Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok’s streets lies Bungsamran, the most unique and prolific fishing venue in Thailand.

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Catch Report - July 2007

Fishing Thai Style! I can’t resist fitting in a day or two of fishing into my annual holidays if I can help it but when this years destination was Thailand I thought I would be losing out. I didn’t know much about the area but I did know that Thailand was in the middle of the Mekong River Basin and I guessed that my odds of finding some fishing were good. Like many of my fishing trips nowadays I started my research with a Yahoo search and was presently surprised to find that there was some fishing to be found in Bangkok, an hour's drive from Bangkok city centre. I stumbled across a website about Fishing in Thailand website www.siamfishingtours.com and discovered that a realistic target would be the Giant Mekong Catfish that inhabited a lake called Bungsamran. A few emails were exchanged and a trip was booked for me and my new wife, Joan, who will join me on a yearly fishing trip or too so long as it is sunny and warm. Once in Thailand I needed to sort our Thai Fishing Tackle and so I made a trip to the Thai fishing tackle shop and also stocked up on some cheap lures for back home. It seems that Thai's are not to strict with their fishing methods which allowed me to fish in the whole with my own fishing methods. The journey to Bungsamran takes just under an hour but with the darkness, unfamiliar roads it took a little longer in the evenings. It was essential that we got there on time and we had a couple of frantic phone calls from our Thai Fishing Guide as he wanted to get us on the water as soon as possible. Throughout the summer months a top tactic is to fish with bread early morning as the vast shoals of Giant Mekong Catfish hit the surface to feed on the bait thrown in by staff. The feeding period is intense but quickly over and once we witnessed the catfish in action we could see why our Thai Fishing Guide was keen to make sure we were on the water and fishing at the crucial time. At 8.15am we motored to around to the Bangkok fishing venue known as Bungsamran and or fishing holiday in Thailand began. We quickly cast to  5 or 6 fishy looking spots intently scanning the surface for ‘boils’ as the Striped catfish fed up in the water. The report from Siam Fishing Tours website in July 2007 describes the lake and feeding frenzy that we were looking out and waiting for : Bangkok Fishing Excellent  “There a Giant Siamese Carp, and Mekong Catfish over 100kg”  Is there really fish this size there. The simple answer is: “yes.” Bungsmran is the largest stocked fishing venue, by fish volume volume, in Thailand. At this time, it’s 50% full. This is a staggering amount of fish. The lake is currently 35 feet deep, and has around 30 bungalows available for fishing. When lake levels drop dramatically, the answer to fishing is easy. The fish simply move to new areas. They don’t disappear, they don’t quit eating, they just move, and the savvy angler moves with them. The more difficult question is �" where are they moving to? Lake bottom contours and structure have to be re-learned. Areas that were 10 feet deep may now only be 6 feet deep. It’s summertime in Thailand and the heat is on at Bungsamran. The yearly rains are over two months ago and the fish are now growing to a good size like 20kg striped catfish like. Every year in July, the carp come onto the feed, last year the worlds biggest carp was caught at . As the carp grow, so does the action, until it reaches feeding frenzy stage, causing the water in the feeding areas to appear to “boil.” This kind of action will continue through the Fall until approximately the first of November. When the water begins to cool in mid-September and October, we can add another method to our fishing arsenal. When the bait and fish are not visible on the surface, they can still be located using electronics. Once large schools of bait combined with fish are found, jigging spoons can produce fast action and poles bent in half taking 30-50 pound fish from water sometimes over 30 feet deep. This is not the style of fishing most anglers envision for carp or catfish. Since the water is deep and the action is fast, this style requires a sliding float rig, line up to 80 pounds and a medium-heavy-to-heavy action rod. When the bite is on, the fishing is fast, hard and produces fantastic results. It can completely exhaust you. As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger might say, “This not a girly-man’s sport.” All fishermen, by nature, are optimists. Every time you throw your line in the water, you expect to catch the biggest fish in the lake. The glass at Bungsamran is half-full, and the fish have only half the glass to hide in, making some of the best fishing for Giant Catfish in Thailand. Don’t just visit Thailand �" Fish Thailand !! 

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