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In the middle of a cemetery and tucked away in the backstreets of Jakarta, a stagnant, concrete fishing pond lies dark with algae. Around it, men sit chatting, eating and smoking with their fishing rods dangling in the sludge and slime. It’s quite the social affair.

“Its just entertainment for the people around here,” says Maysudin, manager of the fishing club. “It’s a tradition for people in this community to fish around here — it started decades ago.”

Madesu Fishing Club, which takes its name from “masa depan suram” (“the future is bleak”), is a group of local men who often lose themselves sitting around all day in the sport of catching fish.

An unofficial rule of the club is that once a man joins the group, he must stay and continue fishing all day, every day, with no future plans past that — hence the name of the club.

Madesu opened in 1998 and is one of four ponds near Menteng Dalam in South Jakarta, though there are more than 100 ponds in South Jakarta and many fish waiting to be caught.

You would never guess that the hustle and bustle of the chaotic capital exists just five minutes away from Madesu, because right outside the cemetery people in a small kampung greet strangers with laughter and friendly smiles. Then down a back alley, just past a mountain of rubbish and beside the kite-flying children, two ponds wait with up to 30 men sitting around them, laughing and talking and catching their dinners.

Devoted fisherman Rijalani has been going to Madesu Fishing Club for almost two years, and he says the fish are tasty and sweet — perfect for frying or tossing together with curry and vegetables.

The men catch a type of carp known as “golden fish,” a sturdy breed that is strong enough to survive the polluted waters. Under normal circumstances, carp can grow up to 120 centimeters long and weigh around 40 kilograms, but with the skilled fisherman at this pond ready to snap up the best catch, the carp here only grow to about 50 centimeters in length.

One of the lucky fisherman, Sulaiman, proudly shows off his catch: 10 fat and surprisingly healthy-looking fish.

Today, he says, is a lucky day. On an average day he’ll carry home a heavy net with six fish, though he says he can catch up to 15 on a good day.

“I like to fish here because I like the taste of golden fish,” he says, adding that he joins Madesu about three times a week.

Ten fish seems like an awful lot for one person’s dinner, but Sulaiman says he will also sell some of his catch.

“I would be so bored if I had to eat golden fish every day,” he said.

But he certainly is not bored with fishing, as fellow fisherman Taufik can attest. According to Taufik, Sulaiman “has been fishing here from thin to fat!”

“He [Sulaiman] has fallen in [the pond] lots of times; he wants the fish so badly that he leans closer to the water and he falls in!” Taufik says with a laugh.

Pond fishing is also an important part of life for the people who live in the kampung, providing them with an opportunity to enjoy themselves and socialize.

Rijalani, who was born nearby, goes fishing at Madesu three times a week and says it’s his favorite fishing club.

“This place is made for people to gather,” he says. “It’s a refreshing break from the city.”

With a vast choice of fishing clubs in Jakarta, Rijalani prefers Madesu because it is closer to his home, though he sometimes visits other clubs for events and competitions. After finishing a rough day of catching just three fish, he says he usually catches seven or eight fish in a day.

The fishing pond also provides local villagers with a valuable source of income and a way to feed their families.

It costs Rp 44,000 ($5) to fish at Madesu for one day, and people are free to catch as many fish as they like, often selling them later to make a profit.

But where do all of the fish come from, and how do they get to the depths of the murky pond in the middle of Jakarta?

According to Maysudin, the club buys the fish from Srengseng in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, and then it puts them into the pond.

Eager to cast my own rod into the water, I watch in awe as the men sling their fishing rods into the emerald liquid and look down below. I stare into the depths of the pond as well, or at least I try, but as I had expected, I see nothing beyond the slime and sludge.

A yell disrupts my gaze and I look up to see Taufik jerking his rod and pulling out a fat, sparkling and scaly fish. It is hard to believe that something so clean and healthy can survive a pond like that.

Madesu Fishing Club is located in Menteng Dalam, off of Jalan Casablanca. The weekends are the best time to go fishing, Rijalani says, because the management expects more people to come and consequently puts more fish into the pond, so you’re more likely to catch a good feed than on the weekdays.

But if you’re simply looking to relax and catch up with a few pals, to sit with the sound of running water, marvel at the fluorescent green pond slime and maybe taste some local food, then head over on a weekday and cast your rod into the waters. You never know what luck you’ll find – you may just get your feed for the week.