Fishing In Thailand Newsletter August 2014

Hello and welcome to another Gillhams Fishing Resorts newsletter. First of all we would like to apologise for this very late August newsletter. It’s been kept slightly shorter than usual, as it will be closely followed by our September newsletter. It’s been a hectic month here with the start of the high season, and a changeover of some old guides leaving and new lads starting. Also Stuart and I took Jack on holiday to America, so this will get a mention in our September newsletter.

The new salas are well underway with only seven more to go on the bungalow side of the lake. We’ve wanted to get rid of the umbrellas for a long time now, as not only do they look horrible with the ropes tied down across the path, but they also get ripped apart in strong winds and don’t really do much to keep you cool when it’s hot or keep you dry when you get the strong winds and rain. Some of you might remember the old bamboo salas we once had, which also aren’t very practical, needing constant upkeep, not to mention all kinds of things nesting in the thatched roofs from bugs to rats. The old salas were also dangerous if you wanted electric inside for fans, lights and sockets to charge cameras and phones, as water would always find its way in through the roof, making electric shocks or even fires very high possibilities. The new salas are tiled over concrete bases, with tiled roofs and fully equipped with fans, lights and plug sockets for charging all of today’s high tech must-have accessories.

While on the subject of construction we have also been building new on site staff accommodation, plus a new laundry room so that we can have our house back. We have also built new bait stores and bait making room for our top of the range boilie machine. We are now ready for production to make 500kg-plus of boilies per day. We will soon be supplying boilies designed by none other than Frank Warwick, which will become part of customers’ free daily bait. We will also be selling boilies to our customers and trying to stop too much oils from pellet going through the water. We have also built a gym on site for our customers, who still have the energy for a work out after a hard day fighting Mekong catfish, arapaima and Siamese carp etc.

Once again it’s been another good month for big Siamese carp. We’ve had many carp between 80-95lb with the average Siamese carp being around 70lb. The total carp landed over 100lb this month is six, with the biggest going to none other than Joel Fennall at 138lb. All carp here at Gillhams that we believe are close or over 100lb are weighed with certified scales, which means we can keep accurate records of them. This means that our customers know that they have genuinely hit that magical 100lb rather than what is seen from other fisheries where customers are told that a 60lb-plus carp is 100lb-plus! Many of our customers comment on other fisheries’ false posts on Facebook etc, asking why our 100lb carp look bigger than fish claimed at 100lb. Simple really – our carp are 100lb! Other fisheries are fooling nobody and only damaging Thailand’s reputation as a big fish location. Our suggestion to anyone looking for a genuine big fish venue is to look on Facebook and fisheries’ websites. You will soon see the truth from the bullshit, and we feel sorry for the genuine fisheries over here. They post true and honest weights of fish under 100lb, and these fisheries have many smaller fish that people can have fun catching in large numbers. Fishing is not all about the biggest fish, and many anglers wish to catch numbers of fish. Our fishery caters for anglers wanting the chance of a big fish; others cater for anglers who want a fun day with lots of fish. The market is big enough for both – if a fishery claims lots of fish per day at exaggerated weights they are cheating the paying guest.

The anglers who visited us for the exotic fishing Thailand has to offer, had some good fishing in Krabi this month with a total of 595 fish caught of 27 species, made up as follows: 42 arapaima to 360lb, four arawana to 11lb, four alligator gar to 50lb, 83 Amazon redtail catfish to 80lb, one Amazon stingray of 20lb, 88 Asian redtail catfish to 40lb, three barramundi to 4lb, 33 black pacu to 40lb, six big head carp to 35lb, five Chao Phraya catfish to 75lb, four giant featherbacks to 8lb, five giant gourami to 4lb, two giant snakehead of 10lb, 13 Julian golden carp to 35lb, 52 Mekong catfish to 200lb, one marble goby of 3lb, two mrigal to 12lb, four Nile perch to 7lb, six rohu to 16lb, four ripsaw catfish to 20lb, two spotted sorubim to 33lb, two striped catfish to 40lb, six spotted featherback to 10lb, 218 Siamese carp to 132lb, one shovel nosed tiger catfish of 10lb, one wallago leeri of 14lb, three wallago attu to 22lb.

We had three very keen carp anglers from Italy make their first trip to Gillhams: Marco Bertoli, Michele Carbonara and Valerio Guarini. On arrival the three guys couldn’t stand still due to excitement. They didn’t waste any time and were off around the lake in search of the perfect swim. Within an hour, even after 20 hours of travelling, they had their spots baited and lines out. The first two days were fairly slow, as with many people they had to get used to the heavy equipment and the lake’s secrets. After a couple of days they had settled into a routine and started banking a few fish. Marco and Valerio had also landed a couple of arapaima, and you could see the look of envy in Michele’s face. Even though he was still pleased for his mates he desperately wanted to catch one for himself.

The banter soon started from his mates and the guides, and the next few days were all about trying to get Michele his arapaima, but after losing a couple, he unfortunately didn’t get another chance. He did however land a nice Mekong of 140lb along with other species like Siamese carp, spotted featherbacks and Asian redtails. Valerio was the arapaima champ, landing a total of three to 180lb, and the biggest fish went to Marco with a Mekong catfish of 200lb. By the end of their trip they had landed a total of 20 fish of six species. Apart from fishing they also went on a couple of day trips, and the highlight for them was the elephant trekking. Their second hobby behind fishing was eating, and these lads were pros! A normal night’s dinner would be three starters each, followed by three monster mixed grills, followed by one of the following: cheese and onion toasties with chips, chicken burgers or steak sandwiches. All this was topped off with a dessert, generally banana splits with three scoops of ice cream. These chaps certainly broke all the records for eating!

Another first time visitor to Gillhams was Sean Lowry, originally from Ireland. Sean now lives in Holland with his Polish wife Karolin. Sean had split his trip up with five days’ fishing, then a week in Ao-Nang, and returning for another five days’ fishing. He had a few main target species, these being arapaima, Siamese carp and Mekong catfish, but even so he wouldn’t turn his nose up at anything that came along. It’s always nice when an angler catches all his target species, which was exactly what Sean achieved with Siamese carp to 90lb, arapaima to 170lb and a Mekong catfish of 110lb. Sean landed eight species, which included both spotted and giant featherbacks, Asian and Amazon redtails, plus he became the first person to land a marble goby. We stocked these mini species in 2007 and thought they had been eaten. With the amount of natural food here it just shows how long some fish go without being caught. The marble goby has now joined the growing list of fish that resemble Brummie guide Chris Pache.

Once again our good friends Dean and Jenni Handley made another two-week trip, having already spent a week on the Island of Ko Lanta. Dean and Jenni are both keen anglers and try to make two visits every year to Gillhams. Like many others they came here as customers and have become dear friends. It’s like having multiple Christmases, as they always come fully loaded with gifts for the whole resort, including spoiling young Jack rotten with DVDs, toys and games.

Every trip Jenni always has a special catch, and in the past this has included big stingrays and arapaima. This trip was no different after she landed a big Siamese carp tipping the scales at 100lb, followed by a Mekong catfish of 130lb giving here a total of four 100lb-plus freshwater species. There’s probably only a handful of lady anglers who have accomplished this. Dean also had a great trip, but he had to fish hard to stay on top with his wife. Dean managed this when he landed two personal best Siamese carp of 105lb followed by one of 132lb. Dean and Jenni’s total for their trip was 33 fish of six species, including a couple of new species – striped catfish and bighead carp.

Steve Scrutton of Fish East Asia also made another trip out in August, along with his wife Linda. Steve only had time for a few days’ fishing, as his trip to Thailand was mainly business, trying a few new venues with Top Cats in Koh Samui and some snakehead fishing in a couple of Thailand’s reservoirs. Steve’s main target for the trip were Siamese carp, and he landed a total of six with the biggest at 80lb. Steve also managed Mekong catfish to 160lb and a PB alligator gar of 30lb.

We also had the return of Fish East Asia customer Rick Merritt. Rick works with Steve’s business partner Mark Hoye. Mark had to stay back in the UK, which must have been a kick in the teeth for the big guy, having his partner and friend both out in Thailand fishing while he was back at home working.

Whenever Rick gets out fishing he always does well; he’s a very good angler plus he spends all day watching the lake, baiting up and changing rigs and bait until he finds what the fish want. This trip was no different; Rick was after carp and Mekong and went on to land both along with a few other species. In total Rick caught eleven Siamese carp to 70lb, six Mekong catfish to 175lb along with Asian and Amazon redtail catfish, Julian’s golden carp, pacu and alligator gar to 50lb.

First time visitor Dr. Jamal Saleh from Bahrain made a trip here in August. Jamal was on holiday in Thailand with his family, but he couldn’t resist a couple of days fishing while in Krabi, especially after seeing Gillhams on Discovery Channel with Jeremy Wade. Jamal’s wife and son weren’t keen on the idea of fishing, and also wanted to spend some time with friends in Bangkok. This suited Jamal, as he could fit in a couple of days’ fishing. Jamal was a very interesting guy, and obviously we knew he was a doctor. But after he arrived here we found out that not only was he a doctor from Bahrain, but it turned out he actually owned the hospital! Jamal was a very laid back, polite and softly spoken man, and was very interesting to speak to.

After Jamal’s first day he extended his stay by two days and cut his family time down to extend fishing time (top angling)! Even though Jamal had never fished before, he soon got the hang of it and went on to land some good fish including arapaima, Julian’s carp, Amazon redtails and Asian redtail catfish. Jamal definitely seemed taken in by the place and is currently looking at getting away from a very busy work schedule for a return visit.

Father and son anglers Neil and Jake Kilshaw made their yearly trip to Gillhams for seven days’ fishing. Neil and Jake have fished here for the last few years and have both experienced some big fish with Mekong catfish, arapaima and Siamese carp. It was a bit slower for them this trip, plus Jake was ill for a few days, which made it hard for him to sit out in the sun all day fishing. Neil and Jake both managed some good fish, with Jake catching his target arapaima and Neil landing some good carp. They landed five different species including arapaima, Mekong catfish to 130lb, Siamese carp to 85lb, Asian redtail catfish and Amazon redtails to 60lb.

In every newsletter we tell people to book as far in advance as possible, as Gillhams becomes more popular so places get booked further in advance. We hate turning people away, but we will never oversell and make Gillhams overcrowded. We know how disappointing it must be to find we are fully booked for your intended dates, and it is not a nice feeling for us to turn away your booking. All we can suggest is book as far in advance as you can, and if we are full try and give us an alternate date. As we write this newsletter 2015 is rapidly filling up; many dates are sold out or close to being full. We are taking a lot of bookings for 2016, with some bookings already in for 2017!

If another venue is not booked in advance it is worth asking yourself why. It is better to wait for the best than to be disappointed with another venue. If like most anglers you have a wish list, you can always visit another country first and book Gillhams for the next year. We have fished extensively around the world; we know most of the best venues lodges and guides. Should you find we are full for your next trip, give us your wish list of other countries and target fish species. We are only too happy to help you discover who and where are the best, and we can even help you book other venues should you need us to.

For bookings please email us or phone +66 (0) 861644554. Please give us your dates and if possible alternate dates. Should you decide to phone please remember Thailand is +6 hours GMT.

Best wishes from all the team here at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.