Ian Welch IT Lake Monsters fishing – 04 04 2009
Ian Welch from the Anglers Mail returned to IT Lake Monsters for the second day of filming a Discovery channel television production.
After landing a large haul of mixed predators on the previous day Ian once again chose to begin with large deadbaits fished into the nearby margins.
Adopting a roving and stealthy approach the angler crept round the lake in the half light gently lobbing his hookbaits into quiet marginal areas.
After moving on two occasions the angler received an extremely fast take which saw line being ripped from the spool of the reel.
After closing the bale arm the angler firmly set the hook into a good sized Redtail Catfish and applied maximum drag to slow the fish’s powerful run.
After turning the fish it proceeded on another powerful run along the nearby margins requiring the angler to follow it along the bank.
Fifteen minutes later a large Redtail Catfish was netted and hoisted onto the bank.
The Redtail Catfish was estimated to weigh 28kg’s and was released after photography.
The following few hours produced further predatory species with Ian landing a succession of Asian Redtail Catfish, Alligator Gars and a curiously disfigured Arapaima with a large hump on its rear quarters estimated to weigh 35lb’s.
The arrival of a another pick-up truck filled with live baits saw Ian changing over to a small live Tilapia as a hookbait and casting into the waiting hordes of hungry predators.
With vast amounts of livebaits being emptied into the lake the angler wasted no time in extracting several Sorubim and Redtail Catfish to an estimated 24kg’s.
With a large Arapaima showing just outside the packs of hungry predators,the angler cast past the main pack of fish into the path of the armoured giant.
With baited breath the angler watched as the line slowly began to tighten only for it to drop lifelessly back onto the surface of the lake.
The Arapaima had clearly sensed something was amiss and rapidly expelled the bait before exiting the swim leaving a large swirl in its wake.
Further casts into the baited area produced more predators with a beautiful Giant Snakehead of 6.5kg’s being caught on a small livebait at the edge of the baited area.
After moving round the lake and fishing from a different angle Ian soon hooked into another Arapaima.
The fish moved powerfully towards the centre of the lake angrily shaking its armoured head in an attempt to rid itself if the hook.
Ian skillfully played the fish for the next ten minutes seeing the fish become airborne on several occasions completely leaving the water!
The Arapaima was brought safely over the netting table which had been placed in the margins of the lake where it was allowed a few minutes to recover.
After the fish had sufficiently recovered it was carefully displayed for the camera crew and required two anglers to lift the fish.
The Arapaima was estimated to weigh 35kg’s and was replaced in the netting table to allow it to recuperate after the battle.
With several hours left of filming the angler recast his hookbaits into the lake in search of more predatory monster fish.
Some twenty minutes later another Arapaima picked up the bait and powered off along the nearby margins.
A brief five minute battle saw the fish leaping completely out of the water whilst thrashing its head from side to side.
After a few initial bursts of power the fish was quickly subdued and brought to the waiting net.
On inspection the Arapaima was confirmed to be the same hump-backed monster caught earlier in the day and was estimated to weigh 35lb’s.
The fish clearly had a voracious appetite and had been hooked and landed on two occasions in the same day.
With the ending of the days fishing Ian had once again bagged up in style.
At the end of the days angling the Anglers Mail reporter had accounted for a fifteen fish capture including a variety of predators including a new species personal best Giant Snakehead and a good sized Arapaima for the cameras.
The full report for Ian’s trip will be appearing in the Anglers Mail in the coming weeks.
