Fishing - evening to late night

Today is our second day as invigilators for a practical exam at a rural secondary school. It’s been an interesting experience because I got to revisit my former workplace from about seven years ago. There are some new teachers, but many of the old ones are still here. The senior teachers and even the canteen staff recognized me right away. The school has improved a lot! New buildings, like the library, caught my attention. The students’ respectful attitude towards teachers hasn’t changed, which is something I admire. I do miss working here, but I’ve already settled comfortably at my current school.

The road conditions has changed much, but it still unpaved, making it slippery and dangerous when it rains. However, about two-thirds of the main road has been widened, and concrete bridges are being built to replace the old wooden ones that were always breaking down. I hope the area’s infrastructure and schools will continue to develop soon.

Enough about the school. Yesterday, after invigilating, we headed back to our homestay, about 8 kilometers from the school. My friends and I, who love fishing, had already planned to start as soon as it was still daylight. I went hunting for live worms—my go-to bait. Luckily, it was easy to find them near the homestay since the owner’s garden is nearby.

We started fishing around 3:30 PM when the sun was hidden behind the big trees, so it wasn’t too hot. The view was amazing during the day! But, sadly, not a single fish took our legendary bait until 6 PM.

At 6 PM, things finally picked up! Fish started biting, and the thrill kicked in. It was so fun we forgot to eat. Although the fish were biting a lot, I was the only one who managed to catch a few. My friends didn’t have much luck. Two of them gave up and went back to the homestay, leaving just me and my buddy, @ridzan. He wasn’t too bothered because he purposely used a big hook, aiming for large fish. He wanted the excitement of reeling in a big one.

I stuck to my ultralight fishing setup, using small prawn hooks and matching gear. I caught more fish and even prawns! It’s been so long since I felt this satisfied with fishing, and honestly, I wasn’t ready to stop just yet! We took a break around 8 PM to eat and rest, then resumed at 9:30 PM. Finally, @ridzan managed to catch something, not a fish, but a prawn! Despite using a big hook, he got a solid strike.

By late night, the fish weren’t biting as much. We wanted to use up all the worms before stopping, but rain forced us to call it a day. Fishing from 3:30 PM to 1:30 AM was such a satisfying experience!