T.F.M. Spotting - Riki's Fiberhammer

Riki Rahman goes big in a couple ways with his T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest entry for this month and I couldn't be more impressed!  Riki was fishing and figuring out his new Scott Fly Rod Fiberhammer and gives his thoughts on his experience and the steps he made to make this rod work for his Malaysian waters.

It is a premise which is described as "pay pond".  You pay as you fish...not unlike a "whorehouse".  Nothing fancy and no hassle.  The fish are all there.  You just need to figure out what they're taking on that day.  I guess that's the only game you can get from a man made water like this. This particular one I've been frequenting lately is what we see as the "veteran" one.  An old-timer who has been in the business for the past fifteen years. It is the first sports fishing center where besides fishing; classes, competitions, and gatherings are held. A truly nostalgic place. This is the very place where we learned how to do proper tagging for freshwater species. And that word "old" comes hand in hand with "wisdom" and obviously "size".  The variety of Carps, Catfish, and Pacu species which were released more than a decade ago has really grown into Monsters!

This is my take on the Scott Fly Rod Fiberhammer rod...  I'm still far away from figuring out this rod.  To be honest, the first wiggle test after it came out of the box really didn't impress me at all.  The rod is too soft and wobbly and with that kind of length it is kinda sluggish and sloppy for my standards (something that I loathe on a rod).  But I know zilch about switch or spey casting for that matter.  Mind you that my previous experience with a longer (than usual) rod is with my GL CrossCurrent casting out big streamers to the saltwater surf.

So I took the Fiberhammer out for a test drive the very next day to this very pond. I coupled it with a Tibor Everglades reel (which I think is a tad too light for it) installed with the (recommended by a the review on the Deneki Outdoors website) Airflo Skagit Compact 570 grains head. Even though I personally think a Scandi type of line would be a much better candidate for it but since I primarily wanted this rod to turn bigger flies and tackle stillwater monsters I opted for Skagit head.  On the water the simple roll-casting of the Skagit was alright in my inexperienced hands.  It turned the #2 fly very well at around forty to fifty feet even when I'm using a very short 5 foot 16lb leader (Pacu loves to whack a suspending subsurface fly).  The only problem was accuracy (which actually I blamed myself more rather than the rod/leader configuration).  Seven out of ten times I would miss the rises by at least five feet.  Besides using a smaller fly and a proper tapered leader, this can be easily be overcome by practice I'm sure.

But the rod sings in my hand after I changed the line to the weight forward SAGE Performance Bass Taper 330 grains line.  I know it's a very unconventional choice but I had to assimilate our Malaysian style of switch/spey to suit our waters and fish. Using the same leader and tippet I am able to control the presentation much better. The distance improved by another ten feet or so and the accuracy is... well...not spot-on but way better. HA!  Only after I used this was I'm able to hook up the fish in the photos.  I don't think I need to elaborate more on controlling the fight on a glass rod since I'm very sure all of us know how it feels. ORGASMIC...!

 My problem is that we don't have anyone here who fishes spey or switch rods.  So I learned all this only through readings and YouTube.  Hence mistakes and irregularities are very much expected. HA!  And since we don't also have big clearwater rivers like our Scandinavian or Alaskan friends, I think it's just apt to find ways for us to enjoy these unique type of castings.  Maybe few guidelines need to be dropped and rules bent but in our case, I guess it's forgiven.

Oh by the way...the bugger in the photos is a Pacu.  A Piaractus Mesopotamicus to be exact.  A Red-Bellied variant...and not the black one.  It's not a native (brought upon from South America for food supplies) in the 1970's.  Since then they are everywhere.  It's willingness to take any kind of bait has made it very popular for local anglers.  As for flies, they are more frequent that not partial to huge (size #2) beadhead nymphs and (natural-colored) woolly buggers.  As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most stubborn and hard-fighting fish ever on a fly rod.  The ultimate rod-breaker...I mean on graphite that is.