Hi Hive Lovers
Hampala fish is a type of freshwater fish in fast-flowing rivers. Currently, these fish are only found upstream of the river in the forest interior in the mountains.
This fish meat is known to be very delicious, and the texture of the meat is super soft. Even if cooked in any way, it will never reduce its deliciousness.
I and some of my nature adventure buddies did this expensive and delicious fish hunt last weekend. One of us had traveled there about two years ago. This time, he was willing to be a guide for all of us.
The journey there can only be made by a powerful motorbike; the terrain that must be traveled is a dirt road and climbing. We just arrived at our destination after a 5-hour journey, and we must stay there. There is no way to return home right away.
Given the severity of our journey, I would never have been prepared for it. However, stories about the delicacy of Hampala fish and hunting techniques to get them, as well as the location of our stay at the edge of the waterfall, really challenged the adrenaline of adventurers like me.
But I will not share the route here to avoid having it used by irresponsible people who will hunt them illegally.
Hampala fish are getting rarer
In my country, currently, the Hampala fish has become increasingly rare; it's increasingly difficult to find this fish with a size above 1 kg. Their price is very expensive because these fish are rarely found.
Their hunting is carried out illegally by irresponsible people who are poisoned, electrocuted, or bombed.
Several perpetrators were reported to have been arrested, but the number of those who were not caught was never known. They operate upstream of rivers in the interior of the forest; some even act at night so as not to be watched.
Those illegal hunting methods have literally killed all sizes of Hampala fish, even to the point of killing their fry; they are really hard to find nowadays.
To actually find them, one has to make an arduous journey into the jungle towards the headwaters of a river untouched by humans. We did it on our hunting trip this time.
The way we hunt
We are good adventurers and have an awareness of the preservation of natural ecosystems. The method we use to catch these delicious fish is by shooting them in the water and damming up some of the small streams that are there.
Shooting in the water is done by diving and using an improvised gun with bullets in the form of stabbing wires that can pierce the bodies of the fish. So, divers have to choose their size, and the fish that can be caught are also very limited. I mean, only as necessary.
Damming several streams there was apparently ineffective because the fish were nimble and wild.
Enjoy the beauty of nature and stay at a waterfall
When we arrived at the location, we felt like people who had just woken up from a long sleep and felt physically and mentally refreshed.
All the tiredness and burden due to the weight of the journey suddenly just disappeared, and there was only freedom. How come? Only you are there, and you are really in the middle of a natural forest without any modern facilities.
We immediately hunted for the delicious Hampala fish for our lunch menu and, at the same time, prepared our dinner menu and breakfast menu for the next day.
Enjoy really fresh fish
After getting some of the fish, we enjoyed the freshness of the natural river water directly under the waterfall.
What we did with the fish was immediately cook it in a simple way with the spices we prepared. We did all the cooking methods: burning it, sautéing it, cooking the sauce, and wrapping the peeled fish in leaves. Everything has a different taste, but there is still one delicacy.
Some of our fish is stored by smoking; it is the best natural preservation technique and has the best taste.
I can't describe how delicious this rare fish meat is. We smoked the leftover fish we caught on the first day and also took home some of the other fresh fish we caught earlier that morning.
In the upstream of a river far away in a remote forest, this fish is not really rare. You only need to get into the water to meet them. They are rare for the general public.
Nature always keeps its wealth in places that have not been touched by humans, and for those of us who have been able to penetrate into the heart of nature, be kind and protect nature from pollution.
If you really have time, take a walk into nature and find the many rarities there.
