'Rembat Patin' Creates Lively Fishing Scene At Sungai Pengkalan Nangka

TUMPAT, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- As the floodwaters of Sungai Pengkalan Nangka began to subside, the gloom left by the disaster lifted, with locals flocking to the Jubakar Pantai tidal gate in search of wild patin, or shark catfish, drifting with the currents.

The annual ‘rembat patin’ tradition returned, drawing crowds as fishing rods lined the riverbank and roadside, while onlookers watched eagerly as anglers reeled in patin surfacing intermittently with the tidal gate’s current.

The phenomenon occurs when floodwaters from Sungai Golok flow through the tidal gate into the sea, causing fish to drift into the waterway. The sight has been likened to a ‘fishing party’ every time the waters recede.

Seasoned angler Zaidi Awang, 56, said that the ‘rembat patin’ technique did not require any bait, as the fish caught themselves on the hook while moving against the current.

“All you have to do is drag the fishing rod to the bottom and give it a few pulls. When the patin swims up with the current, it gets caught easily. Sometimes it takes less than 10 minutes,” he told Bernama recently.

Zaidi, from Kampung Sedar, said anglers normally landed three to four kilogrammes of patin during flood seasons, while the biggest catch ever recorded at the location was 19 kilogrammes in 2014.

Another angler, Najmi Mohd Najib, 25, said the strong currents at the tidal gate made fishing challenging, especially when large fish struggled against the rod.

“There are a lot of rocks here, so the hook gets stuck easily. But the moment we see the patin come to the surface, that’s the perfect time to pull.

“Catching big patin with a regular rod is difficult,” he said, adding that the landed wild patin are sold at RM12 to RM15 per kilogramme.

Najmi said that ‘rembat patin’ offered a different kind of satisfaction compared with regular fishing, as anglers had to handle fish battling the strong current while timing their moves precisely.

-- BERNAMA