Air Kuning Monsoon Assault

By Bertrand Ngim, Ph.D.

Overcast, slick, calm and cool days like the one shown above usually mean extraordinarily tough conditions for peacock bass fishing.

Peacock bass fishing in Malaysia’s Air Kuning chain of lakes is usually a tough deal during the year-end monsoon season. It is a period that is characterized by highly unstable weather that could occasionally produce prolific fishing, especially during those pre-front days.

In this latest instalment, let us take a look at some of the approach and techniques you could utilize to tackle rising water level and ‘cool water’ conditions, as well as some useful tips on how you could effectively identify fish holding areas around newly flooded areas and around offshore cover.

I do not get to fish Air Kuning as frequent as I would like these days, but when it happens my trips usually fall within the months of February, July or August where the water level is primarily stable. I have personally yet to encounter high water level conditions these past few years, but the year-end monsoon in December 2018 changed my understanding because I happened to be there at the right time to observe the water dynamics in a rising lake over a weeklong period.

Lake level rise is an influential factor in the seasonal lifecycle of peacock bass in Air Kuning. High water levels create new spawning grounds that amount to more spawning opportunities, especially on flooded grass flats. Though peacock bass might not necessarily be on their spawning grounds during periods of unstable, rising or fluctuating water levels, majority of the pre-spawn fish have already started migrating towards the shallower areas of the lake.

The weather front is approaching as the wind starts to intensify, but the majority of the fish are still holding in deeper water.

Pre-spawn peacock bass are not always aggressive by nature and they are not always easy to entice, especially in a rising lake with falling water temperatures triggered by monsoon rains. Peacock bass instinctively move shallow when the lake rises, but cool water temperatures coupled with fluctuating water levels pushes them back to their staging areas in deeper water.

Water temperatures in Malaysia do not fluctuate much year round, especially low lying lakes, but it is vital that anglers recognize the effects of cool water temperatures and respond to the conditions accordingly. What I mean by cool water temperatures from a peacock bass fishing perspective are temperatures in the mid-70°F. In fact, it is days like these where you will need to readjust, and fish the way as you would when you are targeting smallmouth early in the season.

My first two fish on one of those pre-frontal days literally came on back-to-back casts beside a sandbar, right after I had switched from swimbaits to Texas-rigged Damiki Love Tail finesse worm. I was initially targeting a patch of flooded vegetation adjacent to the sandbar, but the fish were actually relating to a drop-off around 12’ deep outside the sandbar. As a case in point, under stable water conditions, those fish would have been relating a lot closer to the sandbar.

I caught this hard-fighting pre-spawn fish on a Texas-rigged finesse worm in deep water outside a sandbar.

Another solid fish on the follow-up cast! The emerging forehead hump is a good visual clue that those are pre-spawn fish.

It is to my best understanding that the behaviour of butterfly or popoca peacock bass in Malaysia leans towards that of smallmouth bass, especially their utilization of cover. Unlike largemouth bass that like to be inside cover, butterfly peacock bass are usually found along the outside edges and even out a ways from cover. The same thing is true of rocks, stumps or vegetation. Peacock bass, just like smallmouth bass, like to be around cover. With that in mind, do not and never eliminate areas that are out a ways from cover.

I was locked in an open-water battle which lasted close to two minutes.

It is not a giant but this is pound for pound one of the hardest fighting popoca peacock bass I have caught in Air Kuning.

Rising water on newly flooded areas create new cover that fish relate to in a number of ways. There are no hard and fast rules about cover selection under those circumstances, but if you are faced with cool water temperatures, first and foremost seek out areas with the best water clarity with access to deep water. For instance, flooded areas with vegetation on a sloping or changing terrain. 

Water temperatures play a key role on how peacock bass utilize cover during the year-end monsoon season. On predominantly overcast days, you need to keep a close eye on your temperature gauge for signs of warming water, especially on newly flooded offshore areas such as grass flats where I caught my second biggest fish of the trip, fishing outside and around offshore grass.

This is an 18” fish that took me close to two minutes to land. This is smallmouth on steroids!

A newly flooded grass flat where the peacock bass will soon migrate to spawn when the water level stabilizes.

I was looking to replicate the success I have had on Texas-rig worm by switching to a larger worm. I knew that the fish were in the area but it turns out that they were suspended way off the bottom. The fishing took a new turn once I realigned my boat and switched to a Keitech Easy Shiner 4”. The results were instant. I caught a 4lb’er on the first cast after making those small but crucial readjustments.

Water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea) provides ample cover for the peacock bass, but the muddy water makes things difficult.

Water temperatures aside, the other significant factor is wind. The best scenarios are windy conditions prior to an impending weather front, where there is a slow and steady fall in barometric pressure.

Wind is an influential factor in fish behaviour. It creates current and waves that provide oxygen for both peacock bass and baitfish that could trigger feeding. Wind-generated waves disrupt surface light penetration making your bait difficult for peacock bass to distinguish.

I caught my biggest fish of the week on a Keitech Easy Shiner 4” just as the wind was intensifying.

Bulked up and ready to spawn! Despite its size and girth, this 20” fish did not put up much of a fight.

I often see anglers shy away from windy conditions that they could have otherwise capitalized. When the wind blows, I know for sure that big peacock bass will be in the mood to feed, and that was how I caught one of my biggest fish of the week, fishing on a newly flooded shallow grass flat, head-on against multiple gusts of wind and swells.

Wind-blown areas are usually filled with opportunities, and there is usually room for multiple bites. And, on one of those windy days, I caught two big fish in practically the same area. I could have capitalized on the situation if it was not for the incoming thunderstorms.

Share your fun with others! Revive and release every peacock bass you catch so that others could catch it again.

The year-end monsoon back in December 2018 turned out to be a period that is characterized by various changing conditions, from rising and fluctuating water level to falling water temperatures, coupled with tough post-frontal conditions to starts things off earlier in the week. The first few days were tough where I was close to zeroing. In fact, the peacock bass did not start biting till around mid-week, and that was when things started to look positive.

Windy, open shallow flats are prime areas that hold baitfish and big pre-spawn peacock bass.

Despite the rising water level and cool water conditions, there were areas in the lake where we located fish but they were predominantly out in their deeper staging areas. Just like every lake, finding fish was the major challenge of the week. Once you got that worked out, it is just a question of fine tuning the angle of your casts, getting your boat in the right position, and fishing the 10’ to 12’ depth range where majority of my fish were caught that particular week in December.

I caught my biggest fish of the trip on power-finesse techniques where I was using straight 8lb-test fluorocarbon line that gave me that extra edge in tough conditions. I do not fish with braided line connected to a fluorocarbon leader because braided lines are buoyant and it has the tendency to lift your bait higher up the water column. I want my bait to be near the bottom when I am fishing cool water conditions.

A solid follow-up catch in an area where I caught my biggest fish of the week. Noticed the storm in the background?

Besides peacock bass, Air Kuning holds a decent population of giant snakehead!

I relied on two primary setups for the week. Both my setups for small swimbaits and finesse Texas-rigged worms were medium power rods. My preferred setup for Keitech Easy Shiner 4” starts with a 7’ Daiwa Tatula 702MRB paired with a 5.8:1 Daiwa Alphas SV 105 low speed cranking reel loaded with 8lb Sunline Basic FC fluorocarbon line.

On the other hand, my preferred setup for Texas-rigged finesse worms such as the Damiki Love Tail starts with a 6’-10” Shimano Expride 1610M paired with a 7.2:1 Daiwa Alphas SV 105H high-speed reel loaded with 10lb Sunline FC Sniper. I feel that light lines bring me that added advantage when it comes to ultra pressured fishing in Air Kuning. Under normal circumstances, I would fish a Texas-rigged worm with no less than 12lb test fluorocarbon.

My key baits of the day were Texas-rigged finesse ribbon-tail worm (Damiki Love Tail) and soft swimbaits (Keitech Easy Shiner 4”).

Peacock bass charters in Air Kuning, Malaysia

If you are planning on visiting Malaysia and interested to fish for peacock bass or snakehead in Air Kuning, check out K.H Cheng https://www.facebook.com/ckh83194 and Syed Ali’s Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/airkuning.syed. K.H Cheng and Syed Ali are some of the best peacock bass angling guides in the area and you can trust their services. Air Kuning is around an hour’s drive south from the city of Ipoh, Perak which is well-known for its natural sights and cuisine.

Check out thebbz.com for more exiting stories about peacock bass fishing.