African Catfish Gone to Heaven

I lost my catfish on Wednesday evening after 3 years. He was a wonderful pet, no fussing, very friendly. He died of a swollen belly which might have been tumour. He now lies buried in my garden. May he rest in peace.

Catch and Release Fishing At Fish Valley, Semenyih

It was a hot and humid day with the blazing sun most of the time and some passing clouds now and again. We got to Fish Valley at about 11 am and started casting immediately. I used worms and pellets most of the time as the other baits failed to work for me. At noon, I had my first strike - a plump patin. Thought that it would be my biggest catch of the day.

Shortly after landing the patin, I got a large tilapia. What a beauty but hardly a fight. Tilapias are just too lazy to put up any fight. One can just reel in the fish like a dog on a leash.

There was hardly any bites after this for me, just smaller fish nibbling away my worms. But my husband (Tilapia King) was getting one Tilapia after another. There were black, red and white ones of various sizes.

After lots of casting, taking in lots of sun (and blistering too) and slaps of sunblock, my patience paid off. At 5 pm, my reel started to run zzzz... I had a hookup. I did not know what it was but the fish made a jump and flipped trying to get the hook off. I started to reel in with the drag set right so that the line would not break. The fish zigged and zagged but I maintained contact (bent rod and tense line). The idea was to tire the fish. I started calling to my husband many times but he could not hear me as he was fishing some distance from me.

As I reeled in the fish nearer to the bank, I gave a holler to D and he ran to me excitedly, seeing that I was working hard on the reel with the rod bent. We got the fish clost to the bank but it swam under concrete snag. We thought we had lost it but D got it out with a net. Then it went swimming off again. We allowed the fish to run for a while before we were finally able to get it into the net.

Wow, it was a whopper (to me). My big one. An African Catfish measuring 30" and weighing at least 8 kgs. It was a very healthy fish. We took some photos and then let it go carefully back into the pond. I have a soft spot for catfish as I have a pet African at home in a tank.

We started to pack up at 6.30 pm and set home at 7 pm. Next change: the Plabok or Bangkok Catfish. It is known to be a fighter.