And so I’m forever nostalgic whenever a friend mentions some far-off river that I have not fished before. I get the urge to drop everything and pile my fishing tackle into the pickup.
Hanapiah knew this weakness of mine, and when he mentioned his upcoming trip to Sungai Sat in Pahang, he knew I would say yes. This river is a whole six hours of boating from the base camp at Kuala Tahan, so it is seldom visited even by local anglers.
To cut a long story short, Hanapiah never did make the trip, and I ended up taking over the reins. Six friends made the long drive from KL. Next morning, we took two longboats fully laden with equipment, up the Tembeling.
Three hours later, we reached Sungai Sat. The river mouth was small, promising shallow rapids and riffles upstream. It would take another three hours to reach our predetermined campsite, often disembarking and pulling the boats up shallow stretches.
 Escape the world: The scenic Sungai Sat, which is beautiful and peaceful as there is hardly anyone visiting it. |
 How we operate: A large and rare haruan palas caught in a jungle swamp by Sungai Sat, duly released of course! |
The river is typical of the Taman Negara streams – clear water flowing among huge sunken logs and rocky beds. Overhead, the neram trees created a monstrous tunnel of foliage, making the river seem dark and foreboding.
We made camp in the gathering dusk. I noted that the elephant dung strewn on the sandbank had grown full of mushrooms. This might signify trouble: the goliaths may be on their return leg. I was unfortunately proven right; for the next two nights, the beasts tried to cross the river. We had to have a large campfire going all night and occasionally burnt some firecrackers to ward them off!
For the fishing, we broke up into three pairs – it’s never safe to fish alone in a jungle river. Izzudin and I opted to trek upstream. We found an old track on the left bank, followed it for half an hour, occasionally peering down to the river to select a choice pool. But a small rivulet coming out from the jungle caught our attention.
Just a few yards in, we found a small swampy pond amongst the huge hardwoods. On a hunch, I put on a small Mini Whacker spinnerbait. My first cast was taken by a frisky haruan that fought all the way to the bank. No, it wasn’t a haruan, but a mega haruan palas!
This Channa species with grey flanks and bluish fins is a rarity, and to catch one weighing almost a kilogram is a truly memorable occasion. And our joy didn’t end there, for we were catching a fish at almost every cast! Well, we took lots of photos and released each fish with care, then set off on our original plan – to catch kelah or tengas from the deep river pools.
We had to cross the river several times before we came to a magnificent bend of the river with a dark, deep channel on the far side. A clean sandbank lay below our feet, studded with footprints of barking deer and a large tapir.
We cast our baits of oil palm kernel and earthworms and waited. It didn’t take long. A tengas took my worm bait and streaked across the stream. Minutes later, it came to the sandbank, a spent force. We were catching one tengas after another, all around 1kg. Then the bites stopped, as if the river had cottoned on to our intrusion.
The river at the time was quite murky due to the rains, but was clearing up fast. We decided to change to the oil palm baits, and like clockwork, we started catching fish again. A change of venue was needed, but we had gone too far away from camp. We had to go back.
This time, we decided to wade all the way back, as much as we could. Halfway down the river, we came across a pretty pool that we had missed earlier. The stream made this bend and threw itself at a huge log stretched across the river. Downstream of this woody “dam”, a huge brushpile hugged the steep bank.
I could almost smell the kelah and tengas here!
I offered Izzudin first choice of fishing spot. He made his big mistake of the day, and opted for the upstream swim. Later, he had the dubious honour of having FIVE fish break his line among the rocks there!
I gingerly tip-toed to the spot below the log. My tackle was basic enough – a light spinning rod with 8lb mainline; a small hook on a 20lb. fluorocarbon leader, with soft oil palm kernel as bait. Twenty minutes in, my old Daiwa Gold Strike rod bent down to a savage take. Good thing I had it in hand all the while. The fish headed for the brushpile. Some side-strain stopped it just in time. It then streaked off downstream, stopping eventually when the river became too shallow there.
It was then that I knew the fellow was mine. When it changed course upstream, I reeled in quickly and guided it towards the bank. Several minutes of tug-of-war followed, in snag-free water. Finally, I hauled it up.
It was a beautiful red, 1.5kg. kelah with thick lips and median lobe (this was the Tor tambroides species). Izzudin, who by this time had ambled over, marvelled at the fish – this was his first encounter with a wild kelah.
We took photos of the fish and released it, none the worse for the experience. It was getting late, so we packed up and went back to camp. It was a happy camp that night, save for the trouble with the elephants. Everyone had caught enough fish to sport wide grins.
Next day, we still managed a good sport on the river, although we couldn’t better that red kelah. Between us, we had caught some 70 fish, mostly tengas of around 1kg.
How to get there
Sungai Sat is part of the Taman Negara at Kuala Tahan, Pahang. You can drive directly to the village via Mentakab. The base camp is on the opposite bank, reachable by a service boat.
Book a room for the night, either at the well-appointed resort in the camp or in the village (there are lots of chalets there). Book your boat at the base camp office. You need to start early in the morning, to reach Sungai Sat in the late afternoon.
What to bring
There are absolutely no amenities in Sungai Sat. Bring your own camping gear and food. The wooden longboats have ample capacity, but it’s best to trim down on your gear, bringing just enough to last your stay. Dome tents are light and safe. Extra tarpaulin sheets serve as “kitchens” and ground sheets. Keep food items safe in cooler boxes or those plastic bullet boxes.
It’s humid in the jungle, and you will be sweat-drenched in no time. Wear light long-sleeved shirts and pants, preferably those quick-drying ones. Good trekking boots or the “rubber tapper” plastic shoes are recommended for jungle trekking or fording the river.
Tackle tips
The tengas and kelah of Sungai Sat are not big. It is best to use light to medium tackle, using monofilament lines of 8 to 12lb test. For bait fishing, bring small barrel sinkers, small swivels, and short-shanked, suicide hooks in sizes 10 up to two. The best hooks are black or gunmetal grey. My favourites are Gamakatsu Octopus and Owner Suicide Cutting Point.
Short leaders of about 20 to 25cm, preferably of the “invisible” type like fluorocarbon or Daiwa Crystal Clear, will not spook the kelah. Use 15 to 20lb test, depending on the conditions. Spinning rods should be about 2.1– 2.4m long, have a soft tip but sturdy butt section. Examples are Berkley Series One, Team Daiwa and Fenwick HMG. Small reliable reels like Shimano Biomaster 2500, Daiwa Kix 3000 and Penn Slammer 360 are good choices.
Pursuits 
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