Passion for conquering "sea monsters"
I got to know Le Khanh Hoa by chance. That was when I received the decision to come to the Lao Dong Newspaper Representative Office in the North Central region as the office manager for a few days, there was shocking news in the Nghe An "angler" community: A young angler had conquered a black carp weighing over 40kg at Khe La dam - located in Phu Son, Tan Ky, a mountainous district in the West of Nghe An, nearly 100km from Vinh city. The shock was due to the size of the "giant" black carp, a rare "monster" that domestic anglers had caught.
Also a fishing enthusiast, I learned about this guy and got his phone number to contact.
Hoa is a typical Nghe An youth: short hair, strong body, dark skin from months of wandering, diving and hunting for fish. It turns out that Hoa's "fishing career" also came by chance, like a turning point in life.
Graduated from university with a degree in Business Administration, but Hoa did not pursue this career. Getting married in early 2019, Hoa and his wife Van Quynh Nhu borrowed money to open two clothing stores in Thai Hoa town and Vinh city. When the business was on track, Covid-19 appeared and all plans fell apart. Hoa was in debt and thought he could not raise his head. While depressed and unemployed, having a talent for fishing since childhood, Hoa bought a fishing rod to relax, made videos about his fishing journey and posted them on social networking sites "to get views for fun". Surprisingly, Hoa's videos and stories were spread on social networks and received a lot of interaction.
From making bait and bait for retail, Hoa realized the opportunity for online business, selling on social networking platforms combined with clips of amazing fish hunting, difficult and passionate journeys.
I once heard Hoa passionately tell about his journey to hunt the Khe La monster with 8 days and nights of stalking, eating and sleeping in tents right on the dam bank, and I saw the desire to conquer the strongest and most powerful fish of this Nghe An boy.
Shark Encounter
Hoa said that his dream is still to be like his idol, Jeremy Wade - a British biologist, TV presenter, author of many books on fishing, especially famous for hunting and catching "sea monsters" all over the world through the TV series River Monsters.
So, sometimes Hoa still posts and tells about her journey when she went to Thailand and China to hunt fish. "Wherever I see a place with big fish, I try to find it and try to catch it" - Hoa said.
Around September, Le Khanh Hoa decided to go to Kuala Rompin (Malaysia) to conquer sailfish. “Do you know why I chose Rompin?” Hoa said. “Kuala Rompin is the sailfish fishing capital of Asia and hosts world-class fishing events every year. Sailfish are quite similar to swordfish, ranging from 1m to 1.5m in length, and are extremely fast and strong swimmers.”
Then, while hunting for sailfish, Hoa encountered a shark. “I later learned that bull sharks are indeed sea monsters,” Hoa said. “They often swim very far and are known to be ferocious and opportunistic predators. Bull sharks are at the top of the list of attacks on humans near the coast. I don’t know why, but I threw my line at that moment. The local guide said, “Don’t fish because you won’t be able to catch them. Even if they bite the bait, there’s no way you can pull them up.”
Unexpectedly, a fish weighing about 200kg took the bait. “I have conquered many types of fish, over 100kg is quite a lot, but I have never encountered such a terrifyingly strong fish,” Hoa said. The battle between man and fish lasted from morning until evening, the fishing line was stretched and retracted to the point of generating heat, water had to be poured into the fishing line and fishing reel to cool it down.
Until the fisherman was exhausted mentally and physically, then… “burst”. The fishing line snapped. The silhouette of the bull shark appeared and disappeared, as if teasing and challenging in the clear blue water. Hoa and his friend stared blankly at the broken fishing line. They felt like they had just lost something great in their lives.
Revenge
“At that moment, I swore to myself that if I couldn’t catch a shark, I would quit fishing,” Hoa said. But to catch sharks, you need a special rod and line. After the failed trip to Rompin, Hoa went to China to order a rod and line. Still carbon, but the best.
After choosing the rod and line he wanted, Hoa booked a ticket to Rompin. “Is the trip expensive?” I asked. “The total cost is about 150 million, including airfare, transportation, accommodation, boat rental, and local people,” Hoa said.
In fact, spending so much money, Hoa was not sure if he would meet or catch a shark. When he arrived at Rompin, Hoa was again doused with cold water by the locals: "No one has ever caught a shark with a rod before. Moreover, facing it is very dangerous." Hoa was not discouraged, still determined to go to sea.
It was not easy. After nearly a week at sea, Hoa only caught a few sturgeon, and even sailfish, but that was not the purpose of the trip. By the 6th day, Hoa had almost given up. “I cast the last line with the bait being a pale, discolored piece of swordfish. After casting, I took out my phone to look at pictures of my wife and children to ease my longing because I knew the failure rate was 99%…. I was about to fall asleep because I was so tired….. when suddenly the fishing rod was pulled very hard. Hundreds of meters of line were pulled in just a few seconds.
My intuition told me that it was indeed there. A bull shark. I immediately grabbed the fishing rod and shouted: “Quick, quick, quick, out of line, out of line”. The motor started, not having time to turn around. I ran back at full speed after the fish. I locked the engine to reel in the line, then the fish changed direction and ran back. I pulled out almost all the line, then the motor caught up again”. The man and the fish fought again. It took 4 hours for the fish to finally be defeated. “When it stopped swimming, I used my bare hands to grab the leader and pull it closer to the boat. The fish was so heavy that my hand was bleeding. Then the fishing line suddenly snapped because it was overloaded. Oh my god! Was it gone again? Luckily, my companions had managed to stretch the line across the fish. At that moment, my heart felt like it was about to fall out. I was overwhelmed with emotion, having just barely managed to get back the giant fish…”.
That was the biggest shark that Hoa had caught in his long journey of hunting for “sea monsters”. That fish, weighing about 400kg, Hoa gave it to the locals, just like Hoa’s long-standing style: when you catch it, you either eat it, release it, or give it away, but you almost never sell the fish.
Continue with the dreams
I asked Hoa: “Is it possible that you were a little lucky that you didn’t lose that bull shark?”. Hoa smiled and said: “That’s exactly what I thought. “Luck” helped me lure this one shark here because sharks usually travel in schools in this area. “Luck” also helped me defeat the fish that is known as the killer of the sea. “Luck” helped me once again put a rope around the fish when my fishing line broke. I thought to myself. Maybe, doing good deeds regularly brings me so much luck!”
I remember my promise to Hoa at the end of 2023, Hoa invited me to go to Dak Lak with his group to do charity work to help people in remote areas. Part of the charity money was from Hoa selling a giant black carp at Khe La dam for 50 million. Hoa brought more than 100 million to do charity work. Unfortunately, I could not go on that trip with Hoa because I was busy with work.
“We still organize volunteer trips like this, combining fishing with helping the poor and those in difficult circumstances. This probably also accumulates luck,” Hoa said.
I believe in young people like Le Khanh Hoa. This Nghe An guy continues his startup story by building a large fishing shop, creating jobs for 20 people, paying a monthly salary of 6-20 million VND. Continue to create videos to post on his "million view" channels on YouTube, TikTok and continue to fulfill his dream of conquering "sea monsters" and continue to join hands to share and help people in difficulty...
(Posted in the Special Publication of Labor North Central Spring At Ty)
