Go to Ca Mau to hunt for 'tree climbing fish'

photo-4-cat-fish-of-the-time(1).jpg — The beauty of Ca Mau Cape seen from above.

Follow the "tree climbing fish" hunter

Following Ho Chi Minh Road, the distance from Ca Mau City to Dat Mui is 120km, the car takes about 90 minutes to reach Tu Ty rest stop (Tam Hiep hamlet, Rach Goc town, Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau). With a friendly, gentle smile, Mr. Tu Ty (Le Minh Ty - owner of Tu Ty rest stop) came to the car to pick up the guests.

Having visited several times, I have learned that this place has many extremely interesting activities such as fishing nets under shrimp ponds, setting crab traps, fishing for mudskippers (or tree-climbing fish) and enjoying the fresh specialties of this land. When he knew that we wanted to experience catching mudskippers, Mr. Tu Ty put his arm around my shoulder and smiled gently saying: "It's a small matter, wait for me a bit...".

Before I could finish my drink, Mr. Tu Ty tapped me on the shoulder from behind, startling me. He said, “Get changed and come with me.” I asked back, “Where are you going?” “Going to hunt mudskippers, where else, brother?” Mr. Tu Ty said and introduced me to the “mudskipper hunter”: Mr. Nguyen Van Ba (also known as Mr. Bay Ba, residing in Tan An Tay commune, Ngoc Hien district).

Starting his trip to hunt for mudskippers at 6am, Mr. Bay Ba brought about 20 sets of mudskipper hunting “tools” made from plastic bottles and walked along the rivers as the water level gradually receded. Mr. Bay Ba is over 80 years old but is still very agile, taking only about 30 minutes to set up 20 fish traps.

With about 60 years of experience in trapping mudskippers, Mr. Bay Ba said that depending on the locality, each place has its own way to catch mudskippers, such as digging holes, setting hooks during the day or shining lights at night... However, the most common way to catch mudskippers that his father taught him is to use "sà di".

“Because I have understood the characteristics and habits of mudskippers, any shiny cave is sure to have fish, so I just set a trap at the cave mouth, and when it’s time to visit, I catch fish. In the past, soldiers often used a fish trap made from water coconut leaves, which was both easy and very effective. On a lucky day, the whole troop could not finish eating it all,” Mr. Ba told the story very charmingly.

According to Mr. Bay Ba, mudskippers mainly live in swampy, humid areas where the tides frequently rise and fall. When the water recedes, they hide in deep caves, and when the water rises, they come out to look for food.

"This fish is very cunning, moves very quickly and when they are in danger, they often hide in their caves, setting up many secondary caves to escape," said Mr. Bay.

The "strangest fish on the planet"

Mr. Bay Ba added that the reason why the mudskipper is on the list of the “strangest animals on the planet” is because of its unique characteristics. Right from its shape, the mudskipper appears “strange” compared to other common fish because of its bulging eyes as if someone had attached two marbles to the top of its head. The name “mudskipper” probably also comes from its oversized bulging eyes. This can be said to be a versatile fish, because it can jump, crawl, run on land, swim underwater, and also climb trees.

Spending the whole morning wading through the mud, collecting traps, all of which were filled with mudskippers, Mr. Bay Ba calculated that with 3kg of fish harvested, he would earn nearly 200,000 VND. Looking at the product after a day of catching - the fat mudskippers, we were all excited. Just thinking about the grilled mudskippers with salt and chili that we would be treated to after hours of hard fishing made us excited.

Mudskippers can be processed into many dishes such as mudskippers cooked with rice vinegar, grilled with salt and chili, fried with salt, braised in a clay pot, and dried. Each dish has its own unique flavor that makes visitors who come here once remember it forever.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Dien, a tourist from Tra Vinh shared, every time I come to Ca Mau , I often stop at restaurants to order grilled mudskippers, because they are delicious, unique, cheap and you will remember them after just one bite. Coming to Ca Mau to eat mudskippers, experiencing fishing with Mr. Bay Ba, the emotions are truly unforgettable.

In addition to setting mudskipper traps, Tu Ty stop also arranges mudskipper fishing services. This is a new way of catching mudskippers, less laborious, more effective, and full of the appeal of fishing. All you need is a 3m long fishing rod, a string with a small hook (the type of hook for perch, bream) and live shrimp bait to experience mudskipper fishing.

Mr. Le Trung Nguyen (Mr. Tu Ty's eldest son) shared: "The mudskippers are very greedy, especially when hungry. You just need to break off a piece of bait that fits the fish's mouth, hook it on the hook, and then throw the bait right in front of the mudskippers' heads as they are foraging. They will bite right away, but don't pull the hook too quickly because mudskippers are very smart, they will release the bait immediately. Wait a few seconds for the mudskipper to swallow the bait before pulling it. I guarantee that every time, the fish will be hooked."

Under the blazing fire, the smell of salt and chili permeated every fiber of the grilled fish, making it extremely fragrant and appealing. The meat was spicy, fragrant, and white, making even the most fastidious person unable to criticize it. That was enough to create a deep impression in the heart of a distant visitor like me.

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Total revenue from tourism reached over 2,900 billion VND
In 2023, the number of tourists to Ca Mau will reach more than 2 million, an increase of 23.5% compared to 2022, exceeding the annual plan by 19%. Total revenue from tourism in 2023 will reach more than VND 2,900 billion, an increase of 20.4% over the previous year. Achieving such an impressive figure, according to Mr. Tran Hieu Hung - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau, is due to the province implementing many important event programs to attract tourists, in which the most prominent activities are the activities in the series of events Ca Mau Destination and Shrimp Festival.

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