Monday, July 28, 2008
630 pm while driving home from Labuan Co-curriculum Centre , i saw a new spot for bait casting along the Layangan-layangan area .I can't hardly wait to grab my fishing rod . An angler fanatic can always smell a potential spot right away .
Armed with my fishing rod , i walks for several meters through the bushes . Today bait casting was not plan but rather to try out my luck because i can feel the haruan fish ( Channa Striatus ) presence .Just called it as an angler's six sense !!
There were some ripplings on the water just below the shallow weddy . It sure works me out . several cast using Surecatch plastic frog ( weedlees plug series 14g/0.055oz)but failed to get any response.So i changed it to Fina Babe spinner bait ( 1/4 oz) and i caught myself a haruan fish ( Channa striatus ) abaut 400grm . After taking some pictures , i let it free...Catch and release is our kid's fishing future .
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Published: 19 Feb 2008
A SAVAGE fish more terrifying than a piranha has been caught in Britain for the first time — sparking fears of a deadly invasion.
The vicious giant snakehead EATS everything it comes across and has even been reported to KILL people.
The monster — from south-east Asia — has a mouth crammed with fearsome teeth, can “crawl” on land and survive out of water for up to four days.
News that a 2ft specimen had been hooked in an English river caused widespread panic among anglers and conservationists.
Journey ... smuggle fear
An Environment Agency source said last night: “The reaction was, ‘Oh s***’. This is the ultimate invasive species — if it starts breeding here it’s a disaster.” Angler Andy Alder caught the snakehead while using a sprat as bait for pike on the River Witham near North Hykeham, Lincs.
Andy, of Lincoln, said: “It had a gob full of razor-sharp teeth. To be honest it looked terrifying.”
Experts who studied photos of Andy’s catch confirmed it was the predator which is on a list of species that cannot be imported into the UK.
It is feared the fish had been smuggled in for an aquarium and then illegally released. Snakeheads caused chaos when they were found in America in 2002, with snipers setting up on banksides to shoot them and entire lakes being poisoned to kill them.
Ben Weir, of fishing mag Angler’s Mail, said: “In all my time of working within fishing I have never heard so many concerned voices.”
Adult snakeheads can grow to 3ft long and weigh as much as 44lb.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
I choose a place which have not been trodden by any angler , with my machete , i clean out the place and cast the Surecath plastic frog into calm lake .
There was hard tug and then it stop . With a motto " Never say never " , i cast once again on the same spot . This time the Surecatch plastic frog was once again pulled by strong force .
I battle for 3 minutes before i got myself a 1.5kg haruan fish ( Channa Striatus )...yehoooooo.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CRANKBAIT - Deep divers such as Surebite Super Crank 65?and Surebite Crank N?80, which are suitable for sight casting and trolling in dams and mining pools.
MINNOW - Deep divers such as Surebite Chaos?Surebite DNA Dancing Shad?and Surebite Blazer minnow shaped lures, which are suitable for sight casting and trolling in dams and mining pools.
PENCIL ? Bibless lures such as Surebite Tommy 100 pencil lures which is suitable for fishing the water around river mouth or coves of dams and mining pools.
PROPELLER ? Bibless lures such as Surebite Chopper 80 and Dual Prop 85 which are suitable for fishing in all areas of dams and mining pools, especially in calmer waters near the banks.
POPPER ? Bibless lures such as Surebite Pop Cruiser? Pop Tiger?and Super Pop, which are suitable for fishing near the river mouth or coves of dams and mining pools.
MINNOW or CRANKBAIT - Shallow runners such as Surebite Ace Minnow?Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite DNA Shallow Vibra?and Surebite Gobimaru, which are suitable for trolling in dams.
SPINNERBAIT ? Spinnerbait such as SureCatch Flash Spinner which is suitable to slow spin for bottom dwellers.
SOFT BAIT ? Plastic baits such as Surebite Froggy and Super Stick, which are suitable for fishing the mining pools that choked with water lilies and snags.
Sight casting is a favourite technique among anglers fishing for Toman. The trick is to cast deep diving lures to the location where Toman rises to the surface for air. The angler has to be alert, and the cast need to be true and accurate in order to bring the lure to the right spot at the right moment. The lures that I normally used for this type of fishing are deep divers, and the retrieve has to be fast in order to entice the fish to bite. As such, Surebite crankbaits or minnows such as Super Crank 65?Surebite Crank N?80?Surebite Chaos?Surebite DNA Dancing Shad?and Surebite Blazer are most suitable lures.Attacking a lure that swim by is purely an instinct of the Toman, hence colour is not an important element. Sight casting is a waiting game whereby the angler has to wait for the fish to surface for air, and patient is the key of this game. At times, when the fish are not cooperating, it will be long and uncomfortable wait of 10 minutes or more before a single rise will be spotted. For larger specimens, they are more sensitive to their surrounding. Hence, the angler has to be patient and keeping very quiet so as not to frighten them off. Normally, those Toman that surfaced for air and dive slowly will be more willing to take baits.
The lures used for trolling can be divided into 2 types, i.e. shallow runners and deep divers. For trolling works in dams, normally, I used shallow runners such as Surebite DNA Shallow Shad, Surebite DNA Shallow Vibra?Surebite Gobimaru?and Surebite Ace Minnow, to avoid snags that were abundance in theses waters. The results of trolling shallow runners near to the banks, if not better than deep divers, at least, they produced similar results. Unless fishing at some deep locations or trolling the deep water structures, I still prefer shallow runners for my trolling works. On the other hand, due to water near to the shores are choking with water plants, trolling in mining pools have to be in deeper waters, and deep divers will be the answer to fishes staying at the bottom of the pools. There is a way to troll near the banks of impoundments. Normally, when I used Surebite DNA Shallow Shad for such occasion, the lure was set approximately 8 to 10 feet away behind the boat. One may wonder whether I am telling the truth, but in actual fact, every fish I caught with Surebite DNA Shallow Shad were from this distance.This may sound strange, but in reality the answer is rather simple. The fish in the impoundments are so used to boat traffics that they are not afraid of the sound of them. When boats go near to the bank, they also flush out bait fishes that are hiding in the underwater structures, hence attracting the predators.Quite different from sight casting, colours of the lures is an important element in trolling to ensure hook up. For example in Bersia, we normally used dark, bright, or even luminous colour lures for trolling, but the fish would prefer lures with darker colour. As such, the all the black colour Surebite DNA are very suitable for trolling works in Bersia Dam.Top WaterThere are several types of lures that I used for casting to Toman cruising on the surface.
Pencils, poppers, propellers, and soft plastic lures are lures that were commonly used. Poppers and propellers are lures that are causing lots of commotion and bubbles. This is to simulate frenzy feeding on the surface to attract the attention of Toman. Pencil is a type of lure that built with entirely different action. The metal ball in the body of this lure creating a knocking sound, and its twisting body action are the main attraction to Toman.
Surebite Froggy and Super Stick are soft plastic lures with anti-snag capability. Their ability to go within the underwater snag and their twisting action are the attractants to Toman hiding in these structures.The primary requirement of using Pencil lure such as Surebite Tommy 100 is the cooperation among fellow anglers on the same boat. Keeping the boat stable and quiet is a must when casting with Pencil. The technique of fishing with Pencil is to make it swim zigzag on the surface or known as walk the dog. However, if the surface of water is choppy, such technique will not be effective. In my opinion, the choice of rod is more important than the lines when fishing with pencil lures.
If the rod tip is too stiff, it will be difficult to make the lure zigzag in its path. For those professional anglers who fished with pencil lures would prefer mono filament for its elasticity to liven the lure?s action. However, in view of the harsh environment of our water, mono filament could not meet the requirements of small diameter and high breaking strength. To fish for Sebarau and Toman in our water, braided lines with small diameter and high breaking stress will survive the harsh fishing condition, and to compensate for the lost springiness of mono lines, I go for rods with soft tip.
Rods that meet such requirements are Surebite Professional, Surebite Elite, Surebite Gold, and Surebite Tournament XP.It was common sight with Toman kept hitting the lures times and again without a hook up. When encountering such situation, the angler just has to speed up the retrieve to simulate the action of frighten bait fishes. This will enhance the chance of second and third strikes from the frustrated fish.Surebite Tommy 100 Pencil is a surface lure, and its action mainly comes from the action of rod and line. As such, when using small Pencils of less than 12 cm, I will prefer 3X treble hook than those 5X or 6X, which are too heavy for such small lures. Normally, I will use shock leaders such as SureCatch SOFT MAX?SureCatch FLUORO MAX?or SureCatch Supreme, when fishing with Pencil to avoid straightening of my trebles. However, when the treble could not penetrate the bony structure of the fish mouth or when the fish went into a structure, the chance of trebles being straighten still high.
Apart from Pencil, Poppers such Surebite Pop Cruiser? Pop Tiger?and Super Pop are surface lures that created surface commotions to attract predator such as Toman. Under certain circumstances when Toman are attracted by lots of surface commotion, popper will be more effective than Pencil. When fishing in strong wind and choppy conditions, Propeller Lure such as Surebite Chopper 80? Dual Prop 85 will not be affected by such weather condition, but still, these lures will perform better on calm water surface.
These 2 types of lures are easier to operate, hence, they are most suitable for the beginners.Spinner BaitsThe spinner baits, Flash Spinner, which was marketed by SureCatch, were hit to the local fishing scene. This type of spinner bait comes with several sizes to cater for whole range of fishing conditions. They are suitable for fishing Haruan, Toman, and Sebarau of all sizes.
Flash Spinner comes with strengthened and sharpened hooks which are features lacking in other similar lures. Apart from these, the tightly tied rubberized ?hair? will prevent stripping off by the sharp tooth predator. Flash Spinner can be fished by allowing it to free fall to the bottom, and follow with slow retrieve to attract Toman or Haruan that hide in deep structures. Slow trolling deep coloured Flash Spinner will be effective along the bank of impoundment. However, boat speed has to be slow to prevent the lures from leaping above the surface.
Monday, July 14, 2008
i am using HART BEATER BUZZ BAIT ( http://www.harttackle.com )
The most common sought after game fish among anglers. Normally a sigle hook with live bait (frog) casting is widely used for catching them. For the bait, live frogs, caterpillars, lizards are their attraction. Usually the hook is hidden within the bait. The techniques is to cats and retrieve the bait slowly along weeds and grassy areas, the techniques is not to get snagged along the way - that is why the hook is hidden in the bait itself.
Common Name(s) : Common snakehead, stripped snakehead, Haruan Sc. Name : Channa Striatus Habitat : It inhabits rivers, canals, lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes, paddi fields, mining pools and even damps. Water : 5.5-7.5 Temperature : 71- 82 °F Size : up to 45 centimetres / 18 inches. Diet : Live food like small fishes. A natural predator in its habitat. Attitude : Aggressive. Best kept with larger or similar size fishes. Description : Unlike its cousin the Toman, the Haruan is an indigenous species. Adults are smaller than Tomans and can reach lengths of about 45 centimetre. Common in forested and rural streams as well as canals and reservoirs, the Aruan is often seen sold in markets. The local Chinese community, considered its flesh to posses certain medicinal values which are supposedly good for the healing of wounds.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
( Channa striatus ) in that pond and we planned to get it. I used bait casting technique. We can fell the fish playing with my plastic frog but none of us catch any of it .
Though it was not a succesfull fishing trip but we glad to fond a new spot or fishing place for fishing.But most important of all ,we just enjoyed being in each other company and talking...what else..FISHING
With one shot , my Surecatch plastic frog was pulled by a strong force , hance start the tug of war . It tried to run beneath the deep weeds but i managed to puled it away .
Saturday, July 12, 2008
An In-Line Spinnerbait
The in-line spinner is named for the fact that a metal blade revolves around a central axis (a wire), which may be attached by a clevis (a c-shaped metal piece with holes that accommodates the wire) or by itself. Most in-line spinners have metal weights rigged behind the spinning blade and beads or brass hardware that separates the two for frictionless spinning. Due to the fact that the spinning blade cause the whole bait to rotate, line twist builds that creates line problems and tangles. Swivels are used to solve the problem of twist.
The Blade Factor:
As with all spinner type baits, various shapes of blades are used depending on many factors. Speed of retrieve is a major consideration because different blade designs revolve at different speeds. For example, the elongated willow leaf design requires the most speed to start and maintain the spin. The broader and more circular Colorado blade requires less speed and a slower retrieve to maintain spin. An Indiana blade falls somewhere in between. Vibration is higher with broader blades, less with streamlined blades, but flash depends more on blade size, texture and color than on design.
A hammered nickel (pock marked) blade has the most flash in that the dimpling reflects light at more angles than a smooth polished blade. Painted blades can have more or less flash depending on color and patterns, but always less flash than silver finishes under a sunny sky and have more flash under low light conditions. Under low light conditions fluorescent colored blades stand out over regular colors or polished metal.
Treble or Single Hook Dressing:
The treble hook can be dressed or not, depending on personal preferences of bait profile and action. By itself, the flash and maybe the vibration are the only attractors. But anytime you add something to a bait, you change its appearance and action and may have to alter presentation. The simplest hook dressings have been hair or feather and add a fluttering tail action that is imparted by blade vibration. These materials come in many colors, though black or white have been traditional attractors. Flashy artificial materials such as Flashabou, add a fluttering flash in different incandescent or solid flash colors, increasing the total flash profile of the in-line.
Many believe that a dressed treble presents a body/target that follows the flash ahead of it and that it may entice more strikes than a bare treble hook. For this reason, some companies have added soft plastic dressings to the hook to change the appearance and action of the bait and these are routinely called trailers. Soft plastic trailers have traditionally been curly tailed grubs and come in any color desired, as well as either single tail, double tails or quadratails. The speed of retrieve will always depend first on the blade size and design, but trailers provide lift for any spinner type bait, allowing a slightly lower retrieve speed. The weight material on the wire behind the spinning blade and also been made to look like a fish or like traditional minnow type baits such as the Rapala.
Trailers Anyone? What do skirts or trailers represent to a fish or for that matter, what does an undressed blade bait represent? Everyone has an opinion, but the author of this entry believes that fish have a general idea of things it can eat or attack without danger. If a fish is feeding on schooled minnows, it may attack anything of a general shape or color of its prey. If a feeding or aggressive fish attack a prey item it has never been exposed to in its lifetime, it may do so out of curiosity, irritation or any of a variety of behavioral factors unrelated to prey recognition.
In-line spinners have limitations such as not being good for heavy weeds or where very slow or vertical presentations are required. In-lines are usually considered swimming, horizontal baits and may be cast or trolled behind a slow moving boat. In-lines come in all sizes: small trout and panfish sizes to musky and salmon sizes up to six inches in length. In-line spinners are a multispecies bait that have a time and place in anyone's tackle box.
Safety Pin or Overhead Arm Spinnerbait
Safety Pin Spinnerbait with a tandem blade configuration; a Colorado blade mounted ahead of an Indiana blade.
Invented in 1951, the "safety pin" or overhead blade style spinnerbait is probably the most popular spinnerbait design for bass anglers. The most prominent features of this design is a wire frame that is bent roughly 90 degrees and embedded at its base in a bullet-shaped lead head with a single hook behind it.
Blade Options: At the tip of the wire frame's overhead arm, a spinner blade is attached by a swivel or other means to an enclosed wire loop. Another blade may be attached "in-line" on the overhead arm by a clevis to create a "tandem" blade spinnerbait. The characteristics of blades used that are stated above for in-line spinners, also apply to (overhead arm) spinnerbaits. There is no hard-and-fast rule for when to use a particular design, color or size blade or blade combination, but generally the rounder Colorado blade is used for slow, steady colder-water retrieves, dropping the bait in a free fall during retrieve pauses, or slow rolling the bait along the bottom while narrow willowleaf blades are used for fast retrieves and through vegetation. Slow-rolling a spinnerbait is similar to the presentation of a skirted jig in that it remains in contact with the bottom throughout the retrieve. If fished as a "drop-bait," the main blade helicopters above the weight/hook as the bait falls, thus simulating a dying minnow. Most times the strike occurs as the horizontal retrieve is continued. For more on blade hydrodynamics, see below.
Skirt Options: Like in-line spinners, skirt material options are many and depend on the body/target/action profile desired. Skirts are tied on or attached by a latex collar to the lead molded on the hook. For bass, silicone skirts have recently dominated the field over "living" rubber skirts because of all the available molded-in patterns, metal flakes, and incandescent colors. The skirt's pulsating, fluttering motion caused by blade spin is the same as for in-line spinners, but the body target is rounder and has more action with the similar retrieve or a pause in retrieve. The skirt also adds resistance, which can enable the user to retrieve the bait slower depending on how many strands are used; but again, minimum or maximum speed capability depends on blade size and shape. The length of the skirt is typically 1/4-inch past the curve of the hook, but some anglers prefer longer or shorter skirts in order to produce different profiles and action.
Spinnerbait with over-sized swivel-mounted blades or that are retrieved too fast have a tendency to roll over, decreasing the odds of getting a solid hook-up. Ideally, the bait should run true, meaning the overhead arm and blade are directly over the skirt/hook on the horizontal retrieve.
Spinnerbait dressings or trailers trailers are even more varied than for in-line spinners and personal preference dominates choice. Shaped pork rind and soft plastic trailers are the norm, with soft plastic being the majority material of trailers used and come in many colors. As with in-line spinners, the trailer affects lure profile, action and lift depending on shape and size. For example, a straight double tail design has the least lift or drag and is more of a skirt-like extension; whereas a large curl tail grub produces the most rear action, lift and the largest profile within the pulsating skirt. Pork or soft plastic chunk baits offer the most lift and allow a planing of the bait on the horizontal retrieve.
Wire Arm length Consideration:
There are spinnerbaits that have a short overhead arm and are used for more vertically dropping presentations down steep structure (banks or points). The have a little less weed resistance than the larger overhead arm and blade, but fall better and are closer to the skirted jig versus the spinnerbait design in usage. Typically a Colorado blade is used to slow the fall and create the maximum fluttering flash on the way down.
Long arm baits are used when a bait has multiple blades or when more weed resistance it needed during a horizontal swim. Single large blades allow for maximum skirt and trailer pulsation and provide added lift to the bait on the slowest retrieve. Long arm baits are typically used to cause a surface wake (i.e., "waking a spinnerbait") when run near the surface or "buzzing" when the blades chops the surface into a bubbly, noisy trail. For bass, the target hit is usually the skirt and/or trailer; for northern pike, musky and pickerel, the entire bait may be engulfed.
Stinger (trailer hook) option:
Adding a stinger hook (either a single or treble hook) to the main hook is also a personal preference and may ensure a better hook up as well preventing fish that jump from throwing the bait. Some anglers prefer the single hook to be rigged so that the point is down, others prefer it rigged up, but in either case the hook must be prevented from coming off the main hook or grabbing weeds. To accomplish this, there are a few choices. The first is to use rubber tubing cut to 1/8", inserting the eye of the trailer hook and forcing the main hook through the rubber covered eye. The trailer hook is now fixed stationary behind the main hook. The other way allow the hook more side to side motion and consist for stops above and below the eye placed on the main hook. These stops can be 1/8-inch cut rubber tubing or plastic circles cut from the plastic lid of a coffee can and placed above and below the hook eye encircling the main hook.
The overhead arm spinnerbait is used for fewer species, but is a great tool for larger sportfish that dominate the food chain. For smaller species, the Beetle Spin type design is preferred.
 Beetle Spin
The Johnson Tackle Company introduce the clip-on jig/spinner over twenty years ago for people who like using small jighead and soft plastic body combinations. Typically used for panfish, other sport species also attack the bait. A small blade is attached by a swivel (the as for overhead arm spinnerbaits), but the wire frame is formed into a spring clip that opens to allow a jighead to be attached by sliding the jig eye into position such that the jig hook runs in the same direction as the overhead blade.
Jighead dressings are on the short, more compact side and variable in material and design. The curl tail grub is popular, along with straight tail plastics and hair. The original jig dressing was called the cricket, a straight, double-tailed soft plastic creature that had little action except that it wagged up and down and side-to-side behind the spinning blade or with variations in retrieve speed. As the Beetle Spin became more popular, more designs were introduced and softer plastic was used for better action. Many species of fish will hit a Beetle Spin combo.
A tailspinner is a type of spinnerbait that consists of a lead body with the line tie point on top, a single treble hook on the bottom, and a single small blade mounted on the tail, hence the name. Mann's Bait Company's "Little George" tailspinner, introduced in the 1960s, is the most well-known lure in this class. When fished vertically for schooling fish in deep water. the bait is ripped upward and then allowed to flutter back down on a semi-taught line. Anglers use it for horizontal presentations as well; it casts like a bullet, so it works well on windy days; however, it sinks like a bullet, too, so one has to reel it quickly in shallow water to keep it from snagging on the bottom.
The most important part of any spinnerbait next to the hook is the blade. There are several different shapes, and numerous sizes, with colors ranging from gold, silver, and bronze, to painted blades with a myriad of different colors and patterns. The two main characteristics of a spinnerbait blade are flash (available light reflecting off the blade as it moves) and vibration (the 'thump' of the blade as it spins). Some blade designs produce more vibration, while other designs produce more flash. The most prominent blade types include the following:
Colorado blade: A round, spoon-shaped blade, the Colorado blade is designed for maximum vibration, its broad shape and parabolic cross-section producing a deep, heavy vibration that can be detected by fish at long distances via their lateral line, and by the angler through the rod. It is often favored for use in situations where the fish cannot see the lure very well, such as in murky water or at night.
Willowleaf blade: A long, narrow blade shaped like the foliage it's named after, the Willowleaf has an almost flat cross-section, and stresses flash over vibration, having very little vibration at all. This type is most commonly used when there is ample visibility for the fish to see the blade flickering and flashing as the lure moves. A popular safety-pin blade setup is to have a Willowleaf blade with a Colorado blade mounted just ahead of it on the frame in a 'tandem' configuration.
Indiana blade: This blade is a hybrid of the Willowleaf and Colorado blades, sharing design features of both, such as the narrow width of the Willowleaf and the rounded shape of the Colorado, with a curved cross-section halfway between the two. This blade is highly flexible, and provides a middle ground between the extremes offered by the other two, and is the primary blade type used on most in-line spinners. It's name derives from the fact that it was introduced and popularized by an Indiana spinnerbait manufacturer, Hildebrandt.
Oklahoma blade: This blade, also referred to as turtleback or mag willow, is a shortened, rounded variant of the Willowleaf blade. In terms of vibration and speed of rotation, it falls between the Colorado and Indiana blades. For heavily-pressured waters, this blade creates a sonic signature that is unlike the three more common blade types, and therefore it is more likely to attract attention from predatory fish.
Photograph taken by a Malayan Tung Pao newspaper photographer on 26th March 1968 at 6.50 am as a shiny bright disc-shaped object flew silently over roof tops. It was rotating slowly and emitted bright flashes of light at regular intervals.
Photograph taken by an RAAF Serviceman on 2nd January 1979 at 6.15pm. The object was described as glowing in bright orange colour and had several portholes lining in the edge
It was taken in Kampung Pumah Kulat, Ulu Dong, Raub, Pahang, Malaysia.Inserted is the picture of the person who took the picture, a school student wanted to be known only as Aiman. Lack the knowledge of what UFO is, Aiman deleted several other of the UFO pictures. There were only two left and one of them is published newspaper mentioned
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Creepy Catch of The Day
By David A. FahrentholdWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, April 29, 2004; Page B01
The snakehead fish, a voracious Asian invader that's been known to breathe out of water and scoot short distances over land, has reappeared in Maryland, state authorities announced yesterday.
A 19-inch northern snakehead was caught Monday at a lake in Wheaton Regional Park -- the first appearance of the toothy green fish in the area since 2002, when the state of Maryland had to poison a pond in Crofton to prevent snakeheads there from wiggling away.
Unlike the Crofton snakeheads, the newly caught fish was not in an isolated fishing hole. Pine Lake drains into the Northwest Branch, which goes to the Anacostia River and the Potomac River.
Yesterday, authorities tried to play down the possibility that the predatory fish had spread, saying they used electric shocks and large nets to gather fish from the surrounding waters and had found no other snakeheads.
Still, to be sure, they said they will drain the five-acre lake beginning today.
"I'll be confident when the pond is drained," said Steve Early of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The northern snakehead is native to China and Korea and is prized as a food in several Asian countries. It is imported to the United States for sale in some fish markets and as an aquarium fish.
If it is released in a pond or lake in this area, experts say, the snakehead is instantly at the top of the food chain: It can grow as large as 47 inches long and weigh 15 pounds. The fish can clean out a pond of native fish, officials said, and it also eats insects -- probably including this year's expected bumper crop of cicadas.
The snakehead caught Monday appears to be about 4 years old -- old enough to reproduce, though it is still too early in the year for breeding, Early said yesterday. Because the fish had not been dissected, authorities were not sure of its sex.
The draining of the lake, which is no deeper than eight feet, will begin this afternoon and probably be completed tomorrow morning, authorities said. They said native fish will first be captured and then reintroduced to the lake when it fills again with water.
Early said that authorities would continue to look for snakeheads in other bodies of water, including downstream. But he said that with a food-laden environment such as Pine Lake, a snakehead would be unlikely to leave.
"If they've got a good place to live, they're not moving," he said.
The fish was caught by Terry Wintermoyer, 23, of Silver Spring, who was trying to catch a largemouth bass with a lure called a top-water spinner.
Wintermoyer said yesterday that he had made several casts from the shore when he saw something dart out from under an underwater rock and take the hook.
"I was pretty positive it was about a 25- or 30-pound largemouth, the way it was fighting on the line," Wintermoyer said. "It's probably the most fighting fish I've seen so far."
When he finally landed the fish, Wintermoyer said, he was surprised to find a sleek, scaly thing weighing only about four pounds. He said it had the head of snake and the teeth of a shark.
"I hadn't seen anything like it in my whole life," he said.
Wintermoyer said that a friend recognized the fish from news coverage about the Crofton snakeheads. They put it in a plastic bag and took it to a nearby station of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Police.
There, he held the bag up in front of a window where an officer was sitting.
"I think I caught what they call a snakehead fish," Wintermoyer told the officer.
Officials confiscated the fish, which Wintermoyer said he would have eaten otherwise, and kept it in a water-filled wastebasket. Experts from the Department of Natural Resources confirmed that it was a northern snakehead.
Officials said they did not know how long the snakehead had been in the lake or who had put it there.
"I don't think there's any way to find" the culprit, said Doug Redmond of the parks commission. "If someone were to come forward and say they had done it, that's probably the only way to find out."
Redmond speculated that the snakehead may have been a pet that was released after it became too big for its aquarium. That was the case with the snakeheads in Crofton, which originally were ordered as food, then kept as pets by a man who lived near the pond.
In general, authorities sought to play down the threat posed by the fish, saying they were dangerous only to fish, not to people.
But Wintermoyer told a story that hinted otherwise.
He and his friend were debating what to do with the fish, which was lying on the ground inside the plastic bag. A park maintenance worker walked up, curious, and stuck his foot near the animal.
Suddenly, Wintermoyer said, the snakehead lunged.
"It put a pretty good tooth mark in his steel-toed boot," he said.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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Osphronemus goramyLacépède, 1801
The Giant Gourami (Osphronemus goramy) is a gourami, a freshwater fish belonging to the family Osphronemidae. Some other larger members of this family are also occasionally or regionally referred to as "giant gouramis", including the banded gourami, Polyacanthus fasciatus, and the three spot gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus. In turn the giant gourami is also sometimes known as the banded gourami, rainbow gourami, or striped gourami.
Giant Gourami build nests using weeds and twigs. Female Giant Gourami can be identified by their thicker lips. The Giant Gourami is native to parts of Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia, but has been introduced elsewhere for the purpose of aquaculture.
It lives in fresh or brackish water, particularly slow-moving areas such as swamps, lakes and large rivers. It is capable of breathing moist air, so can survive out of water for long periods. It is much larger than most gouramis, growing to a maximum length of 70 cm (28 inches). In colour it is a pale to golden yellow, with silvery pale blue stripes running vertically along its body.
Partly in consequence of its size, the Giant Gourami is a significant food fish; in some parts of India, for example, it is dried and then eaten. In some of the South East Asian countries where it is native, there are aid programs promoting the 'domestication'  of these fish, while in its native regions it has been harvested as a customary food source. The species has also been used for control as they can be voracious vegetarians.
1 In aquarium
1.1 Tank specifications
 Tank specifications
An adult Gourami
The Giant Gourami is also popular in aquaria.Contrary to popular "knowledge", Giant Gouramies, or any fish for that matter, do not grow to "environmental" size, but they can be held in tanks anywhere from 125 (us gallons) up. Preferably the tank should have a dark bottom, and densely planted edges. There should be plenty of room left in the center of the tank for the Gourami to swim. They prefer the company of other fish which are of a similar size and temperament. They will be most easy to keep at 3 months old at around 75 mm or 3".
At this age they will have a pronounced beak. They can grow rapidly given sufficient diet and space to move. Even under less than ideal conditions, Gourami can grow from 75 mm to 500 mm in four years. At this age, in addition to the rounded face, a mature Giant Gourami would have begun to develop the hump just above their eyes .
The Gourami, in a community tank, will snap and charge any other fish which are small enough for it to bully. Like most aquaria dwellers, Giant Gourami will consider existing co-habitants as part of the furniture and so can be quickly raised with larger more passive fish. However, if other fish are added to a tank, either large or small, they might be killed within a short period.
Golden Giant Gourami
Gourami tend towards vegetarianism, preferring algae-based foods but will eat meaty foods. An algae-based flake food, along with freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp will provide these fish with the proper nutrition while young. Once of significant size, they can be fed legumes, part or fully cooked fibrous or starchy vegetables, or fresh (or off) fruits. They do develop tastes, such as an aversion to acidic or strongly flavoured foods such as tomatoes or onions, or fresh stone fruit or citrus.
The Giant Gourami is an egg layer and the male will build a bubblenest before spawning. The male and female are distinguished by the dorsal fins and body color. The dorsal fin on the male ends in a point, and the body is darker changing to nearly black during spawning. When breeding, the water in the tank should be decreased to about 20 cm (8 inches) deep and the temperature should be 28 °C (82 °F). After spawning the female should be removed to a separate tank as the male will jealously guard the eggs, in a captive environment, sometimes becoming aggressive towards the female. The eggs will hatch in 24 hours.