It pays to be in the best shape possible when you’re wrangling
the largest reptiles on Earth!
– Terri Irwin, American-Australian naturalist, conservationist and author
River or stream fishing has been my great passion since childhood.
And now that I am freer to roam, it’s a good time to continue. After all the Melupa river, a tributary of the Krian, is just behind our community dwelling.
I still keep a good luck charm obtained in the mid-60s, a partially burnt/smoked “daun ruku” (local cigar out of nipah leaf) taken from the mouth of my then-sleeping dad by me by way of biting it, a feat deemed good in turning such item into a lucky fishing charm.
After more than half a century, the talisman is still perfectly intact. Nevertheless, its contemporary charm is yet to be proven in the muddy lower Melupa.
I’m just hoping it could still match its charm of old that saw yours truly happily going home with very good catch, including the “tengas”, a smaller version of “semah” in upper Melupa.
There’s some hesitation on my part after learning from my older brother Jon, also a keen fishing enthusiast, that he had sighted on various occasions along the lower Melupa the “river kings” or “raja sungai” — here we never call them “baya” (crocodile).
In our conversation, we always refer to these reptiles as “datuk” or “raja”. Jon not only saw them lying around the riverbanks but also trying to bite the bait he used.
“Where prawns and the ‘baung’ (a species of catfish) are aplenty, the ‘river kings’ are certainly around trying their luck too,” said Jon one evening.
Two of our cousins, Buma and Sabang, who are keen in diving and snorkeling also had at least two underwater encounters with the “datuk”. They could easily spot the reptiles underwater by their “red” eyes.
The smaller crocodiles have bigger eyes whereas the bigger ones are with smaller eyes when sighted underwater, according to Sabang, 62, two years older than Buma. On both occasions, at different spots, they quickly abandoned their hunt for fish or prawn out of fear.
Jon, who is also fond of casting “jala” or “pukat” (net), lets these nets hang for a while. He is thinking of using them for a smaller stream and not the crocodile-infested lower Melupa or its tributary Burui, whereby at a point by the roadside of the Pan Borneo Highway, the “red eyes” of the reptiles were also seen at night by keen nocturnal fishing enthusiasts.
No less than three individuals have reported sighting the reptiles’ red eyes inside the lake by the roadside. In the 80s, this roadside lake was so popular with fishing individuals, this author included.
I remember catching a reasonably big “ikan toman” there circa 1985, thanks to my lucky amulet, perhaps. In those days, there was no such sighting of the lake being inhabited by “datuks”.
In the 60s, there were still a good number of longboats plying along the Melupa between Saratok town and the various longhouses.
My late dad owned a 3hp Seagull that barely could go against the strong current at times. There was also a motor launch that went up the Melupa until Kedap as its stop, catering for passengers, including those from longhouses in Debak during the days prior to the road access provided by the Kuching-Sibu highway.
This access was only possible after 1966. With the regular river trips by longboats, crocodiles were not known or seen to be around or abundant along the Melupa, especially up to the furthest point reachable by tide.
But it was reported some years ago, one of the hungry reptiles went up to the bathing point of female boarders of SK Nanga Assam, the furthest tidal point, and tried to hit a few bathers with its tail but missed.
After hearing a number of such episodes and encounters with the “datuk”, I’m compelled to believe their existence is a real threat and no matter how anxious I’m to prove that my good luck amulet still could match its prowess of the 60s, my level of hesitation remains high.
Fishing, an engagement that requires high level of patience and perseverance, is only for those who are in no hurry to get the job done.
After all, there is no “job” at all if one goes back empty-handed. That is why such good luck charm comes in handy, especially to someone like me whose virtues do not include patience.
One fine day in the near future, I will try to overcome my hesitation and try my amulet that I found still intact among my bric-a-brac at a corner of our longhouse.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
