Kelau Dam Walkabout

Bentong’s Latest Haruan Playground.

Most residents in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur especially those who had suffered from water shortage should have heard of the once highly controversial water supply project known as ‘Langat 2’, which is meant to supply water from Pahang to Selangor to resolve the long term water issue in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Now, what has this got to do with fishing? The truth is, this mega project actually involved the construction of a relatively huge reservoir north of Bentong by building a dam across Sungai Kelau, which eventually led to the innundation of a huge area to form the now Kelau Reservoir whose water surface is many times larger than either Langat Dam or Semenyih Dam (see map).

Prompted by exciting news of haruan being caught in the lake in terms of quantity and quality, several visits were recently made by Rod & Line and friends to ascertain the actual fishability of this large expanse of newly innundated water.

Best place to test weedless lures

Cruising and fishing along the bank for haruan, it was soon found that this new lake is simple and quite easy for personal navigation, but extremely challenging in terms of lure fishing. The water is not as clear as those in Temengor or Kenyir, but the slight murkiness can actually be a blessing for lure fishing.

At the onset, there are few islands to confuse the boater, except when there is a stark drop in water level that  can even create shallow water right in the middle of the lake, which could pose problems to the new boaters.