Fishing In Thailand Newsletter August 2015

Hi and welcome to the August 2015 newsletter, our monthly round up of news, catch reports and anything remotely connected to our little slice of paradise out here in Krabi.

Well it’s been another amazing month out here in the beautiful lime mountains of Krabi. Although not as crazy as September to April, we have seen quite a few customers and a load of fantastic sunsets! The rainy season has not been quite so rainy as I expected. Being my first year, I didn’t really know what to expect, and I thought there would have been more rain than we have had. In fact it has still been quite hot with the odd shower… well, except for one day when the heavens opened in a way I will never forget. I left my room just before 7am, made my way to the lake, and it started to rain. Within 15 minutes, it was coming down like the world was going to end, and I was literally hiding up the side of a bungalow as I waited to chuck the oxygen probe in the back stock ponds.

To cut a long story short, it took me an hour to get round with the probe, and word was that the water had overflowed from the main lake and was running past our rooms like a river and had started to come in under our doors! I dived into my room, unplugged everything, and was horrified to see that the bottom of my laptop bag was sitting an inch or so of water! We dived up the lake and checked that all the gates were open to allow the water to flow around us, and then we dived back and dug trenches for the water to drain away. The Thai staff were doing the same, and it was definitely a crazy hour or so until we got it under control.

As the water subsided, Chris found a small tilapia on his bedroom floor, and we were trying to catch a small shoal of fish that were swimming in front of our doors! It really was a crazy thing to happen. The rain ended as quickly as it started, and within an hour of it stopping we had the flow under control and the stream in front of our doors had gone… not really a flood as such, but a definite reminder of the power of weather, especially in a foreign climate.

There were a few reasons why I accepted Stuart’s offer to work out here. Obviously having the world’s best man-made fishery (John Wilson’s words, although I agree) as your back garden was one of them, and working for the big dawg was also one of them. I had known all about him for a lot of years, and yeah you run the risk of getting your ear bent now and again, especially if you are looking to communicate before 10am, but the good far outweighs the bad, and you just accept that if a person has the surname Gillham, then they are not morning people, including Jack! Also high on the agenda was seeing as much of Asia as possible, and I had been waiting for the opportunity to see Chiang Mai for months, so when the opportunity arose and Stuart suggested a three-day trip would be better than a two-day one, Lawrence and I were on that plane heading north quicker than a rat up a pipe! My reason for mentioning this in the newsletter is that quite a few of our customers also want to skip off to see other parts of Thailand for a day or two, especially if they have come as a couple and are balancing a holiday/fishing holiday, and Chiang Mai is a short, inexpensive two-hour flight away.

We flew up on the 9.10am flight from Krabi and landed just before 11am. A short cab ride had us at our hotel, literally 300 yards from the old town of Chiang Mai. Now old Chiang Mai is full of temples and history, and we quickly found some amazing Buddhist temples, all of which were very photogenic. Next up was a walk around and a nice traditional Thai massage, which we then followed up with a couple of cold beers and a return to the hotel in preparation for a night on the town, where we ended up in a bar called Small World playing pool with a very likeable chap, who was actually a well-known dwarf called ÖÖ.

The evening passed quickly, and the next morning we found an Irish bar just up the road. I had a full Irish breakfast, and then we headed for Chiang Mai zoo. The zoo was great – we saw the pandas, got giraffes to eat out of our mouths, smelled the smelly hippos and had fun in the aquarium where there were big arawana, Amazon red tail catfish, wallagos and even an arapaima in a tank out the front to look at. We got back in good time and had a quick look round Old Chiang Mai before taking a stroll down the Sunday walking street market, which was absolutely rammed with stalls and people selling just about everything, before grabbing a beer or two and sampling the local delights of a crocodile kebab in a bar just down from the hotel and spending a relaxing evening in the hotel.

Lawrence had suggested we go to the Tiger Temple, where you can go and stroke them. I wasn’t so sure… let’s face it, every now and again you hear a story of someone getting bitten by one, and knowing my luck that would be me! We grabbed a suped-up tuk-tuk and made the 40-minute journey with a chap who told us the Long Neck Village, which is inhabited by the Padong Karen tribe, was literally five minutes from the tigers, so we told him we wanted to go there as well. We left the hotel at 11.30, and we had to be quick because we had to be back at the airport for 3.30pm.

We arrived at the Padong Karen village and made our way into the trees. There were houses on stilts made of wood, and it really felt like going back in time. Then a small girl of about eight years old walked past us with all the rings on her longer than usual neck – it was quite a sight! Then we walked further into the village where we met an elderly lady selling souvenirs. I bought one and got a great pic with her. Then we whizzed off to the Tiger Temple. Now I won’t deny it; I was crapping my pants about this, but Lawrence said it would be fine, and we entered the reception. Surprisingly to go in with the big tigers was the cheapest and had the smallest queue. It seemed like everybody wanted pictures with the baby cubs, and the fact that it was cheaper was clearly a bonus for Lawrence and made it worse for me, as these tigers were huge!

Our time to go in the cage came, and I counted eight in there, which didn’t make me feel more comfortable at all, especially as the handlers each had a small bamboo stick with which to control them! With sweat running down my back, I stood there nervously waiting my turn, and then all of a sudden another lion roared in the cage next door… God, it was loud! And when it roared all eight of the tigers seemed to react and sat up with their ears pricked up in the air. I genuinely thought the end was just round the corner, but everything settled down, and I gingerly stood behind two of them and got Lawrence to take a couple of pictures. Then I was walking away from them as fast as I could… I thought that was it and we would be out of the cage, but as I sped back to the door, it turned out there was another one that we could have a picture with, and Lawrence was on it straight away. Well, I just managed to sit alongside it, very carefully touched it and then left the cage. The whole terrifying experience lasted last than three minutes! I am glad I did it because they are great photos to have, but I won’t be doing it again in a hurry, that’s for sure! So we jumped back in our carriage, and he sped us to the airport well in time for our return flight. It was a great weekend, and we got some great photos. It was great to see another part of Thailand, and I would thoroughly recommend Chiang Mai to anyone. The really good thing is you can do it in a couple of nights relatively cheaply.

The remaining news from the guides is that Gollock returned from a trip up the north to see his family, Nick’s girlfriend came out for fortnight with her brother, and finally Lee’s mum and dad came out too see him too… Well, his mum did, whilst his dad pretended to and got stuck into some fishing! Darren impressed us all with the ability to hurt himself, and in one morning’s fishing, he managed to cut his hand open quite badly, then amazingly managed to get a 4/0 hook stuck in the top of his head, the extraction of which Lawrence filmed. The end of the month saw a return of two of the lads from the help for heroes trip… Firstly “Sticky” (real name Martin Lloyd) has come to give us a hand all round the fishery, and Pav just popped out for a five-week sabbatical. It’s been good to see them return.

 

Speaking of staying at other places in Thailand, we recently made an amendment to our rules, stating that we can no longer take non-fishing bookings for accommodation here at the resort. We still take part-fishing bookings, where people can book as normal but don’t have to fish all the time if they don’t want to, but due to the ever-increasing popularity of the resort Stuart really wants to do everything possible so that everyone can get the chance to fish here and catch these amazing fish. Just down the road at Thalane Bay, which is literally ten minutes past the resort is a wonderful new complex called Thalane Palm Paradise Resort. It’s a beautiful place to go with a lovely restaurant, swimming pool and superb accommodation including some beautiful luxury bungalows, it is run by a lovely Thai family, and it’s just near the sea kayaking centre and longtail boats, where you can skip off on various trips including the four-island trip, which we have arranged for many customers. So if you are interested in a non-fishing stay in Krabi, then why not check out their website at www.thalanepalmparadis.wix.com/palm-paradise-resort or check out their Facebook page Thalane Palm Paradise Resort?

 

Now this sounds like a daft statement to say, but we have had some amazing trees planted between Sala 2 and Sala 3. Never in my life did I think I would come out with a statement like that! However Stuart thought it looked too barren along there and it needed some improvement. Consequently he has had some amazing bendy curly trees planted, which I am sure will look really amazing when they settle in properly, and, for some of them, when they come into bloom properly. It was quite an interesting thing to witness, as quite a few of the trees from this part of the world have very small roots, especially compared to what we are used to seeing in Europe. This is why you see quite a few of the trees around the resort with metal poles around them propping them up, which is quite a common sight out here.

 

Right that’s enough of my ramblings, so best we get on with the whos, the whys and the flipping ‘ecks from this month’s fishing.

The anglers who visited us for the exotic fishing Thailand has to offer had some superb fishing in Krabi this month with a total of 668 fish caught of 26 species, made up as follows: 41 arapaima to 527lb, three arawana to 10lb, four alligator gar to 55lb, 128 Amazon redtail catfish to 85lb, two Amazon stingrays to 10lb, 164 Asian redtail catfish to 40lb, 21 black pacu to 28lb, three Chao Phraya catfish to 120lb, one giant snakehead of 10lbs, one spotted featherback of 10lb, 12 Julian’s golden carp to 28lb, 26 Mekong catfish to 170lb, four Nile perch to 10lb, three red bellied pacu to 15lb, 183 Siamese carp to 148lb, two spotted sorubim of 35lb, one mrigal of 10lbs, seven gourami to 9lbs, two striped catfish to 50lbs, ten ripsaw catfish to 20lbs, four giant freshwater stingray to 130lbs, three giant featherbacks to 14lb, two spotted featherbacks to 6lbs, twelve tilapia to 3lbs, a jau catfish of 20lbs and a wallago leeri of 20lbs.

August saw the return of childhood sweethearts and Gillhams regulars, Dean and Jenni Handley. It was especially nice for me to see them arrive, as quite frankly I was down to three pairs of boxer shorts, and Jenni had kindly brought some over for me, as the Thai ones I had seen in the local shops were more suited to someone of a, let’s say more petit disposition, i.e. a smaller arse! They arrived in good form and spent the first day, soaking up the heat and winding down from the long journey. With their new “swim sign” hanging from Sala 2 the first day kicked in nicely with a 90lb Siamese carp for Dean and a smaller one of 40lb for Jenni.

Our lovebirds from Harrow are always keeping a close eye on what’s happening here at monster HQ and are fully aware of the catches of Ian Farr, Kev Shore etc, so on day two they decided to concentrate on the Siamese, as the first day’s catches had shown they were around and feeding. This turned out to be a very wise move, as Dean pulled in three – one at 60lb and two at 70lb, but Jenni was the one with the biggest grin as she landed her third different 100lb’er and a “small” one at 60lb, then popped out a 50lb Amazon red tail for good measure, which was landed at the same time that Dean caught one of his 70lb’ers, giving a great double catch shot! That evening we all went down to the Paradise Palm Resort and enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner, which seemed an apt celebration for a still grinning Jenni.

Interestingly the next day our dynamic duo decided to target other species and back off the carp. They seemed to land a good few Asian red tails to 30lb, which is how the following day went as well, except for a very pleasing featherback of around 7lb for Dean, which was a new species for him. A few hours up the top lake saw Dean land a 20lb Amazon red tail and a couple of arawana, whilst Jenni landed a couple of Julians and some small tilapia. Dean went on to land an Amazon stingray of around 10lbs, which he was very happy about, as it was another new species for him.

The following day was also a relaxed affair with a couple more Asian red tails, but an early finish was in store, and it was time to put a posh frock on and go down to The Carnivore for a lovely steak dinner. I noticed two things as their trip went on: one, was they tended to lie in a little bit more, and two, that Jenni seemed to be very good at taking pictures of cracking sunsets – good girl. I nicked a couple of them for our Facebook page! The next couple of days saw a couple of 50lb Siamese carp and a couple of red tails, and then all of a sudden things went a little mad! It all started with Jenni catching a couple of Siamese to 55lb and an Asian red tail, but it was Dean who had the biggest grin of all. Not only did he land a couple of 40lb Siamese carp, but he then landed another new species in the form of a giant freshwater stingray. After a good tussle, he got the fish into the cage, only for it to escape again before finally giving in to all the tugging and pulling. It was then that Dean was seen holding the tail of a fantastic fish at 140lbs, with a massive great big beaming grin! Next thing we knew there were gourami and tilapia being landed and another 50lb Siamese to her ladyship. It was all building for a chaotic day, which is exactly what came next.

Jenni moved into Sala 1 for a day, whilst Dean stayed put in Sala 2. Lee was guiding them for the day, and he told Jenni that she would definitely catch a ripsaw from Sala 1 without doubt, no questions asked. Jenni thought, “Oh, confident aren’t we, little whippersnapper?” Well the day was a busy one that’s for sure as Jenni pulled out five Amazon red tails to 75lb, a smaller Asian red tail of 10lb and then the rod ripped off and the aforementioned ripsaw rolled in the net. She was delighted to say the least and looked at Lee in a different way, possibly even with a glint in her eye! Dean also had a good day after landing a Nile perch, two Asian red tails and three Amazon red tails, but the day could not have ended any better for him as another new species came his way when a spotted sorubim of 35lbs let its guard down.

With a 14-fish total for the day they were both buzzing and returned to a more relaxed approach and leisurely start times, which coincided with Sala 2 slowing down for a day or two. They landed a few more Asian red tails and a couple of mid-50 Amazons to Dean, whilst Jenni popped out a nice black pacu and a 6lb arawana. With a couple of days planned in the Grassy for the end of their trip, their last day in Sala 2 again saw a leisurely start as they had popped out for a meal the night before with Becky. Jenni had the pick of the day really when she landed two Amazon red tails to 65lb and an Asian red tail of around 15lb, whilst Dean had a 35lb Amazon and a 30lb Siamese carp. The penultimate day in the Grassy was certainly one of mixed emotions when a nice gourami came along for Jenni, and then a couple of hours later, her right hand rod ripped off, and she was locked onto an arapaima, which definitely was up for a battle.

Jenni played the fish well and got stuck into the fight, but this arapaima had other ideas than coming in quickly, and three times it leapt clear of the water, the last of which with his mouth wide open, which is not good, as it can mean the fish swallows too much air, which then gets trapped inside it. I saw Lawrence and Lee look at each other, as they knew this could lead to trouble. The fish came in quite quickly after that last leap for freedom and was quickly unhooked in the cage, but it was listing to its side, and Lawrence said, “Get Stuart. This one’s not well at all!” I shot down to the office, and within a couple of minutes Stuart was there holding the fish and feeling along its flank. Jenni, bless her, was crying her eyes out, as she thought the fish was going to die, which in all fairness may well have happened.

I know in the past Stuart has talked about this in newsletters but I will say it again, these arapaimas are very fragile fish, and that’s why we take so much care of them. They are capable of having heart attacks or jumping out and swallowing too much air, both of which can lead to the fish dying. Obviously this is a rare occurrence, otherwise we wouldn’t have any, but when they are caught they are fragile, and that’s why Stuart has very strict rules in place about how we handle them. He knows these fish and their frailties better than anyone – something we are all starting/trying to learn from him. Stuart showed us those skills, as he gently worked the trapped air out of the fish, and after a few minutes and a few “breaths” the fish was returned and swam off seemingly no worse for wear.

It was a pretty amazing thing to witness – well, for me anyway. Jenni could have done without the upset, but like I said to her, it wasn’t her fault; it’s just one of those things (although unpleasant) that happens from time to time. I really hoped that Jenni and Dean’s trip wouldn’t end on a downer as such. They had had such a good time and caught more fish than they ever had before and popped a few new species in there also. They started their last day in the Grassy, but they weren’t feeling it, and quickly moved into A3 for the rest of the day. This turned out to be a good move, as Dean landed a ripsaw catfish, and that evening Jenni caught a baby arapaima of 50lbs, which was a little beauty and swam away without any incident whatsoever, much to Jenni’s delight. This ended their trip, and with a quick bit of souvenir shopping and a slow pack up, the next day they were heading home.

 

Gareth Luckett and his wife Ria made their third trip to us from Australia. They had a few days to play with, and Gareth was definitely looking forward to some rod-bending fun! He started in the Grassy with thoughts of an arapaima, but was quickly into a couple of Asian red tails, of which the biggest was 30lb. The day progressed slowly, but with arapaima repeatedly coming up for air, it seemed a dead cert that one would fall foul of his traps, so it came as no surprise that the rod rattled off and he was seen beaming behind one of just over a 100lbs. Although not one of our monsters, it’s still an amazing fish to have in your photograph album, and one that many people around the world would give their right arm for. The next day he moved into swim A1 but only grew himself some itchy feet, as the rods were quiet. A trip up the top lake was the order of the day next, and Gareth had some fun with a few tilapia, a pacu and a 20lb Amazon red tail, all great fun on the light tackle. Next on the agenda was Sala 1, and this was the day when the rain decided to throw it down. Whilst we were running around with mops Gareth landed a couple of Asian red tails, a ripsaw catfish and an Amazon red tail.

Things really started to liven up on day five when all of a sudden, and much to our surprise, reasonable sized tilapia started taking double house pellet, and then a Julian’s, a couple of Asians to 30lb and a couple of 40lb Amazons, one of which Ria landed. The Amazon cooking pot was starting to boil over now, and they continued to come, as the next day a further four came along to mid forties, along with a cracking Nile perch of 12lbs and a small Asian red tail. On their last day things just got silly – with guide Lee on hand and the Amazons going a bit bonkers, Gareth landed 14 of them weighing 25lb, 45lb, 40lb, 55lb, 40lb, 30lb, 40lb, 60lb, 55lb, 25lb, 25lb, 30lb, 50lb, and one at 40lb! Strewth! What a day’s fishing! Oh and lest we forget, he also popped out a Siamese of 50lbs too!

 

Craig Diamond came along to us with dreams of catching a big fish, and when I say big he wasn’t really bothered what type of fish it was, as long as it was 50lb or over (although secretly I knew he was hoping for a 100lb-plus). Either way he was going to be happy, as he loves his fishing, and up until this trip, the biggest fish he had ever caught weighed in at 17lb. Our friendly serviceman was quite impressed with the fact we had staged the Help for Heroes trip, and it turns out that quite a lot of the armed services were aware of the expedition and feel the same, which is nice to hear.

Anyway, I digress… Craig started quietly up along the bungalow bank, and on his first day landed a 45lb Siamese carp, which he was more than happy with, as he had beaten his biggest fish ever and could now stop chewing his nails over whether or not he would blank – you know, first trip nerves and all that! Well, he needn’t have worried of course, because on his second day two more Siamese rolled into the net, and as he put it one of them was a “winner” at 60lbs, whilst the other was a bit more humble at 25lbs!

The next day was the day the heavens opened, but the catching continued as a 25lb Amazon red tail pulled his string in the morning and then one of 60lb came and said hello that evening. The next day was a quiet one, but by now he had settled in to the whole Gillhams way of life, and he didn’t seemed too concerned, because he was quietly confident a big one would come his way. The next day was a day in the Grassy, and it started off quite sedately with a couple of Asian red tails, the biggest 18lb, and then one of our baby arapaima took his bait and rolled in the net around the 40lb mark. This made Craig very happy, as he really wanted to catch one. His rod ripped off again later that day, and although he knew he probably had a better sized arapaima on, Craig was quite surprised how easily it came in, and when it was right in front of them they saw his dream fish, i.e. one of 100lb-plus, roll in front of them, and then all hell broke loose!

The fish seemed to wake up, and before he knew it, it had gone right down the far end and was writhing near the hyacinths in the corner. But Craig was hanging on, and with an aching back started to pump the fish back, which seemed to be getting stronger and bigger by the second! The fight continued, and on four occasions the fish was in front of the swim, but then charged off back out into the lake. It went on for about thirty minutes until the beast finally gave in and rolled into the cage, and what it beast it was. The boys called Stuart, as this was a monster. Armed with his tape measure Stuart measured the fish. It’s a definite science on how they weigh these big fish, but it’s an exact science. There is an extremely accurate way to determine the fish’s exact weight, and it involves exact measurements of the fish’s dimensions, which are all put into an equation, which will then give an accurate weight of the fish. In this instance that weight was 527lb, and quite frankly Craig lost it and was completely numbed by the whole affair for a few hours. He was literally walking along with his head in the clouds and was pretty speechless. However, and in true Gillhams style, the fun didn’t end there, as later that night he caught an Amazon red tail at a mouth watering 85lb! On his final day, although still on a high from the night before, Craig went on to land a Siamese of 90lb and another Asian red tail. Somewhere on his trip he also landed a nice pacu too!

 

Neil Kilshaw has been here fishing at few times, but this time was a little different, as he brought his son Jake along too. The boys started up along the middle of the sala side, and it wasn’t long before Jake had helped himself to a small Nile perch and a decent Asian red tail, whilst Neil pulled in a respectable mid-double Julian’s. Neil had stated that he just wanted Jake to catch one big fish and that would make him happy; however the monsters were getting avoided, as the next couple of fish were both small. The boys had a bit of a meeting and decided that they fancied a move. They only had a few days to play with, and although they had a few arapaimas rolling in front of them, they decided to make a move up to the top of the bungalow side.

The boys then went out for a couple of beers, and although slightly late, they got stuck in the next morning and Neil popped out a 75lb Siamese carp then a pacu of 15lb, whilst Jake landed some more Asian red tails but left it until dark to land his first monster when a 150lb Mekong came along, which he was really pleased about. I am fairly sure that led to another night with the odd beer or two, but that didn’t seem it hinder the boys, as the next day Neil landed a juicy Siamese of 95lb and then followed it up with a 60lb one, with Jake getting another red tail. The final day was Neil’s day really, as he landed Siamese carp of 65lb, 45lb, 55lb and 85lb along with a nice Asian red tail of 25lb.

 

Guide Lee had a pleasant surprise when he got asked to come to the restaurant and deal with a tricky customer, only to find his mum and dad sitting there, I think there were a few tears from mum who is obviously missing her 27-year-old, built like a brick shithouse, respected bricklayer and demon guide “little boy”. I was more concerned about his dad Phil, who I had accidentally “pushed in” last Christmas when Lee and his dad came here on holiday. That was when Lee fell in love with the place and told Stuart that he would love to come and work here. The rest is history on that one, as we all know! Anyway after the initial kisses and cuddles, it was time to crack on with the fishing. The first morning saw a start in swim A1, and although one or two fish were dropped Phil landed four Amazons to 40lb and a nice Siamese carp of 60lb.

The next day saw a few Asian red tails, a couple of tilapia and another Amazon red tail landed, but I noticed the Mekong float rod was out around 4.30pm, and I hoped I would be able to witness Phil playing one, because I knew that would be good entertainment! After the day’s fishing they all popped down to The Carnivore for a nice steak dinner, and the following morning would see a move around the lake, as E3 had become empty, and that had thrown up a few fish the day before.

Some of the Siamese carp were in attendance up there, and it didn’t take long before Phil landed a couple to 65lb, but then, whilst fishing off the hyacinth to the right, he then had a take off an arapaima, which he got back to right in front of the swim, only for it to charge off again and throw the hook, which obviously isn’t a great thing to happen! And then he lost another two, but then that’s arapaimas for you, as any previous customers reading this will know only too well. Later that afternoon a nice big 85lb Siamese carp nearly made up for the previous losses, but then the rod ripped off again, and this was clearly a Mekong, which was great, as Phil hadn’t caught one before. At 150lb Phil was more than happy, especially as he had previously foul-hooked one, which he didn’t count and returned without a photo.

However the Mekong fun didn’t end there as at around 7pm he hooked another, which came in at a very respectable 140lb and finished what was a great day’s fishing. His last full day’s fishing followed a similar pattern with he and Lee getting stuck in, and he went on to land Siamese carp of 40lb, 45lb, 60lb, 75lb and 85lb, and I noticed from the pictures that it ended up being Lee’s task to hold the fish up… Obviously one had caught enough carp for this trip. That evening however he did decided to jump in and get wet as he landed another Mekong of 140lbs. The next day was spent relaxing and also included a quick souvenir trip to Ao Nang. On his final day Phil fished for half a day in Sala 1 and managed to pop out an 85lb Siamese carp and a very respectable 35lb Asian red tail catfish, so it was job done. Mum had seen her little fella, and dad had caught a few at the same time!

 

 

Now I will keep this one brief, as time and space is running out … Rick Merritt came to see us for an extended stay with his girlfriend Sheila. Rick gets stuck into his fishing and keeps himself to himself really. He’s a nice fella who just loves his fishing. He had an incredible trip where he landed 15 Asian red tails including a Personal Best of 28lb, 14 Amazon redtails including a PB of 65lb, 13 Siamese carp including a PB of 105lb, two Mekongs, the biggest 150lb, six black pacu including a PB of 25lb, one red pacu of 12lb, one jau catfish of 20lb, two arapaima biggest 180lb, one Julian’s carp of 10lb and then a superb PB giant freshwater stingray of 100lbs! So that’s 56 fish in total, six personal bests and four different species of fish over that magical 100lb barrier!! No more words needed really, as they say in fishing, “Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut… just let your pictures do the talking…”

 

Well that’s it for this month as time and space has got the better of us, we’ll see you all next month for another instalment of Gillhams magic!

For those of you planning a return or first trip, please email Stuart gillhamsfishingresorts@gmail.com or phone +66 (0) 861644554, and please remember we are +6 hours GMT.

Best wishes and tight lines from us all at Gillhams, and we hope your next fish is the one of your dreams (which it probably will be if you come to Gillhams).