Philippines Bass Fishing

[Brett's_daddy]

We’re headed to the Philippines for vacation next Saturday. I was shocked to learn that they have bass fishing and not just have bass but have BIG bass. Apparently when the U.S. occupied the Philippines in WWll they built some man made dams on inland lakes and someone seeded the lakes with largemouth bass and they have flourished. The specific lake we have plans on going to is called Pantabangan Lake in Nueva Ecija. Has anybody fished here before? If so, can you fish from shore or only by boat? What types and colors of lures work there? Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Darren.]

Wow, never knew that. Very cool! Good luck and catch

a big one!

[NavyToad]

I don’t think catch and release is widely practiced in P.I.. I’ve lived there and my wife is filipina. Truth is that every species of fish, no matter how big or small, is looked at as food in the Philippines. My observation is that if a body of water holds fish, it’s likely heavily fished and as far as I know there are no remote, untapped fisheries in the Philippines. Their efforts at Fish and Game preservation are all but non-existent and/or ineffective.

 

 

[gimruis]

I think @throttleplate may have spent some time in the Philippines.  Maybe he can help here.

[MN Fisher]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

I think @throttleplate may have spent some time in the Philippines.

I think his wife would be the better info person...

[Brett's_daddy]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

I think his wife would be the better info person...

Maybe not as much as you think, my wife is a Filipina and she was as shocked as I was that there are bass in the Philippines but I’ll take all the info I can get!!!

[throttleplate]

18 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

Maybe not as much as you think, my wife is a Filipina and she was as shocked as I was that there are bass in the Philippines but I’ll take all the info I can get!!!

 

Hello brett, everyplace i have lived in the philippines i have tried the freshwater fishing and only knowing of the place you mentioned as a hydroelectric dam which has gone through rebuilds and virtually dried up before i wish you well.

If you are serious it would be wise of you to ask some local boys with batanga boats if they could help you catch a fish, any fish for that matter but you must flash the cash and they would probably take you out. Its going to be an experience for you as you drop down your line and watch them drop down 50 yards of faded out nylon rope with a narley old hook and a piece of wood for a reel.

 

I have witnessed the most horriffic use of the river systems, creeks, channels, and ponds.

In the low lying urban areas the rivers are stagnant and carry a film of oil sheen because thats where any good person dumps their oil, hundreds and thousands of smoke belching jeepneys, trikes and motorbikes just waiting to deposit their old blood from their oil pans into the river, but wait, you may be lucky to hook an enormous diaper, loaded of course to at least make it a fight.

The poorest of the poor live along the river, this is where they bath, wash there clothes and emty their garbage all the while waiting for the next storm to come by and wash it all out to sea.

 

To witness clean water which i have you must go out into the mountains and hike up to be where no one, at least very few have dared to build a homestead well away from sea level dwellers. Just one heavy rain or worse a tropical depression will swell the clean beautiful river and take out everything in its path from top to bottom. I used to gold mine in the philippines with the locals so i have seen beautiful water but never fished it but did witness the locals catching skinny catfish.

 

There are many man made ponds here and there and what you will catch in them with a piece of string and hook are talpia the size of your hand if lucky and these ponds are choked with summerged weeds thick enough to walk on.

 

Have fun and post pics.

 

[gimruis]

1 hour ago, throttleplate said:

you may be lucky to hook an enormous diaper, loaded of course to at least make it a fight.

LOL

 

Diaper fishing, oil dumping, and bathing all in the same body of water. What a country.

[WardsPlease]

I know this is an old thread but I'll reply if others need the information. Hello guys, I'm new to rod and reel fishing (I grew up in the Philippines and used handline since I was 7) and I have been curious about bass fishing mainly because I caught wind of two places here in the Philippines that has LMB. 

The first place is Pantabangan Dam, found in a province called Nueva Ecija in Luzon. I am not entirely sure when they introduced LMB in the dam but I see people catching good-sized fish. Aside from Fishing, there are also spots for camping. I also see companies offering charter fishing to tourists using advanced equipment. There are also locals who are willing to drive you around with their small boats called "bangka" for a fee. (bring a local with you so they won't charge you the "White man rate")

The second place is called Lumot Lake and i have yet to do my research on that but as far as i can see, pantabangan has bigger LMB. 

As of the moment i am saving up for my trip to Pantabangan dam. Been watching YT vids and reading in forums to learn more while completing my gears as well. 

Hope this helps. 

PS @throttleplate is correct about our city rivers. 

[throttleplate]

Hello Wardsplease, a few years ago i read up about the Pantabangan Dam but it is as you know many islands away from iloilo city so no going there for me. Isnt there a bad drought going on in the PH this year to where the dam may dry up?

 

I wanted to catch fish so i then went bangka boat fishing with a club out on the ocean and i caught a red snapper using live shrimp, it was grueling hot with no wind and the bangka boat was extremely uncomfortable. I ended up laying on the the stern platform on top of the engine for the long ride back to the harbor.

It was a great time and experience with a great bunch of philippino guys.

Good luck with your fishing, if i was still living in the PH i would have put more effort into ocean fishing with the club as freshwater fish in the PH if you can find freshwater are mostly skinny catfish or pond raised tilapia.

 

 

[WardsPlease]

43 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

Hello Wardsplease, a few years ago i read up about the Pantabangan Dam but it is as you know many islands away from iloilo city so no going there for me. Isnt there a bad drought going on in the PH this year to where the dam may dry up?

yeah iloilo is quite far! Its a little hot here right now its around 99-105 Fahrenheit all week round.  I've also been monitoring the water level via their fb page and the water is below normal water level.

 

Also, i agree that you will have to go to the ocean if you want to catch good fish here. 

[ATA]

Guys I study and lived in most cities in Philippines, They have good bass fishing in Manila, Ill give you info about a tackle shop there and they have bass boats to rent as well(with them operating it like bass fishing guide), If it is helping you let me know and ill get info for you. I have a son there also and he can help 😂

[jamesfishing]

@throttleplate, it looks like you've had some interesting fishing experiences in the Philippines over the years! It's a bummer that the drought may affect the fishing at Pantabangan dam. Ocean fishing with those local clubs seems like a great way to enjoy the culture, though.

[Cle0]

Pantabangan Dam is too far away, but you can mostly catch bass in the Philippines with Daiwa Double Clutch lures, Bomber Crankbait Lures, or soft plastic worms. When it comes to soft plastics, I use Zoom and rig it either using the drop shot rig or Carolina rig. Both works.

 

Anyway, if you want to go Largemouth Bass fishing, I would suggest going to Cavinti, Laguna. This is mostly my advice because Pantabangan Lake is too far away from the Metro. Plus, Cavinti has TWO lakes adjacent to each other that have been stocked with LMB as well (Caliraya and Lumot Lake). Pantabangan, Caliraya, and Lumot lakes are the only lakes with LMB that I know of. If you would go to Cavinti, you really can't fish much onshore, but you can rent boats for 1000-1500 pesos for the whole day. The locals are very kind.

 

Another helpful piece of information is that if you would consider going to either Lumot or Caliraya, I strongly recommend you to be equipped with rain gear. They are lakes situated on the top of a mountain, so light sprinkles and rain come plenty. That isn't entirely a bad thing though, because this results in rainbows almost every 30-45 minutes if you're into that.

 

Tight lines, and stay safe. 

 

PS: Pantabangan (or Nueva Ecija in general) is known for having lots of Philippine Cobra, while Cavinti hosts a population of both Southern Philippine Pit Vipers as well as King Cobras so exercise caution if you ever decide to just wing it and go into the woods to journey alone.