Woke up early this morning and decided to do a little fishing; so I grabbed my gear and headed down to Bedok Reservoir. I had not fished this spot for a while, so when I arrived at about 6.45am, the first thing I noticed was the high water level. This must be from the days of incessant rain over the last week. The air was cool. I walked over to the new wooden seating gallery and decided to start off with spinning gear. I tied on a little yellow rubbertail and started my first cast. I didn’t expect a hit as the sky was still quite dark but on my third cast, I did get a hit! I was quite sure it was a Peacock Bass as few other fishes in freshwater hit as hard and ferocious as the Peacock Bass, maybe other than the Sebarau! A couple of minutes later, the Peacock Bass was landed (see picture on right). Hmmm…. great start I thought! I gently release the fish and continued casting. As they sky brightened, I could see Peacock Bass chasing my little rubber tail on a few occassion but did not hookup. After about 10-15 cast, I decided to change location.

I moved over to the ledge and started casting again. Saw an Arrowana cruising and casted to it but ended up spooking it instead. I decided to try the shallow rocky edge of the bank and had a good hit. Another Peacock Bass landed and released (see picture on left).

Looks like a great day for Peacock Bass fishing. I decided to walk back to the car and grab my fly rod for change. It’s been some time since I caught a fish on my 3wt (let alone cast a fly)and would be a great warm-up for my coming Barramundi trip in Bangkok. I started walking back at a brisk pace, determined not to miss the action for too long.

Within 10mins, I was back, fly rod and reel in tow. I tied on a size 6 Crazy Charlie… “when in doubt as to what fly to tie on, start with a Crazy Charlie”, that’s my fishing motto! 4 or 5 casts later, I had another hit (see picture on right)… damn, the Peacock Bass are really hungry today! Hooking up a Peacock Bass on a 3wt is really fun. I’ve known some people use a 1wt or 2wt and that could be even more fun, but I prefer a 3wt to cast the occasional popper. Peacock Bass can be a real visual treat on Poppers too, for those who have not tried them! Also, while I enjoy the fight, I don’t want to prolong it unnecessarily as it may kill the fish, so a 3wt is a good balance! 

Unfortunately, I was fishing alone again, so I had to take my own pictures. I’m going to have to bring my “Gorillapod” the next time around so I can take pictures of myself with the self timer!

Here’s a picture showing the size 6 Crazy Charlie that did the job! Good old Crazy Charlie never fails, whether in salt or fresh water!

I’ve actually never experienced Peacock Bass action this hot before! Must be the rain! My intention was to maybe fish for an hour and head out for a quick breakfast before heading home. However, with action this hot, I told myself I had to do a last minute change of plan. Breakfast can wait! I can have good breakfast anyday but the fishes don’t bite everyday, so I had better continue fishing. What a good choice that was. For the next hour or so, I landed another 5 Peacock Bass, making a total of 8 Peacock Bass in 2 hours of fishing. Not bad at all! I finally decided to leave at about 9am as the sun was getting really hot, and my stomach was growling in protest! I need some food!

What’s interesting to me this morning, was that there was not another angler in sight! Are anglers giving up on Bedok Reservoir, or are they just plain lazy and sleeping in on a beautiful weekend? I’m not sure and I don’t really care. What’s really on my mind now is, “When’s the fishing going to be this hot again? Should I wait for another rainy spell… or should I come again tomorrow and see if the place is still firing?” Hmm… I think I’m going to come again tomorrow, better “Make Hay while the Sun Shines!” It’s about 11pm as I wrote this but if you happen to read it and want to join me, see you there!

Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures!

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