Went for a solo recon mission this morning.
Advantages about fishing alone:
Own time, own target, fire at will.
No worries about crossing lines.
Free to run when the authorities are hot on tail.
Comforting peace in my extremely troubled mind.
Disadvantages of fishing alone:
Left to die alone if kena poisonous snake bite.
No one to help watch out for authorities.
No one to stop me from doing stupid potentially life-threatening stunts.
Lonely with no one to talk to, no one else to share first hand excitement.
These are just some of the few points...
Anyway, back to my morning adventure.
Reached and started trekking in, making random casts along the wide tributary.
Terrain was extremely uneven.
Eventually, I reached the end of the trail along the shoreline.
Made some random casts and got a small juvenile peacock bass on topwater pencil.
A lucky take as the wind was blowing strong which made the water quite choppy.
Continued casting after releasing the fish and saw a yellow boat in the far distance:
It was heading towards my direction but I don't think they can see me unless they're armed with binoculars.
I back trekked and found a path through the tall vegetation.
Took it and discovered an entirely new world just behind where I was fishing.
Explored the place and found a small stream:
No action after numerous casts.
There's another water body just beside this stream.
Seemed like a pond.
I trekked back out from the stream and bashed my way into the vegetation heading towards the direction of that pond.
After some smart thinking and luck, I reached the pond.
Although it's pretty big for a pond, the depth is rather shallow with thick algae lining it's bed.
I estimated only about a meter deep in most areas.
Found a thick slab of styrofoam hidden in the thick vegetation:
Most probably hidden and forgotten by some foreign workers using to plant their nets in the open waters.
Suddenly, I have this crazy idea...
Decided to use it and 'boat' my way to the other side of the pond where it's not possible to access on foot.
Launched the styrofoam slab into the water and boarded it:
The moment I shifted my entire body weight onto it, the slab broke into half!
I quickly jumped back on land and was damn lucky not to get myself wet.
Maybe it turned brittle from all the weathering?
Sianzzz......
Should have adopted a sitting stance instead of standing on it.
Stupid......
Helplessly watched the broken half drifting away slowly while I cursed and sweared:
No use crying over spilled milk...
I resumed casting on land.
Every now and then, groups of fries can be seen swimming out from underneath those floating mimosa momentarily.
They will come out for awhile and retreat back to cover.
During one such sighting, I casted a minnow over the ball of fries and got a huge take while retrieving through them.
Rod bent and line was peeling out fast.
It's the mama snakehead!
I held on and was unable to set hook while she made her mad initial dash.
If I were to set my hook now, something will definitely fail as my drag were already tuned tight.
It's either the mainline, egg snap, treble hook or the split ring.
Anyway, her mad dash lasted only for a short while.
The line suddenly went slack...
I retrieved back my line and nothing was broken.
The hook had not penetrated deep enough into the mama's jaws.
It was shaken loose by the angry mama...
She won...
For now......
Continued making blind casts and saw a long light colored thick rope swimming in the water close to the other end of the pond:
It's a python!
Slithering through the water to the opposite bank!
It's a good sign actually.
Proved that this spot is relatively remote and undisturbed.
After some time of no action, I retreated back to where I came from and sat in the shade resting my tired feet.
Took out my phone and discovered a shorter route out from where I was.
GPS has gotta be the greatest invention of mankind!
lol
Trekked for some time and found this:
Who on earth built this shrine here in the middle of nowhere??
It seemed well maintained though.
A short distance away from the shrine, I found a creepy, ancient looking red-bricked well.
Also in the middle of nowhere...
A tree beside it had it's roots wrapped around the well making it even creepier:
Reminded me of Sadako.
lol
In broad daylight somemore...
Hard to describe but it's not a good sensation.
Not joking here...
Something must have happened either to this well or the surrounding area before.
Maybe something terrible?
It's rare for me to feel such things.
But when I do, be absolutely certain that something is definitely 'not right' in the vicinity.
Perhaps the shrine I saw earlier was there to curb and contain whatever was lingering near the well?
Or at the dark bottom of it's depth?
Obviously, only the person who erected the shrine knows...
Being the curious kitten I always am, I looked down into the well:
It seemed rather deep with roots clinging on it's walls stretching deep into the darkness.
There's a faint rancid smell too.
Probably some small animals rotting inside?
At this point, I have this thought of lowering my camera into the creepy well with it's video mode and flashlight turned on.
After all, I have my rod and reel with me.
Can use it as a winch to do just that.
Decided against it as the feeling of uneasiness grew stronger...
Trekked away from the well without looking back.
When I got back out, found a love-note left for me on the wiper:
The price to pay for a new Giant Snakehead spot...
Well worth it.
Shall christen this spot as I foresee myself coming back for the mama toman and visiting the well again.
It's pretty obvious what code-name to use.
.........Sadako
