-swivel before the hook to avoid your line getting bitten off. It is heard that a 9kg Pacu roams these waters so your main line has to be up for the job. I brought a 35-lb mono-filament main line and even the small guys could break it a few times.

Being a strictly CnR pond, your catch must always be released no matter the weight. I recommend using hooks with no barb on it to ease the releasing process. It is relatively cheap, at RM30 per rod with another RM10 for every additional rod, you can fish here from the opening hours to the closing time. The pond's operational hours are as follows:

Tuesday to Sunday: 8.30AM to 5.30PM
The dam is closed on Mondays, except for School and Public Holidays.

Anglers are not rewarded in any way if they land a fish. Not even a leader-board is set up. However, the best part of fishing here is that you don't need to wait long before something takes your bait. The fishes are are wild and not fed. So they will eat almost anything. I brought chicken hotdogs as bait. Cut up into small dice-shaped pieces and left them out of the fridge overnight for the smell to develop. You can use plain bread, they'll take it even if it's unflavored with the usual paypond friendly Pandan or strawberry flavors. But the best bait here is fresh chicken intestines or gizzard.

I cycled up to the dam, made my payment, and got to work instantly. Setting up the rod is quick with my telescopic ultra light rod. I tried casting a few plastic lures to test the waters as the pond allows the use of artificial lures. No luck. Switched to the classic "Bait-n-Wait" game, hooked some hotdog pieces to a 2 hook set-up, cast in the middle, and not long after, I already have bites on the bait, but it took a few more minutes before the hook is taken and I have a fish on. Reeled him in and it was a Pacu. In under 10 minutes! They are smart fishes though, as they will dive for cover then hooked, and will swim around pillars and logs to snag your line, so be sure to control their direction when fighting them, I lost a few fish from such quick maneuvers. Nonetheless, the 3 hours I spent there got me 4 Pacus with a few more lost from line snagging or my 60-lb mono leader being bitten off. It is recommended that you cast further in the pond, past the midway point, as they are known to hide further into the dam.

I finished using my bait and proceeded to the Tempered-Garden, another of the parks attractions.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts:
Very positive review of this pond. Being in a national botanical garden, it is as close to nature as it can be. A very good place to start fishing and learning the essentials as fish here eat almost anything you throw at them, and you don't have to wait for long before something takes the hook.

Photo Gallery:

Panoramic view of lake.

The jetties, fishes will dive under and snag your lines to be careful when fishing here.

Bikes parked near the shade.

View of entrance from shade.

Pacu teeth.

Bait used: chicken hotdogs.

View of entrance area.

Me about to release a Pacu.

Catch Report: Kolam Pancing Harmoni, Pulau Meranti, Puchong

Paypond:  Kolam Pancing Harmoni
Location: Pulau Meranti, Puchong
Date: 4th August 2016
Time: 1pm - 7pm
Directions: Just Waze- Kolam Pancing Meranti Unggul, it's the old name for the pond.

Report:
Being a frequent visitor of a neighboring paypond, J&J Fishing Grounds, I've decided to visit another paypond further to the south of Puchong as the fishing got harder and harder at J&J's. Rumor has it the owner pours chemicals into the ponds to reduce the fishes' appetite. Therefore, I ventured to Harmoni, a paypond where it's abundant with Patin and the occasional Pacu. For the Rohu people, this pond isn't really for you as they rarely release Rohus here.

The pond's operational hours are as below:
Mon-Thurs: 1PM - 6AM
Fri: 3PM- 6AM
Weekends: 10AM - 6 AM

The pond has a rate of RM30 per 8 hours. Although it may sound like a great deal, the pond is strictly Catch and Release, and anglers are not rewarded when they catch any fish. However, there is a monthly leaderboard with a cash prize of RM200 to RM1500 for the top 10 heaviest fish caught. I went there a few days before the board was renewed, and to get into the board you need to land a 9kg Patin. So it's relatively feasible for most experienced anglers.

The pond is roughly the size of 2 football fields, with a figure-8 shape. The environment there is rather quiet and pristine. A good place to fish for long hours with a few friends. Large space with lots of shade provided. A shop was set up nearby providing the usual 'Mamak Stall' drinks and dishes, so if you're planning to fish the whole 8 hours you don't have to worry about going hungry.

The bait I brought here was Pandan flavoured bread, as fish pellets in ball form are banned throughout the pond. You can still use groundbait (dedak) though. I noticed that flour and oil mixture works best as bait here, especially flavored with Pandan. Strawberry flavoured bread or dedak isn't as rewarding, but be reminded that fishes change their appetite from time to time too.

Throughout my time here, the fishing was slow in the first few hours. Approaching my last few hours, I caught a huge Patin but it snapped my 30-lb line as I was landing it. As I reset and cast my bait again, within a few minutes I got a fish on, this time it feels like a Pacu. However, this time my reel handle snapped. Oh well, it's a cheap ultra light reel I got off TaoBao with a 2 meter telescopic rod anyway. Me and a few fellow anglers I've just met tried to hand-line the monster in, but the line still snapped. Guess it's time to change that mono line with the reel as well....

Before I knew it, I realized that I had ran out of bait, even though I prepared a whole loaf of bread for it. By that time it was 7 PM. Even though it was 2 hours away from my end time, I decided to pack up and leave while there is a bit of daylight left.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts:
The pond is a great place to fish if you're a Patin junkie like myself, however, don't underestimate the size of fishes here. So be reminded, if you're planning to come here bring along your big guns, heavy rods and a better reel with high poundage line. The owner boasts of a 16-kg Patin roaming in these waters. For more details on my bait, refer to the How To Catch: Patin section.

Photo Gallery:

Entrace Area.

View of pond from my stand.

Another view of the pond.

Left view of Pond.

View of pond from entrance.

Tight lines and until next time,
Wisey

Greetings

Welcome to Wisey's Paypond Fishing Guide. Always wanted to try fishing but only had the chance to do so recently? This blog provides a step to step guide on how to fish in Malaysian payponds. Already know the bascis? Skip to the "How to..." sections. Got questions? Feel free to drop it in the comments section below and I'll try my best to reply.

Tight lines until next time,
Wisey