Chin readying his fishing rod beside his 1972 Suzuki TS250, with a ‘70s Thai military police motorcycle helmet.
Be able to enjoy two of your favourite adventures at once and you will whoop for joy, like those who love off-road motorbiking and fishing.
The muddy, gritty paths choked with overgrowth in the woods offer off-road motorcyclists an adrenaline-charged thrill that demands skilful control and adaptability.
These adventures require excellent spatial judgment to assess steep inclines and dips before rolling over them, not to mention fast reflexes and quick decision-making when the laws of physics and the terrain threaten to pull them down.
For those who also love angling, an extra delight comes when they stumble upon faraway ponds and canals.
Richard spraying Howie with mosquito repellent.
“Any pond that others can get to by car will have few fish to catch. We can’t catch the fish even when we see them rising because the fishing pressure is too high,” said Cedric Chin, 47.
“Fish in ponds learn to be wary of humans when they see us by the edge or sense our vibrations as we walk.”
Chin, from Ipoh, has been off-road motorcycling for about 20 years. He developed such a penchant for it that he now rides vintage motorcycles even when off-road.
This is a challenge because he cannot let such motorcycles fall as there are no replacement parts like signal lamps or rear lights, which can break in a fall off-road.
Four good-sized haruan after being caught from a remote pond.
He and his buddies roam as far as Kampung Timah and Tronoh Mines, over an hour from Ipoh by car. He explores up to 50km from Ipoh, navigating ex-mining land and oil palm plantations in search of beautiful scenery through challenging trails.
“We can reach places that even 4x4 cars cannot reach,” he said.
On finding remote ponds, Chin and his friends turn off their motorcycle engines and quietly observe the water surface for the common snakehead (Channa striata), known as haruan in Malay.
In Chinese, it is dramatically called “Sheng yu” because it stays alive for hours after being taken out of the water, thanks to the suprabranchial respiratory organs behind its gills. The fish must rise periodically for air, making them visible to anglers. Deprive the haruan of this chance and it will die from lack of oxygen.
Off-road motorcyclists who love angling can efficiently explore woodlands and plantation land for fishing holes.
In Tamil, the haruan is called “viraal meen”, meaning “medicinal fish”. For over a century, this fish has been known throughout Asia as the food for those recuperating from surgeries or for women after childbirth.
In 2020, three Malaysian scientists published research confirming that they found four bioactive protein factions in the haruan that are “highly similar” to human proteins, containing collagen and myosin chains that contribute to wound healing in humans.
“It’s actually an easy fish to catch and is commonly found. But because they are easy to catch, they become rare in waters that people can easily reach,” said Richard Loh, 65, primarily a saltwater angler with a love for off-road motorcycling.
His son, Howie, 20, also a saltwater angler and dirt-biker, followed in his father’s footsteps this year and lashed fishing rods across the handlebar of his scrambler.
Howie (foreground) and Richard checking an abandoned fish pond.
“I have been dirt-biking for years and when I see ponds far away from where people can go, I always wonder about the fish in there. Now it’s good to be able to fish in such ponds,” smiled Howie.
There is one proviso: off-road motorcyclists must keep their gear light so that their machines remain agile on the trails. Unlike conventional anglers, who bring everything but the kitchen sink, the off-road motorbike-fisher has to be a minimalist.
“If we try to carry the floats, sinkers, rigs, swivels, bait and everything else for every possible fish, then we can’t ride our motorbikes,” laughed Chin.
A soft plastic worm being rigged so that the hook is hidden, allowing the angler to cast this lure into waters full of vegetation.
He said his “gang” in Ipoh prefer to roam the great outdoors with fishing rods lashed to their handlebars or along their seats and enough gear to aim for the haruan only.
To entice the haruan to strike, they use straightforward weedless top-water lures, soft plastic worm or baitfish lures, or the standard juvenile frog lure.
Another proviso when fishing in small ponds is the sensitivity of the ecosystem due to the geographical size of such ponds.
Fook Wei Kean, 41, admiring an almost 2kg haruan caught by Richard, who is still fishing at the remote pond.
“When I catch a small haruan, I handle it with care to release it safely. It is not easy to understand the fragile ecosystem of small ponds. The haruan is a top predator in such water bodies. We risk upsetting the ecosystem of a pond when we bag small haruan,” stressed Chin.
If Chin catches a big haruan, he calls his friends to see if they need one.
“If we know someone with a medical need, we bag the big haruan. Otherwise, we release them; we catch the fish to answer the challenge, and we handle them carefully to ensure they are safely released,” stressed Chin.
Even on their off-road motorbikes, Chin said he still records at least 12,000 steps on his health app when he walks around ponds in search of fishing spots.
“It is a marvellous exercise despite using motorcycles, so it is a worthwhile activity,” he stressed.
