Coloong 1, Valenzuela

Coloong is an old fishing barangay in Valenzuela City which can be reached conveniently within an hours drive from Manila. Recently, the FilipinoAnglers.Org organized a fishing tournament there with the aid of the Valenzuela Government.

How to get there:

Driving Directions

From NLEX, Exit at Valenzuela Exit and turn left and travel down Maysan Rd. Just go straight until you reach McArthur Hiway. Turn right and drive towards Malanday until you see the Meralco Office on your right. Turn left at the inverted Y intersection. Drive about 1.5 km and turn right at the very first crossroad. Thats Coloong 1. Go straight ahead about 1.5 km until you reach a public school on your right. About 100 meters ahead, turn right to Kapitans pond.
From Monumento, take McArthur Hiway and drive towards Malanday until you see the Meralco Office on your right. Turn left at the inverted Y intersection. Drive about 1.5 km and turn right at the very first crossroad. Thats Coloong 1. Go straight ahead about 1.5 km until you reach a public school on your right. About 100 meters ahead, turn right to Kapitans pond.
Via Polo Road. From Monumento, take the road to Maysilo until you reach Santolan Malabon.
After Santolan, Go staright to Arkong Bato and POLO Valenzuela. When you reach Polo Church, Turn right until you reach the part where the road separates. If you turn left, about 150m, you should reach Coloong 2. Go straight ahead, you should reach Coloong 1. It doesn’t matter whether you take Coloong 1 or 2. It’s the same baranggay and you should reach the same destination.

Using Public Transport

For the commuter, the easiest way to get to Coloong is via Public Bus. From anywhere in Edsa, hail a Bus bound for Malanday/Meycauyan. These buses will ply the Edsa – Monumento – MacArthur route going to Valenzuela, which was described in Option 2 above. Get off at the Meralco Office (on your right) at Malanday. Cross the road and board the jeeps going to Obando, get off at Coloong 1 and get one of the pedicabs or tricycles to bring you to Kapitans pond.

Where to fish

Several private ponds are open to the Public. However, one of the most popular payponds is Kapitans pond which is at Coloong 1. Theres another pond at Coloong 1 called Anahaw which is a lot er but has the same amenities as Kapitans.

What to expect at Kapitans

The pond is open on weekdays and weekends, from 7 am till the sun sets as there are insufficient lighting around the area. Ample parking is however available. Several nipa cottages can be rented at 300-400 day, good for 6-8 persons. For those who choose to just fish under the trees, a 50 php entrance fee is charged upon weigh in of catches.

On weekends, a modest service boat (banca) ferries people to the bigger outer pond for 25 pesos per head, to be paid on the return trip. Grills are available for use but is on a first come first served basis, so it is best to bring your own grill and charcoal.

Bait is available on site, on weekends but rarely on weekdays. There are vendors near the entrance in the early mornings who sell them for 20 pesos per cup.

Unfortunately, there are no swimming pools on the area. There are two comfort rooms in near the huts but there are none on the outer pond where the boat takes you.There is no restaurant on site so you need to bring your own food.

What to Bring

• Lots of water
• Food
• Umbrella
• Sunblock

What you may catch

The typical catch at Coloong are bangus (80-100/kg) and tilapia (80/kg). However, recently Barramundi up to 8 Kilos have been successfully taken on lures, but this comes with a hefty price of 250-300 /kg. Other fishes such as kitang, dalag, hito, bidbid and buan buan are also occasionally caught in the area.