Fishing In Thailand Newsletter October 2015

Hi and welcome to the October 2015 newsletter, our monthly roundup of news, catch reports and anything remotely connected to our little slice of paradise out here in Krabi…

Well, this is newsletter number 12 for me, so I guess that means I have been here a year! It’s been great to see and meet so many of you, and it certainly has been a great year in many ways. But I have to say its not all been what I expected! It’s quite a crazy job in a crazy country, and at times you do get to see some pretty bonkers stuff, like coming back from the shops and you pass an elephant in the back of a small lorry (presumably off to the vet for a jab or something)… frozen turtles and grasshoppers for sale in the local supermarket… little Jack stuck up a tree with Stuart climbing up it to retrieve him… guide Darren with a hook stuck deep in his head… Becky running through the restaurant with a monkey biting her hand… Helmet (the big grumpy dog) having a little nibble on people’s clothes and generally scaring them as they come into the office for the first time… the little dog Billy causing utter mayhem as he runs around the lake playing with the customers… customers wearing mankinis… customers who don’t actually know what a baitrunner is… guide Chris passed out in a hedge one minute then complaining bitterly at me for having to shave my back hair off the next… the big dawg’s classic one-liners (always a good source of amusement)… guide Lawrence’s ongoing ability to have shady massages in the local town and always laughing about it afterwards… To clarify that one for you, we are talking proper massages, not of the funky variety; however, let’s just say some of the “ladies” who rubbed oil on his back probably had quite big hands and feet as big as his, but looking on the bright side, his all-over tan looks great (picture enclosed – ha ha).

Sticks is a constant source of amusement too, and his ability to do the exact opposite of what he says he’s going to do can be quite entertaining at times. I have had to learn that I can’t buy alcohol in the supermarket between 2pm and 5pm, because that’s not allowed. If the traffic lights are red you can still drive through them, ladies’ sex toys are illegal out here (not that I own any anyway). It’s very disrespectful to rub an adult Thai on the head or show them the soles of your feet. The King and royal family are very much loved by the Thai people and they hold them in very high esteem. It’s all a learning curve for me, and I’ve even learnt a tiny amount of the Thai language. I can say, “I’m full, thank you” and count from three to four. That’s about it; I haven’t nailed one and two yet! I find it fascinating the differences between our culture and their culture. Still, I am pretty sure they find us fascinating too, or at least entertaining, because many of our Thai workers seem to point at me and laugh, and although it’s not the only time it’s happened to me, it definitely happens more regularly out here in Thailand than it did in England.

This month saw the capture of Marc Pickering’s incredible Siamese carp weighing 183lb, a new lake record, and we think the start of things to come.

 

 

 

With water quality and fish care so high on the agenda, alongside the high quality baits provided, the growth rates of the fish are pretty incredible. Now I am no fishery expert by any stretch of the imagination; in fact quite the opposite. I may be learning the odd thing slowly as we go along, but it’s the big dog that has created this, and even with my lack of knowledge on why the fish are getting so big, I have to say that even in the short time I have been here things have changed. This time last year a 100lb Siamese still seemed like a ‘show stopper’ but now, and having seen 23 come out in one month, you need to be looking at a 130lb-plus for it to be a biggie, and a ‘show stopper’ has to be 150lb-plus or maybe 180lb-plus? God knows. With some of these fish so rarely seeing the net, I think we are on the cusp of a 200lb monster. I hope so, but just for now I’ll be happy with the fact I have caught a 100lb’er, even if it’s not a ‘biggie’ anymore. Best I get those rods out and pray, I think!

Guide Alex returned at the end October and will grace us with his company for the next few months, and Darren has now gone to Australia for a month or two. Another bit of excitement we had this month was around 10.15pm one night, when a quite animated Becky rung from the restaurant requesting our presence quickly, as a massive fire had broken out on the hill by the waterfall. Lawrence, Nick and I got to the restaurant, and yep, there it was, a quite an impressive fire was roaring away on the hill! Grabbing fire extinguishers, we hotfooted it to the top of the lake as quickly as we could. A few of the Thai staff were there, so we thought they were alarmed too! Lawrence, using the international language of mime, pointed at the fire extinguisher and then the fire, to which Som (one of the Thai staff) nodded. Now this is where it went slightly wrong because Som thought Lawrence meant, “Do you want us to leave these here in case you need them?” but Lawrence had asked did they want the fire putting out! So when Som nodded, three fire extinguishers were discharged onto the ever-growing fire and a small amount of concern set in. Well, except for Becky who had now contacted Benz who had told her not to worry, as the gardeners were just burning some rubbish! Panic over then… We had to laugh, as everything was and had been under control the whole time.

Finally we all think Sean and Noi’s little boy Tyler is growing the best hairdo in Thailand!

 

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 651 fish caught of 27 species, made up as follows: 36 arapaima to 527lb, four alligator gar to 50lb, 139 Amazon redtail catfish to 80lb, one  Amazon stingray of 25lb, 86  Asian redtail catfish to 40lb, 17 black pacu to 30lb, three Chao Phraya catfish to 140lb, three giant snakehead to 12lbs, six spotted featherback to 12lb, thirteen Julian’s golden carp to 25lb, 94 Mekong catfish to 220lb, nine red bellied pacu to 18lb, 209 Siamese carp to 183lb, one spotted sorubim of 40lb, one brycon of 5lb, eight gourami to 13lb, two arowana to 8lb, one jau catfish to 35lb, three giant freshwater stingray to 150lb, five giant featherbacks to 8lb, two mrigal carp to 25lb, one black shark carp of 15lb, one wallago attu of 6lb, three tilapia to 4lb, one Nile perch of 10lb and one striped snakehead of 7lb.

Marc Pickering made a return at the end of September bringing his lass Alison, and this time her daughter Vicki came along for a holiday so that the girls could spend some time doing the day trips etc and leave him to get on with some serious fishing. They arrived on the ten o’clock flight, and after a couple of beers Marc headed round to sala 9 keen to have a go at the carp, and, well, whatever would pick his hookbait up really! Fairly quickly Marc landed a 55lb Siamese, which was a bit of an appetite whetter, and he decided to “ring the dinner bell” by Spombing in a reasonable amount of bait in the hope of attracting/holding a few carp in his swim. The ploy worked nicely, and the next couple days saw two sixties, an eighty and two nineties to 95lb landed, so he was obviously getting it right.

Early on the next day Marc was really punching the air for joy as he popped an 85lb Amazon red tail in the net, which was a PB for him, and he then followed it up with a couple of 70lb Siamese. The last time Marc was here he landed a 100lb Siamese, but the Siamese had other ideas than he did when it came to being photographed and smashed its way through the net, so he never got his photo! This piece of bad luck was put to bed on day three as he landed a 100lb’er along with three others all 65lb or over, as well as a couple of Asian red tails and a decent tilapia. The hard work was paying off, and the girls were happy too as they had been out elephant trekking and got themselves some nice photos as well.

Sticking to his guns of watching for sheets of bubbles and any signs of fish, Marc continued the baiting strategy, kept the work rate up, and a further four Siamese carp to 70lb came his way the following day. With a definite day’s peace and quiet as the girls were going on the four-island boat trip, Marc entered the month of October with another superb carp of 105lb, and then followed it up with an 80lb’er. Marc was constantly working the Spomb rod and baiting up his spots; the carp were fizzing and sheeting up in front, and it was obvious that his luck would continue. Although I sat next to him for a while with the video camera, surprisingly no more fish came along that day.

Marc was up and ready for action the following day, and it didn’t take too long for the Siamese to reappear. A 90, followed by another 105lb monster, and then a 65lb’er all kept his attention until his rod ripped off again, which took him from sala 9 all the way down to basically sala 2 in one massive and powerful run. Marc thought (because of the pure power of the fish) that it was a Mekong and locked everything down and fought the fish accordingly. 25 arm-aching minutes later, and after a really good battle, student Joss was in the lake ready to net the fish, when all of a sudden and much to everyone’s surprise, a large Siamese surfaced in front of them. Now I need to apologise, as I have told you a lie there; it was wasn’t a large Siamese – it’s absolutely enormous!

Stuart’s phone rang in the office, and it was Lawrence, “You’d better come and see this carp! It’s enormous!” he squealed with delight. We grabbed the scales and video camera and rushed around. There were many smiling faces and “guesstimates” to the fish’s weight, ranging from 165 to (and dare I say it) 183lb, which was Lawrence’s guess. With the scales zeroed and our monster sling underneath the fish, we carefully weighed the fish, and as much as it pains me to say it, Lawrence was absolutely bang-on – a new lake record and indeed an extremely significant capture of modern times. Marc was understandably blown away, he had said earlier on during the day that he would like a picture with a big 100lb’er like maybe a 120 or something like that. Well, he certainly got his wish there! I asked him if he had any special words to sum up his feelings after we returned the monster, and he replied, “I’ll have four Singhas please.”

The carp seemed to drift away a bit after that, and the next day he landed two at 70lb and 60lb respectively, not that he cared one little jot! With a trip to the Tiger temple planned next for the girls, Marc stuck to his guns and continued with the Spombing and kept his work rate high. He was rewarded for doing so because as the girls puffed and panted up 1237 steps, he puffed and panted reeling in an Asian red tail of 32lb, three Julians of 15lb, 20lb and 30lb, and in amongst them were a couple of Siamese, the biggest one weighing 75lb. After all that excitement they all went down to the Carnivore and enjoyed a slap-up steak dinner, then a night in Ao Nang.

The final day’s fishing started slowly, but all Marc wanted to do was catch one fish so that he could say he didn’t have a blank day during his stay. A 150lb Mekong made sure he didn’t do that, and shortly after he was stuck into another hard fighting fish, which he thought was another Mekong, but it turned out to be his fifth Siamese over 100lb in the shape of a cracking 115lb monster! Wow! What an awesome trip for him, made even better because he loves his carp fishing these days at home and out here. He set his stall out to catch a few, and he certainly did that. With an hour to go he popped out his last fish of that trip, which turned out to be an Amazon red tail.

After a few days off chilling with the missus, Jimmy Griffin came back for a three-day session. He went into swim E3 and was immediately hooked into a hard-fighting fish that could only really be a Mekong. I did hear such words as, “God, this is the last thing I need first thing in the morning!” etc etc, but either way he was delighted when he landed a Mekong weighing 180lbs! Shortly afterwards a Siamese carp ripped off, and at 85lb that was another good fish too. The day finished off nicely for him with an Asian red tail of 25lb.

With only a couple of days to go Jimmy wanted to make the most of it, so he was back in the swim bright and early, and yet again hooked into a Mekong straight away, which quite frankly was the last thing he wanted, as the fights are so powerful. Having said that he landed the fish at 110lb, and then came up to the restaurant to recover. Upon his return he landed a 50lb Siamese and then had to wait until dark when he then landed an Amazon red tail of 50lb.

The last day’s fishing on the main lake started again in style, as straight away he hooked into a Mekong! We were laughing, and Jimmy was cursing, but he battled away, and duly landed one at 120lb, and still managed to smile for the pics. Shortly afterwards a 90lb Siamese came along followed by an 8lb featherback, which he caught on some worms he had found. With a few hours off during the day, enjoying a cold beer or two, it was left until the evening before his final fish of the trip came his way. He had placed a three-boilie rig (or greedy pig rig for you old schoolers) into the edge in the hope of nicking an arapaima at the end. With only 15 minutes remaining before it was time to reel them in, his rod burst into life and he landed an 80lb Siamese carp! Now no one really expected that, as the majority of Siamese come out in the daylight hours, and just about all of them come out in the deeper water, not on the marginal shelf!

 

Steve Bristow and his partner Joanne Nutt from Reading came out to see us early in the month. Both were to be fishing – Joanne has happy to catch anything at all, but I think Steve really hoped for a Siamese or two, as he is an experienced carp angler who mainly chases carp in France. They came on an early flight so had a bit of time to chill out and relax on their day of arrival. When the first day’s fishing started, they were pumped up and ready to go, but unfortunately the fish weren’t, and the rods were quiet on the first day.

The following day seemed like it was going the same way until Steve got stuck into a giant freshwater stingray of about 45lb, which was a nice way to open his account. Joanne opened hers the next day when a spirited performance from a 15lb Asian red tail left her very happy and shaking a little bit with excitement. With an afternoon’s elephant trekking planned for the following day, Steve and Jo were in the swim bang on time and keen to get the rods out. Those rods can’t have been out more than 10 or 15 minutes because as I looked across from the other side, I saw Jo hanging on to a bent rod, grinning away with what was obviously a very powerful fish. Jo was over the moon as the fish turned out to be a 70lb Siamese carp, a cracking fish by anyone’s standards! This did of course lead to a little leg pulling from Jo, but Steve took it like a man. This was to see the end of their stay in B3, as the next day they did the waterfalls, Emerald Pool, and springs in the morning then after a quick medicinal beer, they fished the afternoon in swim D3, but on that day the rods were quiet.

With no imminent trips planned the two of them got stuck into the fishing and had a rather busy day. Jo had two massive fights with Mekong catfish, and she did extremely well battling the powerful beasts. At one point Steve gave her a little hand, but like I said to her, there is no shame in that at all. As any of you know who have played one, they are extremely strong and just don’t give in. Also I had to confess the last one I battled, guide Lee gave me and hand! Anyway that day Steve also got what he was looking for when a nice Siamese of 85lb and then one of 70lb both graced his net. To round the day off Steve landed a very respectable 40lb Asian red tail catfish, which marked the end of a good day’s fishing for them.

The following day things were a little bit quieter, as only a Julian’s came along for Steve, but the day was a resounding success as they finished the night off at the Reggae Reggae bar in Ao Nang, and they were amazed at the Thai renditions of Bob Marley. They were thrilled with the Thai afro style haircuts and blown away by the fire show! After all that excitement, the following morning saw a three-island longtail boat outing, and they returned buoyant from observing some beautiful scenery and chilling out on the beaches. Back in the swim it didn’t take long for Steve to get hooked into his own hard-fighting Mekong, which came in at 140lb. This led to a quite relaxed and laid back approach… I think when I walked past the swim there were two of the four rods out and two happy faces supping on a beer, not initially too concerned about re-chucking the rods in case another one came along.

As the afternoon passed they got sorted again, and Steve finished the day with a nice Amazon red tail of 60lb. The last day on the big lake was just half a day, and then they were off out to Ao Nang for some chilling out down the Boogie Bar, and no doubt that led to a bit of a singsong! The final morning of their stay here they popped up to the top lake, and Jo had a nice Julian’s and Steve landed a nice Amazon red tail and a pacu. This finished their holiday off nicely, and they said they had a really great time.

 

Daryl Cruttendon, Pete Hyland and Doug Small came as a package so to speak. Daryl had been here before, but Pete and Doug hadn’t. They had done quite a bit of homework and decided to work as a team. The goal was to catch as many fish as possible, but they were crossing their fingers that a 100lb-plus Siamese carp would grace all of their photo albums. The plan they started off with was that two would fish together on the bungalow side, one would go opposite into the Sala Bay, and they would all work together and rotate all the swims between them. Although tired from the flight over, they made a start on the first afternoon. Daryl managed a pacu in Sala 6 whilst Pete and Doug settled into their swims and found their spots.

Day two came, and straight away Pete was into a Mekong that slipped the hook after 25 minutes. You could tell by the look on his face that he found it quite an experience! The fish were on the missing list until mid-afternoon when Pete hooked into another Mekong, but this time he landed it at 100lb. He was more than happy with his first Gillhams monster. Daryl on the other hand hooked two or three fish, but they managed to avoid capture. The Siamese carp finally turned up the following day for the bungalow lads Doug and Pete when they both landed 50lb’ers, and then Peter landed a good-sized 35lb Asian red tail catfish. Across the other side of the lake Daryl was getting itchy feet as the carp weren’t coming. A big run off a lost Mekong and another pacu in the net, Daryl was planning a move into Sala 1, which was to become vacant the following afternoon.

Doug was straight into Sala 2 the following morning, and Pete stayed in C1, hoping that the carp would kick in, and they did, because by nine o’clock he had landed Siamese of 110 and 90lb, and we had one very big, happy grin in that swim! Daryl moved into Sala 1 when that became vacant at midday, and he was grinning away too as he popped a 120lb Mekong in the net followed by a Siamese of 85lb. Next door in Sala 2 the carp seemed to appear as well, because Doug landed a 45, a 65 and then a really big one went in the net. We got a call to come and have a look, and we thought we knew which fish it was, and after a quick comparison on Sean’s phone, we realised it was the same one Marc had landed three weeks earlier at 183lb. It’s crazy how fish behave sometimes; you don’t see them for ages, and then they trip up twice in a month. But hey, Doug didn’t care, and rightfully so, as it happens in fishing all the time.

In fact the same thing happened to a friend of mine, many years ago in England. After three years of trying I caught the “big one”, and not a week later my mate caught it too! Doug was blown away and pretty much spent the rest of the day grinning and talking gibberish! Also it cannot go unmentioned that he poured his beer into one of our foam “bottle coolers” that night then drank from it, thinking it was a glass! Pete finished the day off with another Siamese of 55lb and then an Asian red tail of 20lb.

Moving swims had turned out to be a good idea, and now they had three swims between them, all of which were doing nicely. Saturday pretty much marked the halfway point for their trip, and Daryl in Sala 1 had the best of that day, as a couple of Siamese carp to 65lb then three Amazon red tails to 70lb and a 4lb arawana kept him busy. Meanwhile in Sala 2 Doug had a 55lb Siamese and a 15lb Asian red tail. Pete kept plugging away in C1 and landed a pacu of 18lb and two nice carp, one of 75lb and one of 95lb! Sunday saw them all swap around a bit as Doug went into C1, Peter into Sala 1 and Daryl slipped into Sala 2. This sharing and rotating swims was a great idea, and the teamwork between the three of them was a pleasure to watch.

Daryl really benefited, as Sala 2 was very kind to him the next day, and he got what he was looking for when a Siamese of 110lb came along and it was job done for the boys, as they had now all caught Siamese of 100lb-plus. Not content with just one, Daryl caught another one weighing 100lb that night in the dark, and a 50lb one in between the two 100s. Pete was now having his share of the red tails in Sala 1 and managed four Amazon red tail catfish to 75lb then an Asian red tail of 30lb and a small Siamese of 35lb. Doug on the other hand had a quieter day and just landed a 70lb’er.

The swim rotation worked in Doug’s favour the next day, as he ended up in Sala 1, and the fish were willing to play the game. He landed five Siamese, all 50lb and over, the biggest of which was 85lb. A couple of these fish were filmed for the Facebook page. He also ended up with a couple of Amazon red tails, the biggest being 60lb. Pete also had a busy day with the Siamese in Sala 2, and he landed five to 70lb, but there was trouble brewing for Daryl. It all started when Pete and Doug complained about the lack of beer. You see, up until now, the boys had met up for beers every day, and whoever fished the bungalow side was responsible for collecting them. Only Daryl didn’t deliver, and there was some complaining going on! Karma however was never far away, and although his two buddies didn’t actually wish any bad luck on him, his day was a day of losses including a good sized arapaima, and all he had to show for the day was a 22lb pacu.

The rotation system put Daryl in the driving seat the following morning as Sala 1 did its usual trick of throwing out a few Amazons, in this case to 45lbs, and then a couple of Siamese carp to 65lb, the pics of which included a nice brace shot with Doug who had been plugging away in Sala 2, landing a small Asian red tail and the 60lb Siamese in the brace shot. Pete over on the bungalow side was quite happy though… As the mid-afternoon beers flowed once more, he managed to pull out a lump of a 95lb Siamese followed by a 35lb Asian red tail. The sun was just starting to go down over the mountains, and as we stood in Daryl’s swim his rod ripped off, and after quite a lively fight he finished the day off nicely with an 80lb Siamese.

With 2 days to go Daryl and Pete were giving it the “final push”, whilst Doug, on the other hand, was feeling a bit drained as the heat had taken its toll a little bit on him. That said, he did make a start on the last day over on the bungalow side, but a couple or three afternoon beverages soon put paid to the fishing for that day, and the afternoon was spent pushing some serious ZZZZs in the bungalow, happy and content with what he had caught. So Daryl and Pete continued on the sala side; Pete in Sala 2 had three Siamese carp to 85lb, and Daryl had a couple at 45lb and 65lb. That evening the boys all gathered together for dinner, made their plans for the final day’s fishing, and then ate their eighth banana split each!

So the final day’s fishing came, and they all seemed in a reflective mood. Pete had gone up to the Grassy for the day, but alas it was a quiet day for him, and Doug and Daryl remained in Sala 1 and Sala 2 respectively. Doug caught an Asian red tail fairly quickly, which he then followed up with a Siamese of 60lb, and Daryl landed a 50lb Siamese too. The day was a hot one, and around 2pm I saw Doug grinning as he was extracting that afternoon’s beer quota. “I think I have trodden in something!” he said. Thinking the worst, I presumed Helmet or Billy had left a present in his swim. But I was wrong, as he quickly blurted out he had just had another huge Siamese carp, this time just under 150lb! Strewth! With half a day’s fishing up on the top lake before they flew home, this marked the end of their session on the main lake, and what a session it had been! They came prepared, they worked as a team, they listened to any advice given, they worked hard at the fishing, and they reaped the rewards for doing so.

 

Andy Cartwright is my nemesis as far as our newsletter is concerned, the reason being that he has been to Thailand fishing so many times and caught so many big fish and different species of fish, that he barely takes photos of them. In fact if he catches an arapiama here, he won’t take a picture of it unless it’s 400lb or more! The only fish he normally takes pictures of are either a new species or a personal best of a species. So for me no photos no newsletter! Andy turned up with his friend Neil (who is also a freelance guide out in Thailand), and they had planned a road trip, which would involve fishing a few places over a three-week period. We were the first port of call on his road trip, and his trip started off in swim G1, but within a couple of hours he had moved into the Grassy swim, as the occupants had gone out for the day. It didn’t take long to get amongst the fish, and three Asian red tails up to 20lb were quickly followed by a wallago attu of 6lbs. Great, I thought to myself, I haven’t had a picture of one of those for the Facebook page. Shortly after Andy had a 260lb arapaima, and that brought an end to his first day’s fishing nicely.

Day two started, and I bumped into him after a couple of days off. I told him well done and asked if he had any pics I could use. “No, I didn’t take any,” came the reply. “You’re not really much good to me, Mr. Cartwright!” I answered, and he laughed and then apologised with a promise of having some photos by the end of the trip! That second day he landed three arapaima: one of 130lb, one of 140lb and then a clonker of 275lb, but you guessed it, no photos! So I moaned at him again!

With two days left Andy went into swim A1, and as I walked past him in the morning, he was just getting out of the lake having returned a fish. “See the things I do for you?” he said smiling. I was intrigued to say the least as to which fish would lure him in for a picture. The said fish was a Siamese carp around the mid sixties, and I thanked him for his gesture! The next fish that wasn’t photographed was an Asian red tail of 30lb. Later that evening Andy hooked a big fish with ten minutes of fishing left. They heard the fish leap out of the water twice, and then it got well and truly stuck in the marginal hyacinth. Guide Lee went out in the pitch black, carefully following the braid down to where the fish had lodged itself. He started ripping the hyacinth away, and then slowly but surely he came across a head, which he knew belonged to be an arapiama.

The fish started to move forward slowly, and as it did, it went between Lee’s arm and waist, and he felt its sheer size, as it felt like a submarine! The fish, now free from the hyacinth, bolted out into the lake and literally took off as it leapt completely clear of the lake, looking enormous in the head torches. Shortly after the fish was caged, and it was one of the big boys at just under 530lb, which was easily the biggest arapaima Andy has ever caught, so we had no problems getting a photo of that one! Afterwards the talk was not only about the beast’s sheer size, but what a spectacle it was to witness over 500lb of leaping fish. I wish I had seen it, that’s for sure! After all that excitement Andy’s last day was a quiet one, and he slipped off early with Neil the following morning to continue their road trip adventure.

 

Finally (and quickly) Wez and Michelle Thomas came out for a week’s holiday. Wez was another one who had done his homework and came prepared. Michelle on the other hand had come for a holiday! It all started well, and on the first day he landed a 160lb arapaima and two Amazon red tails of 55lb and 60lb in the Grassy swim. Then a move into A1 saw him land a big Chao Phraya of 140lb and then a Siamese of 45lb. Wez was having a great time, especially the next day when he caught two more Siamese to 70lb, a couple of Amazon red tails to 40lb, and then his third different species over the 100lb mark when a 140lb Mekong pulled him around for a while. All of this action seemed to whet Michelle’s appetite, and she decided to have a little go, which resulted in a great ‘screaming shot’ and a nice catch shot of an Amazon red tail of around 40lb!

The fourth different species over the magical 100lb came the next day when he landed a giant freshwater stingray of 150lb, and then another Mekong of 140lb. We were all hoping he would manage to pop out a 100lb-plus Siamese and that would have made the big 5!! But alas he ‘only’ managed three on his final day to 80lb and another 45lb Amazon red tail – not a bad few days’ fishing, methinks!

 

Well, that’s it from us and the fish for this month. We’ll see you all again next month, where quite frankly god knows what will happen!

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).