Fishing - an enjoyable sport

(Baonghean) - Every weekend, instead of shopping or visiting bustling entertainment venues, many people choose to relax by tranquil ponds and lakes with their fishing rods. Nowadays, in Nghe An, fishing is not just a simple pastime but has become a sport, attracting quite a few anglers.

A fishing trip by the Nghe An Fishing Club.

Fishing is also a very skillful profession.

One weekend, I accompanied Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung – an employee of Nghe An Telecommunications Company – to a fishing trip organized by the Nghe An Fishing Club at the Central Park Lake (Vinh City). Mr. Hung said that this is one of the places he often goes fishing with club members on weekends. When we arrived at the lake, there were already 5-7 anglers around the shore, some preparing bait to cast their lines, others intently waiting for fish… Whenever an angler appeared, those already fishing would just nod in greeting and then continue to focus on the water. Mr. Hung explained: “Fishing requires almost absolute quiet. When casting the line, the angler must keep the line taut enough to feel the movements on the water's surface and the fish. If there is a loud noise while fishing, or the rod trembles, the fish will run away.” It is known that there are many fishing spots in Vinh City such as Goong Lake, Central Park Lake, Tecco Lake, and Cua Nam Lake; In neighboring districts, there are fish ponds like Mr. Nghia's pond, Chung Be's pond (Nghi Thuan - Nghi Loc), and Mr. Tuan's pond (Kim Lien - Nam Dan)... In addition, there are natural ponds along the Lam River in Hung Hoa commune (Vinh City), Hung Thinh commune (Hung Nguyen)... For commercial fishing spots, there are two types: "weighted fishing" and "hourly fishing". Weighted fishing means you can take as much fish as you want and pay accordingly, with an additional charge of 20,000 - 50,000 VND per rod. Hourly fishing charges by the hour or for the whole day; you take home whatever amount of fish you catch.

According to Mr. Hoang Gia, an official at the Nghi Loc District Cultural Center and a member of the Nghe An Fishing Club, there are four main types of fishing in Nghe An: bottom fishing, Taiwanese fishing (also known as single-hook fishing), snakehead fishing (also known as lure fishing), and sea fishing. Each type requires specific experience and technique. For example, bottom fishing (using 6 sharp, barbless hooks, the most common type) doesn't require bait; you just drop the bait into the water, concentrating it in one spot to lure the fish. When a fish comes to eat the bait, it usually brushes against the line, causing the float to move. The angler then jerks the cluster of hooks from the bottom up, attaching them to the fish's belly. Single-hook fishing (lure fishing) involves attaching bait to the hook and then luring the fish to eat it... Depending on the conditions and time, people can choose the appropriate fishing style. However, to participate in this hobby, at a minimum, everyone needs a set of rod, hook, line, float, basket, and some decent bait. Fishing rods can be simple, made of bamboo, wood tied with string, or even complex, precision-engineered tools costing from 100,000 VND to millions of VND. Besides that, anglers also need to understand the characteristics of different fish to prepare bait suitable for each type of fish, so that they will bite the hook. For example: carp prefer starch, grass carp prefer vegetables, crucian carp eat worms… In addition, there are homemade baits made from roasted rice mixed with clay, which, depending on the region, may include foul-smelling substances such as rotten eggs, rotten meat, beer lees, fermented rice, bran, bananas, and pungent substances like snails and crabs… Furthermore, fishing requires many other skills such as knowing how to observe the sun, wind direction, water current, and identifying fish species based on bubbles…

Organized sport

Currently, the system of sport fishing clubs is developing strongly throughout the North, Central, and South of Vietnam. At the national level, the Vietnam Sport Fishing Association was established in October 2013. In Nghe An, the Xu Nghe Fishing Club was founded in August 2013 and currently has 18 members, aged 32-35, operating mainly in Vinh City and surrounding districts. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung – the club's chairman and also a member of the executive board of the Nghe An Sport Fishing Association – said: Over the past year, the club has organized two open club fishing tournaments, each attracting 60-100 anglers nationwide. In addition, the club has participated in several sport fishing tournaments in provinces such as Ha Tinh and Khanh Hoa…

Besides the Xứ Nghệ Fishing Club, the province also has the Thái Hòa Fishing Club, established at the end of 2013 with more than 10 members. However, these are not the first two fishing clubs established in Nghệ An. In 2005, the Thành Vinh Fishing Club, with mostly retired officials as members, was established, but it only lasted for nearly a year. To date, according to estimates by the Xứ Nghệ Fishing Club, the number of regular fishermen is approximately 60-70 people, but only the two clubs mentioned above operate in a structured and organized manner. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung stated: “We believe that the activities of the Nghe An Fishing Club are not only for sports and recreation, but also aim to protect the environment and ecosystem by limiting the catching of small, immature fish, encouraging single-hook fishing instead of multi-hook fishing, as this method does not kill the fish and allows them to be released back into the lake… Therefore, in the future, we hope to recruit more members and organize more tournaments to make fishing activities in the province more professional.”

Minh Quan