Fishing In Thailand Newsletter July 2014

Hello and welcome to another Gillhams Fishing Resorts newsletter. Sorry for the delay but things have been very hectic here. Well, another month has flown by with lots of happy customers catching their dream fish. We hope everybody who visited us this month enjoyed their time here, and we look forward to seeing you all again. We are getting a lot of disappointed customers trying to book, only to find we are fully booked for their chosen dates. We hate turning bookings away but have no choice. Gillhams is so popular, and we never over sell the fishing. Could we remind everyone to please book well in advance to save disappointment. 2014 is virtually sold out and 2015 is filling up fast with many dates already fully booked.

Sadly July was the final month for our longest serving fishing guide and all round nice guy Joel Fennell. Before Joel leaves he’s got all of August relaxing and seeing some of Thailand, and he is also having ten days’ fishing here at Gillhams before heading home. We will have a write up on Joel’s catches and achievements throughout his time here at Gillhams in next month’s newsletter.

The rainy season is definitely here with plenty of rainy days, and we are slowly getting the water change we’ve been waiting for, improving the fishing. Along with the rain we’re also getting some very strong winds passing through due to the typhoons that have been going through the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Thank goodness Thailand does not get the typhoons the other poor sods get; here we just get the side effects. The weather is certainly getting the arapaima and other Amazon species on the feed, and as usual the Mekong catfish are off the feed. When we get rain we also get zooplankton blooms, which the Mekong get preoccupied on.

The Siamese carp are also feeding well and these past couple of months have really been throwing some huge carp out. In July alone we’ve had seven Siamese carp all over 100lb with only one repeat capture with the biggest being 130lb to Jamie Lowe. We have around 50 known 100lb-plus Siamese carp in the lake, with many more approaching this magic mark, the amount of Siamese carp in the 80 to 90lb bracket is amazing. Exiting times for Gillhams over the next five years, and god knows how many 100lb-plus carp there will be. Hopefully some of the bigger fish will achieve 200lb as well. All carp that we think are close to 100lb are weighed here at Gillhams, and we use certified scales capable of weighing fish to 500lb. As you can see from the pictures below they are all different fish. We don’t claim multiple 100lb carp captures with the same fish by using different camera angles! Neither do we have other anglers holding the same fish to claim they are different fish. You only have to look at other fisheries’ pictures to see the same scales are missing, or they have markings in the same places. As I’m putting the final touches on this July newsletter there have already been a couple more with one being the current world record Siamese carp up in size by 2kg, but that’s for next months write up.

Our June newsletter was put together by some of the boys at the resort, the ones that are intelligent enough to read and write that is, and I’m sure you’ll all agree they made a good effort. Through June into July Stuart and I were away on a fishing trip, one that’s been lined up for the past two years. Last year was the first time in four years that we hadn’t gone on a fishing trip due to being on the verge of breakups from our other halves for not taking them away anywhere with countless promises of, “Don’t worry darling, we’ll go away next year before booking another fishing trip.” I’m sure most of you reading this newsletter have all been in these types of predicaments. We won’t bore everybody with a write up on our trip, but for anybody that is interested we will have a separate write up of our trip on the website soon, and we will inform readers when its available.

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 648 fish caught of 24 species, made up as follows: 53 arapaima to 400lb, five arawana to 10lb, six alligator gar to 50lb, 112 Amazon redtail catfish to 90lb, 102 Asian redtail catfish to 40lb, 28 black pacu to 40lb, three big head carp to 18lb, two Chao Phraya catfish to 45lb, four giant gourami to 6lb, two giant featherback to 8lb, three giant snakehead to 10lb, 15 Julian’s golden carp to 35lb, 14 Mekong catfish to 180lb, one mrigal of 7lb, two Nile perch to 7lb, four rohu to 18lb, one rita sacerdotum of 25lb, three ripsaw catfish to 20lb, one spotted sorubim of 25lb, two spotted featherback to 6lb, 279 Siamese carp to 130lb, one shovel nosed tiger catfish of 15lb, two wallago leeri to 25lb, three wallago attu to 20lb.

Mick Paine and his wife Linda finally made a trip over to Gillhams this month after years of making plans for a trip. Mick is the man behind 20 years of Europe’s biggest carp show, held every year in Zwolle (Holland) that has around 17,000 people through the doors throughout the two-day event. Mick arrived here after spending two weeks at Rainbow Lake in France still with carp on the brain, so his target for the trip was a Siamese carp over 100lb. Mick was a very keen angler and was up ready to cast out every morning at the crack of 11am. His choice of swims was D3 in front of the swimming pool, which has a very good track record of producing big carp, or maybe because it was right outside his bungalow.

Mick’s wife Linda was also busy, not that she was fishing much but because this lady can cook. Linda is American and comes from the south and anybody who’s ever been to America or knows anything about the place will know that if you cant BBQ it or bake it they don’t eat it. Linda was making dinner for all the guides and of course us, we had BBQ ribs, southern fried chicken, corn bread, biscuits, BBQ corn on the cob, sweet potato, gravy and more. We even had home made cookies, brownies and homemade lemonade. Yeah, it’s safe to say in the two weeks they were here everybody bulked up slightly.

When Linda wasn’t cooking she did get some fishing in, but mainly on the any method lake, throwing lures about trying to catch a peacock bass. Unfortunately she never managed to land one, but did catch a few of the other species. Mick managed his target species when he landed a big Siamese carp that tipped the scales at 103lb, amongst many other carp. After a couple more days Mick managed a new personal best Siamese carp at 108lb. In total Mick caught 34 Siamese carp with 12 over 60lb and three over 90lb with a few other species like Asian and Amazon redtail catfish, one Julian’s carp at 30lb and a spotted featherback. Linda even managed to get Mick of the lake for a couple of days when Stuart, Benz and Becca took them to Phuket for the night to see Phuket Fantasy, which is an amazing stage show about the history of Thailand, with acrobatics, dancing and even elephants as part of the show. After finishing here Mick and Linda had three nights in Bangkok to take in some of the local sights, and they also took a river dinner cruise up the Chao Phraya river. Unfortunately Mick didn’t have any rods with him so was unable to run a bait out the back of the boat.

Our Facebook competition winner Hayden Schubert from Malaysia claimed his prize this month. As Hayden was only nine years old he was accompanied by his dad Neil plus his brother and family friend Willy. Hayden won the Facebook competition last year simply by liking our page; he was randomly drawn for the prize of seven nights’ and seven days’ fishing. Both Hayden and his dad fished hard through the trip and apart from a quick lunch break, they fished every day from 7am till 8pm. Hayden fishes well, and despite his age he really can handle big fish, unlike his dad Neil who after getting dragged around from one end of the lake to the other and then back again, finally landed a 140lb Mekong two hours after closing time. Even though Hayden did struggle slightly with some of the bigger fish he still gave it 100% and played the fish perfectly. Hayden landed a total of six fish including Siamese carp to 55lb, alligator gar to 35lb and Amazon redtail catfish to 40lb. His dad did beat him on numbers with eight fish, including arapaima, ripsaw catfish, Siamese carp and his 140lb Mekong catfish. Family friend Willy also finished up with a good trip despite having a slow start. After struggling for the first couple of days Willy changed swims and started getting some action. He started having a great carp haul, landing nine in total with his two biggest at 90 and 95lb.

Next up were two fish crazy Dutch anglers, Flemming Versloot and Jip De Bakker, who made their first trip to Thailand to fish for ten days. On arrival it was clear that these guys would have no problem entering the water for fish photos, as they both stood well over six foot. Flemming was a 6ft 9in giant with only one real target for his trip, to catch something bigger than himself. Jip on the other hand didn’t have any real target list apart from the obvious arapaima, but just wanted to catch fish.

Both anglers were certainly going to be in for a shock by the end of their stay here, but we will get to that shortly. Day one and the boys were out fishing as soon as possible and had their first taste of the power these fish hold when they hooked into a Mekong. Unfortunately after an hour the hook pulled leaving them both devastated to say the least. They were told, “Don’t worry; it’s your first day and there will be more.” So the rods were quickly rebaited and they were back fishing. After getting a few fish under their belts with Siamese carp, Amazon and Asian redtail catfish they were getting used to the fish and the rods that are much more than what they are used to back home. It wasn’t long before Flemming’s prayers were answered in the form of a stonker of an arapaima. After about an hour’s battle he finally landed the fish, which weighed in at around 400lb. While the fish was in the net we didn’t have time to get a measuring tape, but did take note that the fish’s tale had to be curled for it to sit inside the 7ft long cage. After photos had been done and the arapaima was released we took the cage out the water, upended it and got Flemming to stand inside so he could see he had clearance by a few inches from his head to the cage, he’d done it – the fish was a good 6/7 inches bigger than he was. Jip also wasn’t let down by the fish gods, as he landed an arapaima a couple of days later at 320lb. In total the lads caught 39 fish of six species between them including, Siamese carp to 93lb and Amazon redtail catfish to 70lb.

Now our next angler from Norfolk in England was totally carp crazy, and he was in Thailand on honeymoon. To be fair to his new wife she agreed to letting him have two days fishing while travelling around. When he turned up he was ecstatic, asking questions about methods and tactics, and before you could even answer him he was off around the lake taking it all in and chatting with other anglers and picking his swim.

It was obvious how passionate Adam was about fishing, and even more obvious that his wife loved him, as he was soon showing us his wedding cake that was in fact a three-piece fishing lake cake. That’s right; his fishing cake was a lake with a bivvy on top with LED lights with Mr. and Mrs. Archer sat on the side holding rods fishing into the bottom part of the cake that was his lake. After all this she still let him come fishing on their honeymoon. All I can say Adam is you certainly have caught a personal best – congratulations to you both. Only having two days, Adam was eager to start with his main target species, an arapaima. The first day Adam struggled but did manage to land an Amazon redtail catfish of 35lb. The second day started well with Adam landing his first arapaima of 75lb before topping that later on with another at 140lb.

Chris Bennion made his first visit to Gillhams this month with his girlfriend Lucy. They were on their way home to England after working in Australia for two years. Chris had only booked two nights with two days’ fishing, but this soon changed to four nights and days as Lucy struggled to get Chris away from fishing. Chris had fished in Australia but missed his UK carp fishing, so was really excited about the carp that we had here, plus having a setup that he had missed from the UK carp scene. Chris’s main target was obviously the Siamese carp, but also he wanted a Mekong catfish after hearing people talk about the fight they give once hooked. Chris managed 15 fish of four species including four Siamese carp to 80lb before having to move on to Phi Phi Island then Phuket with Lucy.

This wasn’t the last we would see of Chris; he must of treated Lucy like a queen at the other hotels, as within two weeks he was back for another few days, or maybe he was driving her crazy so she just gave in. Either way before he flew home he had another go to complete his wish list and land his Mekong catfish. On his first day Chris managed two arapaima to 180lb and one Amazon redtail catfish of 55lb. His Mekong catfish was caught on his second day at 140lb, which was good, as this species don’t feed on bait much this time of year; they prefer the warmer water months. The second part of Chris’s trip he caught a total of six fish of five species including one more Siamese carp of 55lb. Wish list complete, Chris was happy to leave but was already planning a return trip for 2016, if he can wait that long.

South African father and son fishing duo, Dirk and Brenden Venter made the long journey from their home in Johannesburg to the resort for their first experience of freshwater fishing in Thailand. The guys had heard about the resort through Kobus Hermitage who wrote an article for the Tight Lines Magazine of S.A. They had heard all the stories, seen the photos and videos and finally made the long awaited journey to see what the reality of the resort was like. I met the guys in the bar on their first evening, and the minute you speak to them, two things come across immediately: One, they guys are passionate anglers and love their fishing, and two, this is a father and son who push each other. They are competitive and will try to outdo each other, but I say this in a nice sense.

Dirk is in the pawn business, not your Ron Jeremy or Linda Lovelace style porn, but the buy and lending type of pawn. He owns two shops on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and you can tell he enjoys it and definitely seems to be a very shrewd guy.

Brenden is still studying; he’s in his last two years. I think his dream is to be a drift car driver, but if you listen to his dad, he will be pushed to reach his goals and learn the ways of life the right way. Maybe he’ll move into the family business, but if not he’ll be steered in the right direction to be successful in whichever way his future takes him.

They booked five days’ fishing with us and had a small wish list, achievable targets, but the main goal was to take in as much as they can and enjoy every second of the experience. These guys fish for carp predominantly in S.A, so the setup we have here was not alien to them. Maybe the strength of the tackle shocked them a bit, but seeing 7ft arapaima roll and big Siamese carp launch out the water in front of their eyes, it started to make sense. I’ve seen the look the guys had on their faces the first morning a thousand times. It’s hard to explain, but to break it down it would be a mix of nerves, excitement, anticipation and joy all rolled in to one.

With the help of the guides they chose their swims and got started. Now they are both competent anglers, and as I said earlier they are competitive. As people who have fished here before know, as much as you would love to land every fish, it’s not always possible. That’s the beauty of the sport, and definitely one of the biggest challenges of the lake. Stuart has produced a specimen lake of the highest order, and some of these fish do not want to come in. That’s why every landed fish here has definitely been worked for and is a reward. The guys quickly got into good fish and felt the strength that they can deliver. Inevitably there were a few dropped fish, but once they got up to speed with the challenge, the pair were in their element and taking it in their stride.

Dirk got to feel the strength of an arapaima on his first day. One of the guides was on his day off and hooked into one whilst fishing for carp. Dirk was passing and was handed the rod, and from there the battle commenced, and what a fight too! The fish did not want to come in, but after nearly 30 minutes he managed to win the war and had the joy of a 100kg arapaima staring back at him. He was humble in the fact it wasn’t his strike, but completely overjoyed at the experience given to him, something he says he will never forget.

The lads were dedicated for the whole trip; every day they would be in the swims at 6.45am preparing the baits, making PVA bags and watching the water ready for the first cast, and their rods were not pulled in until 8pm. The pair managed to catch some great fish: the Amazon redtails seemed to be the predominant species, but trust me there were no complaints; every fish was welcomed with smiles and high fives. Arapaima were the nemesis – hook snaps, hook pulls, line parting, you name it, and it happened, but never once was there a bad comment, just move on to the next one. This mentality worked too, as with one and a half hours left on the last day, a 75lb arapaima took a pellet off the surface whilst fishing with a bubble float and Dirk caught the species he wanted.

I had long conversations with Dirk and Brenden about all sorts of things. All I can say is, what a genuinely nice pair of guys – funny, down to earth and always happy. It was a pleasure to look after and help them enjoy the experience here in Krabi. Their fish tally for the trip was as follows: Dirk landed five Amazon redtail to 70lb, a Siamese carp of 35lb, two Asian redtails to 15lb, one arapaima of 75lb.
Brendan landed seven Amazon redtails to 50lb, a Siamese carp of 25lb, one Asian redtail of 14lb, two pacu to 15lb, a Chao Phraya of 55lb, and a Julian’s carp of 28lb.

Jamie Lowe originally from Manchester England, came to visit us on a day ticket at the start of June with his girlfriend Wao, and unbeknown to us this was not going to be the last time we saw Jamie at the resort. Jamie works for a large gas corporation on one of their support ships. These ships can be based anywhere globally and travel out to the offshore rigs as support and maintenance. The role can take him from the North Sea off Norway, to his next destination off the coast in Asia. With this type of role the general working schedule will be around four weeks on and four weeks off.

On getting to know Jamie, he told us he has based himself on Koh Samui and has been there over a year now, four weeks offshore, then four weeks in Samui. Now this does sound good, but I can imagine the temptation to party is there every night, and after four weeks away, I’m pretty certain that’s what he did. Jamie has fished in Thailand at some of the other destinations and has caught well wherever he has been. This was his first trip to Gillhams; he was on leave and came to Krabi for a break. He hadn’t booked to stay, so tried his luck and booked a day ticket. He came with a few targets in mind and wanted to beat a few of his PBs from the other lakes and also catch any new species he could.

One-day sessions can always be difficult; it’s fishing as we all know and whether your luck is in or not no one knows. Jamie had a good day and caught a couple of fish, and he also saw a few big carp and arapaima landed by other anglers. You could tell he was enjoying himself; he was as happy with his catches, as he was seeing other people landing fish. Before the session was over he had already booked to return a few days later for another crack at it.

This happened again on his next session, and he booked again for another day – he had got the Gillhams bug. He kept saying he wished he hadn’t booked his hotel in Ao-Nang and that he had come straight to the resort for a longer session. Well next day in the restaurant, he strolled in, suitcase in hand, girlfriend next to him and a smile from ear to ear. He was here to stay for a few days, and he made a comment that I hear so many times: “It feels like home from home here, and then there’s the fishing!”

Jamie had already got in to the swing of the tactics we use from the day ticket sessions, so it was bags to his room, and fishing as quick as he could get himself off his balcony. Jamie fished his heart out, and he got the results to go with it. He seemed to have a radar for species, and every day he was catching something new to add to his growing species collection. As with his day sessions he had four nights and four days booked, but even this ended up being extended by 48 hours. Luckily for him his girlfriend was as happy as he was to be here, so there were no complaints.

He did leave us briefly and go over to Phi Phi Island for a couple of nights, but inevitably he came back again. He couldn’t keep away, and he booked another four days with us, which took him to the end of his month onshore. This even entailed canceling Wao’s shopping days in Bangkok so he could fish on. Now his tally is impressive to say the least: 23 Amazon redtails to 80lb, ten Asian redtails to 35lb, three arapaima to 200lb, eleven pacu to 18lb, two Siamese carp to 55lb, two alligator gar to 20lb, an arawana of 6lb, a giant snakehead of 8lb, ripsaw catfish of 8lb and a gourami of 4lb.

Now the story doesn’t stop here, as Jamie was finally leaving us in June, work being the reason for this, but he had already booked for July to come back. Before going offshore he had ordered himself a complete tackle setup so he had his own equipment for fishing in Thailand, and I really need to stress a complete setup – he had invested in top quality rods and reels up to the task of taming these water monsters. He was returning to us for eight nights and eight days and the Siamese carp were his main target to focus on.

It didn’t start as he had planned, as all of his new toys and equipment had been lost in transit on his flight over, and he was a little upset to say the least. We got him fishing and after an hour he had the call to say all his bags had been recovered and would be delivered to the resort the next morning. That first day true to form, Jamie went out and landed a nice Julian’s carp and another new species to add to the list. I will cut this one as short as I can, but to say Jamie had the trip dreams are made of is maybe a understatement.

For the first couple of the days he had a steady stream of fish, landing a couple each day, but losing more than he was landing, and it got to the point that he was strongly thinking of moving swims to try and alter his luck. He gave it one more day and kept fishing to the same distance, consistently feeding, and the tide turned for him – that day it was six fish landed including five Siamese. The following day it was the same result, then came the first of two dream days with the Siamese carp. The first of these days Jamie landed 370lb of carp from seven fish. His last two were big and were weighed – the first an incredible 130lb and then the next fish almost giving him a brace of 100s, weighing 97lb. It was dream fishing, and he topped that off with a lovely arapaima to round the day up.

The next morning he put his first rod out, still spellbound from the previous day’s fishing experience. Before he get could his second rod in the water he had a screamer and hooked into another lumpy fish. Now if I hadn’t have witnessed it I would find it hard to believe… After 30 minutes of a tricky fight we slipped the net under the fish and it was a true whacker. This was another fish of dreams, an amazing carp weighing 123lb. So for three carp on the bounce he had a 130lb, 97lb and 123lb, all weighed. It was simply amazing, and knowing Jamie, it really couldn’t have gone to a nicer guy. I will quickly slip in that before these three fish he hadn’t managed to land a carp over 60lb before. But it gets even better – that day he went on to land ten Siamese with his last of the day believe it or not being another carp weighing 131lb giving him 690lb of carp in a single day. I will stop here now as I’ve taken up a lot of room, but July’s fish tally for him reads as follows: 33 Siamese carp to 131lb (three over 100lb), one ripsaw catfish of 10lb, two Amazon redtails to 55lb, one arapaima of 120lb, one Julian’s carp of 6lb, three Asian redtails to 35lb and one pacu of 17lb.

Next up was all round nice guy Bob Bolton, Bob is a Londoner true to word. He’s from Croydon; he’s got the walk, the London twang, and he’s definitely done a bit of ducking and diving through the years. He’s bit of a geezer (I believe he was a mod back in the day) and how can I forget the pork pie hat that he never fails to take off his head? Bob is a tiler by trade, but even he will say he’s coming to the time in his life when tools will soon be downed, and it will be his time to enjoy life as much as he can – he definitely deserves too. Bob also bailiffs a lake in Croydon, but due to the flooding issues in the UK this year, the lake has been closed for the season, so this meant more time for him to crack on and get to do what he wants.

Before coming to us he slipped in a trip to Rainbow lakes in France, which, for a European water is a specimen lake of the highest order. From what I’ve been told it’s a tough challenge to say the least with the sunken trees, multiple islands, plateaus, fishing at ranges from 200 to 300 yards, and that’s just scratching the surface. From the account I got from Bob it was a tough week all over the lake, but he managed to land a few of the famous lake’s fish, which is an achievement – nothing massive but a very enjoyable trip all round. Bob was in Thailand for a nice stint, and he started his trip with us, having no targets as such, just to relax, get settled in a swim and fish.

This is the low season in Thailand, but as we are seeing year after year, it’s getting busier and busier at the lake. Soon I can’t imagine Stuart having a low season, such is the popularity, and, I say quietly, the immense fishing at this time of year. Ok the rain is here, but Thailand doesn’t get cold, also fresh water is flowing though the lake in abundance, different species are feeding more confidently from the change in conditions, and the activity of the fish can be seen the whole lake over. It is an awesome sight, and any swim can be the golden swim.

Bob chose to fish comfortably for the first day or so outside his bungalow; he caught a few but it didn’t work as well as he hoped. He’s always happy, but he knew a change was in order, so he moved more to the centre of the lake and again settled in to a popular swim, but again this wasn’t to be the right position and a move was in order once more. He then settled in swim E3, and it felt right, Bob got his range and tactics sorted and he was away, he was comfortable and the fish were coming to him, like so many others Bob loves to catch Siamese carp, and they were on the feed the lake over.

Bob isn’t a numbers angler; he just loves the ambiance of fishing and being beside the lake. He fishes at his pace, and if he catches one he’s as happy as if he’s catching ten – the main thing for him is to enjoy the experience. On his last day the only fish eluding him was an arapaima. He said it would be a great way to end his trip but also if it didn’t happen it was another excuse to come back again. He said he would fish up until 6pm, and whatever happened the trip was another success. Well, at 5.45pm the rod bent round and the fairy tale ending must have been written in the stars, as on the end of his line was a stunning arapaima. Bob won the battle and a 50kg arapaima was sitting patiently for its photo to be taken. He jumped out the water, looked at his watch (it was 5.58pm), and he turned to us and said, “That’s my lot. I said I would finish at 6pm, so now it’s time to relax and it’s beer o’clock.” Sometimes it does just turn out the way it was planned.

Steve Sands came back to us for his third trip. Steve came with his wife Helen and two children Zara and TJ. Steve is the owner of Churchwood Fisheries in Brentwood Essex, which is a beautiful day ticket water set in the countryside just outside of Brentwood. Steve works in finance and now lives back in the UK, but for many years he has lived in Asia, residing in Singapore, Hong Kong and predominantly in Tokyo. He actually became fluent in the Japanese language during his time there, which is not an easy task to say the least. When he returned to the UK he had the opportunity to buy Churchwood and snapped up the chance. This was a fishery he fished in his youth, and in the clubhouse he has photos of himself and Helen beside the lake in their teens. It is a beautiful place with three lovely lakes, beautiful grounds and first class facilities.

Now Steve set himself an almighty task – he wants to catch three different carp species over the magical 100lb barrier. He achieved part one around 12 years ago when he caught a black carp of 110lb from the river Tonegawa outside Tokyo. This was an amazing achievement alone, so to up the ante he has set himself a healthy but achievable challenge. Steve came back to us in April for his second attempt for the three-figure carp. He fished hard but didn’t achieve the second part of the challenge in that session; he already knew he was going to be back this month for round three.

After leaving us it wasn’t long before he was off to the European water, which at this time stands to give him the best chance of fulfilling his goal, Euro-Aqua in Hungary. This lake has already thrown up some huge carp, I believe two exceeding the 100lb barrier and a big head of 90lb’ers already surging towards the magic figure he craves. He had a good week and broke his PB for the European strain, but on this trip he didn’t get the monster he wanted. There were two huge carp landed of 98lb and 94lb by anglers in his group and multiple big carp from high 80s down to 40s caught in abundance, and again he has left there with a repeat booking to continue this part of his quest.

So it was all focus now back on Gillhams. I’ve had numerous messages from Steve over the weeks leading up to his trip. He’s been asking how the fishing is, which swims are working well, what people are catching on, baiting strategies, suggestions of things to bring with him – I would say it has got be an obsession for him to say the least. With him coming with the family he wanted to be located near the pool for his stay, and this worked out for him. He also wanted to get in the swim below the pool. As you will be aware if you’ve been here before, one of Stuart’s rules is that you can’t prebook a swim. When you get here feel free to choose a free swim, and if you fancy a certain place that is being fished, if and when it frees up feel free to move in to it.

It worked out well for Steve. His first day was a half day fishing, and the next day the swim he fancied was available, so he got the rods in for the first day having got his rods tackled to the way he wanted and put a line in for a couple of hours. He managed a carp that first day. We tell everyone you have to forget fighting these fish the way you would back home; they fight harder and will push you to the limit. Use your body to take the pressure off and don’t think you can land them off your forearm or elbow, as the fish will win. So for the next six days it was a Siamese challenge. As I said, Steve was prepared to say the least; he brought a whole tackle shop with him, and nothing was left to chance.

The first couple of days he was taking a couple of fish but wasn’t totally comfortable, and it didn’t help with the lad next to him having his swim on fire. This was Jamie Lowe who we’ve written about further up the page. On the third day it all clicked; he found his range, found the right bait presentation, and he was in full flow… Ok, he might have shifted a bait closer to Jamie, ha ha. That day Steve set the baits and the fish he wanted came. After a really strong fight, with the fish staying deep the whole battle, it finally put its head up and there in front of him was the fish he wanted, an immaculate Siamese carp weighing 103lbs.
Everyone was completely made up for him. Now there can’t be many anglers out there that can say they have had two different carp species over 100lbs – what an awesome achievement.

The fishing was only just starting for him, and like I said he was in full flow now. He went on to land 37 Siamese in his session, with a total weight 50lb short of a ton of carp. This was by far his best ever total and more Siamese than he had caught on his previous trips put together. He had two other fish weighed while he was here, but they both fell just short of the three figures with one of 97lb and the other 98lb. Steve mate, congratulations and well done – effort definitely meant reward for you. You worked hard and got the rewards you wanted, I know you were knackered by the end of it, but it was all worth it. Good luck at Euro-Aqua for part three of the challenge. Steve’s fish tally read as follows: 37 Siamese carp to 103lbs (13 being 70-100lb) and two pacu to 20lb.

Once again sorry for the late newsletter. Stuart normally checks what we have written to save any libel cases, however he is away with little Jack in the UK, followed up by Jack’s long promised trip to Orlando Disney. So he has trusted us not to write anything that would lower the high standards he expects from everyone involved in his paradise!

To book your fishing trip of a lifetime please email us or phone +66 (0) 861644554. Remember to book early or you will be disappointed, Gillhams is becoming so popular it pays to book at least a year in advance.

Best wishes from all the team here at Gillhams. We hope to see you in the near future.