If you know anything about fishing in Thailand then you will already know about the huge monster fish that are to be caught in some of the Lakes, Reservoirs and Rivers. Im talking about the Mekong Giant Catfish (bla beuk), Siamese Giant Carp (bla caho) and the Giant Snakehead (bla shado). Yes, Thailand is indeed the land of the Giants and the two largest freshwater fish in the world can be caught here allthough one is imported from Brazil.
The Mekong Giant Catfish is the largest freshwater fish in the world (grows up to 300kg in weight) and can not be caught in its natural habitat the Mekong River on rod and line. To bag a Mekong Giant you have to go to a man made lake where they have been introduced. There you are guaranteed by many guides to catch certain weights and amounts in a session or your money back. Countless fishermans tales about these fish and the awesome power they put into the fight have been told again and again.
The Siamese Giant carp is in the same league, being the largest carp species on earth, its also legendary for its strength and power and allthough probablly not as easily caught as the Mekong Moggy it is almost certain you will hook up with one if you are at a fishing park.
If youre after the Giant Snakehead which is arguablly the most veracious freshwater predator in the world then you may have to get away from an artificial environmet and out into the wild, for the specimen sized beasts are mostly to be found lurking in one of the many reservoirs, dams or lakes around the country.
Thailand is indeed the Land of the Giants. The Mekong Catfish, the Siamese Carp and the Snakehead.
I dont like to disapoint but this feature is not about any of the giants, any species in particular, or even one of the famous fishing venues that will leave you black and blue and in need of a good hard massage.
Its about the quest into the unknown with very basic tackle to places that have probablly never been fished by foreigners before.
Living in Thailand you are never really far from water, there are hundreds of small lakes (sa lek), large lakes (sa yai), reservoirs (sa nam), and rivers (krong). Most pieces of land will have a pond or lake for watering animals and a water supply for the bathroom (hong nam).
Its unlikley they will contain Giant catfish, Giant carp or Giant snakehead, but you can still have a great days fishing with minimal tackle pretty much for free. Its not advisable to just wander onto somebodys land and start fishing, you would not do it in your own country (not in broad daylight anyway).So make sure you either have permission from the owner of the land or at least go together with a Thai. Most people wont mind and in some places its government land so everybody fishes there anyway (with nets, electric prods and of course bamboo canes). There are other possibilitys such as in the wet season when many fields flood and fill up with Eels (bla lai), Walking Catfish (bla duk) and Striped Snakehead (bla chon).
with an abundance of Rivers, Lakes and ponds in Thailand you are never that far from a nice little fishing spot.
Most areas of water will be teeming with fish of some sort whatever season it is. Baring in mind that Thais will be mainly fishing for food so there is no catch and release, there are still plenty to go around. The fact that many lakes flood mean that fish are in a sense migratory and move from one pond to another to breed and in search of better food or water conditions.
So whats this about a journey into the unknown I hear you say. Well, as I dont live near any man made fishing parks with guaranteed action I have two choices, the first being dont go fishing (not an option) the second which is the obvious one, find some good spots for yourself.
When arriving here I had bought some minimal tackle with me: favourite reel (with 10lb line), some ledger weights, packs of hooks (size 8,10,12,14), some line shot, a stick float, a couple of lures and my knife. So after aclimatising and settling into my new home, I started looking around for places to fish. I asked some of the family and locals but nobody seemed to know anywhere. I was 100% sure that some of the waters around me must have fish because I had noticed people fishing with nets aswell as using electrified prods in knee deep water and all were catching fish. There were also many times when I would see sombody go past on a motorbike with a couple of fishing rods, or bamboo canes with string and bits of foam tied on the end.
Earthworms are a great bait to use in many places and they will catch several species of fish. Using a very simple rig tied to the end of a bamboo cane you can have some great relaxing fun.
I had to get out there and find out for myself. Searching around a few places and looking down dirt roads I found a little spot next to a small very slow moving river section where the surface was bubbling with signs of fish. I went home and asked a friend if it was ok to fish there (dok bla dai bow)?. He was sure it would be no problem (mai ben rai) at all. So I set up my new rod with my stick float and a size 14 hook with 3lb bottom, dug up a few worms (sai duean) ( which were more like the size of Grass snakes), grabbed a couple of cans of beer and set off up the road.
This fishing spot on a very slow moving river was positivley bubbling with signs of fish, with beautifull surroundings, peace, quiet and nobody around the stage was set to see what was lurking beneath the surface.
After quickly plumbing the depth I threw a few chopped worms in the area I was ging to fish and cast right to the middle of them. I didnt even get chance to click the bail arm over when the float shot under and when I struck the hook flew back out of the water and nearly took my eye out. Obviously after a couple of months I was too quick on the draw and a bit over eager on the strike. I had to take it easy, I was finally sitting down fishing and this was a time to relax and take it all in, so I gathered my thoughts and baited up again. As soon as I had cast in again I heard what sounded like a motorcycle gang approaching, looked up and noticed that the guy next door, all the kids from the familys around and my Girlfriend had come to see how I was doing or probablly just to laugh at the foreigner (farrang) sitting in the sun not catching any fish.
OK, the pressure is on now, I thought as they approached. After answering about 50 questions in 5 seconds about my float and explaining that I had only cast in once and you have to wait a while for the fish to come and feed (even longer when there are 10 kids running up and down the bank shouting and waving sticks around at each other) I settled back down and concentrated on the bright hypnotising tip of my float.
(At this point I must explain that when fishing with my dad when I was a young lad and I would get bored and start tapping my feet, walking around looking for somthing to do or generally being a nuisance near to where he was fishing he would carefully explain (through gritted teeth) that the vibrations I was causing in the ground and moving shadows on the surface from me standing up and walking around would scare off the fish. I could never really understand why he got so heated about it, well now I totally understand Dad, its not just that the fish might be scared away its the fact that when you go fishing part of the experience is the peace and quiet.)
About five minutes after everything had calmed down again the float twitched. I told myself to keep cool, there were a lot of sets of eyes on me right now. It twitched again and again, line bites its got to be lines bites I thought , then BAM, it shot under water, I struck and knew straight away that I had somthing half decent on the end. There were a few obstacles around my spot but nothing that serious so I just let the rod do the work and quite easily banked my first fish in Thailand.
"Bla Nin","Bla Nin" was the courus from the stands behind me. "Bla What" I said. " Bla Nin, Gin Di, Aroi" was the answer which basically means that fish, Tilapia, is good to eat. "Eat?, what, this fish? you sure?" I wasnt planning on eating my catch but when I said I wanted to put it back I was given a look like I had just put on a green wig a red nose and some massive clown shoes. "Nin Gin Di", "Aroi, Aroi", That means its good to eat and very delicious. Ok I thought im outnumbered, so one of the spectators went to get a bag to put it it.
About 40 minutes fishing produced a nice catch of Nile Tilapia (Bla NiN) witha total weight of 3 KG.
I threw a few more worms around my swim, cast in again and the bait couldnt of even hit the bottom when the float disapeared. Another quick tussle and the same result, Nile Tilapia (bla Nin), about the same size as the last one.This went on for the next 30 minutes or so with a couple of fish being larger than the others. By then I was cleaned out of worms and It was getting towards sunset so I packed up with a big smile on my face knowing that I would be back here again very soon.
After I got home and while my catch was being cooked, I sat with my friend from next door Mr Ung and asked about other places to fish, he said he wasnt sure because he didnt like fishing that much but would take me somewhere in the next few days.
That my friends will be saved for the next instalment and you will find out what the Bamboo warrior is all about.
If you have any questions, comments or enquiries about fishing trips in Thailand please dont hesitate to contact info@megafishingthailand.com we are always happy to help.
If you know anything about fishing in Thailand then you will already know about the huge monster fish that are to be caught in some of the Lakes, Reservoirs and Rivers. Im talking about the Mekong Giant Catfish (bla beuk), Siamese Giant Carp (bla caho) and the Giant Snakehead (bla shado). Yes, Thailand is indeed the land of the Giants and the two largest freshwater fish in the world can be caught here allthough one is imported from Brazil.
