How to catch Tenpouder at Kallang River

[mtan8]

Hi,
There are many Tenpounders at Kallang River attacking/ eating up the Guppies. My friend caught one recently approx. 1.5 ft long (I have problem tying to attach that photo to this email) and today one took my line (I think it's size around 2 ft) while I was fishing for Tilapia. Unfortunately it broke the line after 30 seconds even thought I played with the tension adjustment. Very powerful fish. Have tried use Guppies as bait but no response (I think they are very smart). Anyone knows a good technique to catch this predator fish?

[Peace]

Yes, the tenpounder is an extremely fast predatory fish. It can adapt to saltwater and freshwater, which is why you may find it surviving in Kallang River even though the recently built barrage has stopped saltwater from coming in. What was the line weight(lbs) used? Sharp movement and high speed always causes extra stress on the fishing line, often more than you would imagine. Then again, it could also be due to a poorly tied knot or the line was already damaged before or during fishing.

The tenpounder is a predatory fish so any live bait should interest them. The common live prawns works very well and so does baitfish like milkfish, all which you can easily get from tackle stores. I have not tried guppies but I believe they will work as well. You may also want to try luring with artificial baits if you have interest in that. The fish hunts at all level of depth but usually hang around in midwater.

The possible reasons that the fish did not take your guppies could be because it is not recognize it as a common food in that area, hence, more wary. The fish could have also sensed your presence or is spooked by how the entire rig is presented, or perhaps the fish just isn't in the mood to feed.

This forum does not support image attachment so you will need to upload an image on an image hosting site and link the image back here. You can try http://imageshack.us/, you don't need to register to upload an image.

Welcome to HLF, mtan8.

p/s: PUB has imposed a no fishing rule in kallang waters since it is on the way to being converted into a reservoir.

[Allen]

I thought is is illegal to fish there?

[rookie]

try a noodle rod

[mtan8]

Dear Peace,
Indeed that line was too tiny (only 2 lbs). I normally use tiny lines so they are less visible to the fishes. That incident I was going for Tilapia and while the Guppies were feeding on the bread that 2 ft Tenpounder accidentally took the hooks while going after the Guppies. On Saturday night a Chinese friend caught 3 Tarpons (approx. two 2 ft + one 1 ft from photos taken using handphone) with live Guppies using floater. Looks like the Tarpons are more easily caught at night while the Tenpounders are more active during daytime. So far the "no fishing" sign goes up to Upper Boon Keng MRT. The part from the temple onward up to Potong Pasir they have yet to put up the "no fishing" sign. I am taking the opportunity to fish as much as possible before they are all gone (no more fishing allowed). Will explore how to load photos.

[arsenal]

wah...there got ten pounder har? guys.....still waiting for wat? lets cheong........grab yr arsenal n fly down now...

[Peace]

2lbs can be a little bit too tricky to take on the tenpounders. If believe that visibility of the line plays an important role, you could perhaps try fluorocarbon mono lines. (no personal experience on using it though) The tenpounders should be just as active during night time, but you could be right too. I'm not sure about Tarpons and never had caught one, perhaps you can contribute a photo of a Tarpon if happen to catch one. Thanks in advance.

[mtan8]

Here is a photo of the Tenpounder caught by a friend:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9819/img00198.jpg

Here is a photo consisting of 3 fishes of which the one in the middle is one of the smaller Tarpons caught by the Chinese friend last Saturday night. The 1st fish is another Tenpounder while the 3rd one looks like a Peacock Bass:

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5655/img11631o.jpg
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9017/img11711.jpg

I have seen catfish and Tioman around 3 fts surfacing for breath. This river is going to keep me busy for some time.

[Peace]

Thanks for sharing the photos with us, that's an interesting combination of fishes from such a spot. Tarpons are known for good fighting power, do share with us your experience if you get a chance to fight one. The third fish does seem like a peacock bass, though it's kind of hard to confirm from that picture.

We look forward to your catches on your upcoming trips, hope you land some big tomans.

[mtan8]

My chinese friend caught a small tarpon this evening after 4 hours. It is getting very difficult to catch tarpons nowadays due to some people were using nets recently.
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9376/img00306.jpg
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4403/img00309.jpg
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/5639/img00310.jpg
Not worth waiting (fishing) for tarpon anymore.

[arsenal]

tarpon dancing fish

[Peace]

Cool, another Tarpon for you and your friends. You know many anglers would love to catch this fish, especially the big ones. What are those in the container below the Tarpon?

[mtan8]

Those small fishes in the container are the guppies used as baits for the tarpons.

[Peace]

Those small fishes in the container are the guppies used as baits for the tarpons.

That's a lot of guppies, I don't think you can finish using them. I suppose they are feeder guppies that are usually sold in bulk ya?

[mtan8]

Actually these guppies are plentiful in the river and were caught using a trap with bread inside. There are so many of them if you feed them with bread they will feed in a frenzy. Usually the bread feeding will attract larger fishes such as the Green Chromide Cichlids, Tilapia and Mullets. Quite often the guppies frenzy will also attract the Tarpons making splashes as they feed on the guppies. Can be quite interesting to watch these frenzy.