Hunting for 'sea monsters' at Khe La dam

Nghe An After two days of fishing at Khe La dam without results, Le Khanh Hoa said "I'll fight the last battle and then go home", then it rained and a strange phenomenon appeared on the water surface.

In September 2020, a group of fishermen from Con Cuong district caught two black carp weighing 35-36 kg at Khe La dam, Phu Son commune, Tan Ky district. Fisherman Le Khanh Hoa, 29 years old, residing in Nghia Hong commune, Nghia Dan district, also went to the dam to "try his luck".

Having been fishing since the age of 10, Hoa turned professional in early 2020. He said that he had not studied black carp thoroughly before, but later learned that it was classified as a "sea monster" by many countries due to its large weight. He wanted to conquer a black carp weighing about 40 kg to set a new milestone for his career.

A corner of Khe La dam, home to many "sea monsters". Photo: Duc Hung

The first time he went fishing in Khe La for 10 days, Hoa returned with two broken fishing rods and dozens of broken hooks. Every summer and winter, he returns to Khe La dozens of times to hunt for black carp.

Hoa shared that fishing was like going to war, seeing fish swimming a few meters in front of him, breathing and wagging their tails. But at the bottom of the dam there were many houses and trees, making it very difficult to catch the fish when they were trapped. Every time he tried to pull the rod, he encountered problems, the big black carp bit the bait and got caught in the houses and trees, causing the line to break.

Because of work, in June 2023, Hoa and 3 friends returned to Khe La to conquer the unfinished goal. This time it was sunny, Hoa thought "99% failed", told himself to fish for fun and then go home, not to worry about catching the "sea monster". He used the method of fishing by mixing small snails with bait to attract fish, then hooked large snails to two hooks with fishing line connected to a carbon rod.

After two days, Khe La suddenly changed from hot to cool. Waiting for a long time without seeing any fish bite, Hoa told his colleague Duong Quang Hao, 40 years old, "let's finish the fishing and then go home." The two switched to fishing for green, dropping bait at a certain point at the dam, placing the green hook below, connected to the buoy above. After setting up the "battlefield", they took turns sitting and holding the rod to observe every movement under the water.

Hoa dives to pick up bricks, tiles, and sticks at the bottom of the dam to make the "big battle" easier. Photo: Le Hoa

After the rain in the early afternoon, fish kept coming up to the surface to breathe, Hoa guessed "tonight is a good time to catch fish". Because after the rain is the golden time to fish because fish often go out to find food in schools, including big ones. Hoa's group dived down to the dam at a depth of 6-7 m to remove some sticks below, in case they bump into big fish, it would reduce the risk.

In the early evening, the surface of the dam was rippling, the rod was shaking strongly, Hoa immediately jerked it hard, angler Hao helped pull the line in. After 3 minutes, they were happy to catch a black carp weighing 29 kg. But Hoa told the group "that's not a big fish, today the weather is favorable, keep setting the trap, who knows, maybe you will encounter a miracle".

An hour later, Hoa was sitting on the shore when he heard a loud splashing sound in the water. The fisherman Hao, who was on duty, shouted loudly: "Hoa, the goods have arrived. Help me, I can't hold it." Hoa jumped down to the dam and grabbed the fishing rod. At this time, the fish was pulling the fishing line and flying straight out into the distance. He immediately turned off the fishing rod so that the fish could not pull the fishing line anymore.

Nearly 3 years of 'hunting' for 40 kg black carp

A 40 kg black carp was caught at Khe La dam in June 2023. Video : Hung Le

Hoa explained that he locked the fishing reel to "solo" with the fish. This move was considered risky, with a high chance of losing the fish. There were many possibilities, the line could break, the fish flesh could be torn, the hook could be broken, and in the worst case, the rod and reel could break, causing damage of tens of millions of dong. But with the fish considered "huge", Hoa chose the all-or-nothing option because the bottom was a "heavenly net", there was no other choice.

"Holding the fishing rod made my arms and legs go weak," Hoa said. He bit his lips, held the rod tightly, pulled the fish hard, and slowly ashore.

Hooked at a depth of about 6 meters, the fish struggled vigorously, struggling with the angler. The fishing line was more than 30 meters long and stretched like a guitar string. After 3 minutes, it was pulled up to the dam surface 2 meters from the shore, the fish thrashed around, creating white foam in a radius of more than 6 meters.

Feeling the fish was getting tired from struggling, a member used a large net to catch it. "It took me 5 minutes to control the fish because it was too strong. If it had lasted a few more minutes, I probably wouldn't have been able to hold on. The whole group was screaming, bursting with joy," Hoa recounted.

A 40 kg black carp was caught by Hoa and other group members at Khe La. Photo: Le Hoa

A 40 kg black carp, recorded by local authorities as the largest ever caught at Khe La dam. Black carp, scientifically known as Mylopharyngodon piceus , belongs to the carp family, can be 1.5 m long and weigh more than 60 kg. They eat snails and mollusks in rivers, ponds and lakes. The price of black carp is usually three times more expensive than white carp, the large type is about 150,000 VND/kg.

Le Khanh Hoa shared that from the time he set the goal of catching a giant fish until the completion was 2 years and 9 months. Selling a 40 kg black carp to a customer in Ho Chi Minh City for 50 million VND, Hoa used this money to buy rice, instant noodles... to do charity work in Dak Nong. With the 29 kg fish, he brought it home to butcher, and gave each person a little to enjoy the rare specialty of Khe La.

Next article: Unemployed man changes his life thanks to fishing

Duc Hung

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