. Its still nice to drive 
and with its new 9/41 ratios DIFFS front and REAR and the FRONT is now LSD up from open DIFF it is plesant to drive on the highway again.Chinese new year I took the kayak with me hoping to go fishing on the Saturday - however after arriving at 3.30am in IPOh some 195K north of sunny Kuala Lumpur in the morning I abandoned the plans and went out on the SUnday instead with instructions to be at DINNER for CNY at 7.00pm (with the future wifes family) and I had to collect a friend from another town and take him to dinner also.
THe track into the Disused MINING POND was full of small water buffalo herds all the signs for the mining pond are gone thanks to the bird poachers trying to keep birdwatchers away by removing all signs to it
yes I have been there when they are in action.I almost whack a KING COBRA (its longer than the wide of the truck so its 2+meters) on the narrow track slam the brakes on and then reverse ha no sign of the COBRA surely I did not miss it . Is it underneath RED? I look carefully still wearing my glasses in case it spits in my eye arms out each side of me to make me look huge. No sign of the COBRA in the white sand tracks either. I carry on and inspect the truck again when I stop . eek. Steve Irwin I ain't.
12.00pm I finally get the Kayak in the water after the 35k onroad trip and then the 10k offroad trip in RED with road sneakers on it it felt funny.
I am the only human here although later a few local fisherman show up.
What I am after is one of these or bigger that one of my guides caught a couple of weeks ago a MONSTER TOMAN which we believe is a record for the ROD/LINE (The REEL was a wreck after and has been discarded) . THis was was over 15kg - yeah it went of the scales he had. He caught it in frustration after watching some guys (he was guiding them) hook and loose 30 TOmans. So he picked up his rod tossed in a cheap lure and WAMMO hooked this monster. Im jealous and want one hooked but only from the KAYAK not from a boat.
ON the way in I spy a pod of Toman fires my target and after the Kayak is in the water I cruise around hunting for them. Haha they find me while I am looking at water buffalo about 100 meters away from me in the water. THey pop up only meters away with the characteristic bubble of noise in the water as they all take a gulp of air and dive under again. THey appear to be about 6 months old. Big enough to chase and have fun with!
I let them cruise off and chase them with a lure and am reward with several misses and then a hit. No pic of it as it wriggles off as I go to undo the hook.
For your education TOMAN fries live with the mum she is more prpotective than a LION mum and the babies live in her mouth then they swim around in RED ball rising up and down for gulps of air. The MUM swims lazy circles around the BALL of FRIED and the DAD if around about another 5-10 meters further out on outer PATROL looking for ambushing SEBERAU and TOMANS. THey both protect the FRIES with the vicousness of a LION MUM attacking anything the feel a threat. FYI a 5KG TOMAN will if you are not ready pull you off a boat on the first take, destroy a treble hook or a REEL or snap a ROD if it is all not top notch kit. YEs they are a fish well worth HUNTING and are as cunning as a FOX. THey breathe 75% air from the water and the rest from gulps of air just like a whale or a human. Pop a lure into the middle of a group of FRIES and the reaction well - VISCIOUS is all I can say.
Several more missed strikes and no sign of a mother TOman.
I chase these guys for over 2 hours on and off taking pics and tossing lures at them of all different colours and styles. then the shock the MUM appears so I crack a pic. Still she will not take a lure
ANyway its not boring I get a pic of a EGRET and the EAGLE circling above is also interested in the TOman. A kingfisher also pops by to say hello. I pass the time snacking out on biuscuits and drinking heaps and getting my feet sunburnt
The EGRET
Then the Toman mum suddenly appeared top left and the fries in the foreground.
Soon its time (3.30pm) to head off and I paddle back to RED in the blazing heat (its over 34degrees according to my CASIO watch). I paddle to RED (its on the tip of the peninsula) and exit the kayak and walk to RED -ooops in front of RED is 40-50+ water buffalo. PICTURE TIME I get as close as I can hiding behind trees etc. Steve Austin eat ya heart out.
Behind RED was all these buffalo.
THis one was very close then it heard the camera go off.
THe hot and desolate mining pond.
This pic is a little small sorry but I made it up from about 15pictures stitched together.
or
http://www.junglegeckos.com/BLOG/20100214_AIR_KUNING_01014_STITCHED.jpg
Then it was time to pickup my friend and head for DINNER. One very fast 50k trip into IPOH in RED even with the KAYAK on the roof the turbo whistling and just propelling RED along nicely lets just say no one passed us hahaha and yes chinese dinner was nice. RED is awesome on back country roads into 3/4th hit 80k and give it a squirt on the peddle and 100K comes up real quick snatch 5th and it just pulls harder
what a feeling and it still returns 9.5k per liter.For the record we ran a very expensive REEL and PE6 ROD for the TOman running 40+lb Braided line and still the damn Tomans Snapped it 4-5 times during the record fish day. Today im running 20lb line and a light rod for sport hahaha as there is no snags. We are now moving to 100lb line for these monsters and running a gamefish sailfish spinning REEL.
damm those things are big , move fast and are real aggressive.