victor2107

Is Channel 3 or 7 showing MC vs MU match "live" ? Also how about Barca vs Madrid? Thanks

I was in Thailand December 2010 and my first taste of fishing was a pond in Phuket. It was Phuket Fishing Park. Not impressed with the fishing and the management. It was an experience I will not want to encounter again.

I fish at only 3 other ponds in Thailand so can't speak of other ponds which I intent to fish when I visit Thailand again this September with my friends. But I had 3 wonderful days at Bunsamran and 3 days at Gilhams. The fishing was good. So I can say Bunsamran and Gilhams are worth visiting again.

Then don't post it;s not lost to anyone. To see pictures of big fishes there are many on the net, You don't contribute much except your own catches, no information on ponds and quarrel with a number of people in this forum.

This is not to accuse you of anything but doubt your fish is 47.5kg (104 lbs) even the picture or your mekong is not the weight you posted. The most your Chao Phraya weigh is at 50 to 60 lbs. I was at Bungsamran saw some bigger than one you posted and they were 32kg.

Not taking anything from you it's a nice catch but this fish is not in the 100lbs size'

Well what can I say to a person that knows everything, the fish was weighed, the scales were checked so what you say is just a joke. and I am laughing...

I suppose my questions to you and another person should be.. were you there, no I dont think so, did you witness the weighing, no I dont think so, do you know what you are talking about, no I am sure of that, I and the 4 other people that were there are sure and that is all that matters.. have a great new year I certainly plan to and hopeing to catch bigger...

Yes I was NOT there and this is the reason I doubt the weigh you stated. And I know what I said as I have seen many 100lbs fishes have YOU? And it's obvious you care what others said as every post you rebutted. Perhaps you should verify whether your scales are imperial or metric?

This is a forum. Everyone is entitled to voice his opinions. No one accused you of being a liar you brought this up yourself. As you say then "DON'T POST"

This is not to accuse you of anything but doubt your fish is 47.5kg (104 lbs) even the picture or your mekong is not the weight you posted. The most your Chao Phraya weigh is at 50 to 60 lbs. I was at Bungsamran saw some bigger than one you posted and they were 32kg.

Not taking anything from you it's a nice catch but this fish is not in the 100lbs size'

Fantastic mekong!!! Well done and congratulations

Had a very enjoyable exhausting first visit to Bungsamran with wife. We had a very hard working young guide I asked a forummer to recommend. We advised me to fish at a corner bungalow.

We had 2 rods as my wife wanted to fish too and this was a big mistake as after she caught 6 mekongs she STOPPED. We caught 34 fishes 30 mekongs and 4 sawa. Most were between 16 to 35 kg but had two huge ones. The guide estimated one was 55kg and the other 70kg.

I planned to fish for 2 days but will put off the second trip to a another day as I am exhausted.

It's not cheap but it's worth it. Good day!

In a few hour's time we will be on our flight to Bangkok. I will fish at Bungsamran and Lake Monster maybe a trip to Gillham's.

Spoke with anglers, fishing tour companies in the UK and Thailand and almost all recommended Bungsamran for mekongs. I exchanged emails with Francois and he told me Bungsamran is the pond for mekongs too. I understand the expat's point of Bungsamran being costly,dual pricing and the ease of landing fishes. But the point is to fish at a pond which give the oppuntunity to land a big mekong. I did research on Cha Am and the biggest mekong top at 80kg.

I did not engage a fishing tour company as you guys advised. Just bring my rod and hire a Bungsamran guide.

Thanks to all who gave advice.

http://www.anglingthailand.com/awards22.asp?rec=catfish

I have been there 2 till 4 December. It was nice but i caught mostly small sawai. It was real easy to do so. If you cast out far enough (till the other bank) you would almost have an instant hook. I did this with a coil and the bread you could buy on the site.

I had 2 rods out, 1 with a coil and one with just a hook and bait on it. I must say casting out with the coil to the other bank yielded the most fish (instant results) the fish caught on the other rod were not bigger so i did not see much difference between both methods. (except catch rate).

I will go there again but then ill be more serious about it and make a feeding area and start more early. I did catch 2 reasonably sized pla bug (mekong giant catfish) but these were rather small for Bungsamran / Ngau Nam standards. But i caught them on lighter tackle so it was still a lot of fun.

If you fish with the correct method you will catch many big Sawai and very big Mekong, its all about technique...

Maybe,

I have watched the locals and seen only a few big bugs being caught. Nothing spectacular but i have seen the sizes in Bungsamran and Ngau nam. Maybe im a bit spoiled.

I did catch three pla bugs so it was not that bad. But besides the guy in the cowboy hat who works there i did not see anyone catch big ones cosistently. The methods i used were both ledgering, i never used a float. One method was with a coil the other with the bread kneaded to a pulp direct on the hook. Neither made much difference in size of the fish.

I might be wrong because i only fished there two days and that is kinda short to draw many conclusions. Also i should have made a feeding area but i was not doing it the way i should have and as i do in ngau nam. But i can garantee you the pla saway are way bigger there. Also i think the pla bug are bigger there.

No maybe about it, go to Bungsamran and catch many easy Mekongs and all around the same size, fish the correct way at Cha Am and many Mekongs all different sizes, my biggest there so far is over 50kgs. Bungsamran to easy to enjoy fully.

I don't understand your statement about "all around the same size,fish the correct way at Cha Am and many mekongs all different size,my biggest there is over 50kgs.Bungsamran too easy to enjoy" . What was the biggest you caught at Bungsamran? And surely you must have targeted for big mekongs at Bungsamran if you state if you use correct method? And from what I read from bloggers and forums the mekongs are not that big at Cha Am. Thanks

Thanks again. Understand your point about doing everything one self but I will be fishing alone so from what I read and being told it's not realistic to net the mekongs at Bungsamran yourself hence the need for a guide. Any recommendation? Thanks

Your right its not realistic to do that yourself .. its almost if not impossible. I have no recommendations because the guide i like does not speak that much english.

Is he a good guide? Whether he can speak much english is not important I am sure somehow we will communicate as I plan 2 days at Bungsamran and would like to be 2 good fishing days. Thanks

Thanks again. Understand your point about doing everything one self but I will be fishing alone so from what I read and being told it's not realistic to net the mekongs at Bungsamran yourself hence the need for a guide. Any recommendation? Thanks

Thank you for your reply. Put aside being a tourist but as an angler in Thailand to catch big mekongs is Bungsamran the pond?

That depends how you like to fish and if you like easy fish or not. If you want easy fishing with a guide BSR is the place. The thing is as a tourist you don't really have the time to get to know a lake and understand the fishing there. So that is why i divide expats and tourists. For tourists this is a great spot to go to, for others it doesnt really challenge you as it is easy.

However doing it as good as a guide could be a challenge and i know i am far from that level in BSR. Its all about casting consistently at the same place thus creating a swim with big fish. But even if you cant do it you can still catch fish in BSR just less.

BSR is also good for tourists as you can hire everything there and it has a shop close to it. It also has some of the biggest Mekongs so yes go there if you like big fish.

Thank you for your reply. Guess fishing is to catch a big one in this case a big mekong and not about catching many fishes. Any recommendation for a guide at Bungsamran?

Thank you for your reply. Put aside being a tourist but as an angler in Thailand to catch big mekongs is Bungsamran the pond?

I will be in Thailand this coming wednesday and after talking with fellow anglers and a few fishing tour companies in UK and in Thailand it seems the place to target big mekongs is Bungsamran. According to feedback most recommended Bungsamran as the place for mekongs. Although other ponds may have big ones but nothing in terms of quantity and size?

What are your opinions?

Just checked Teak Tree website the fishing ticket is really expensive. Though of bringing the wife to Changmai and sneak in a day of fishing.

Which are the top 5 fishing PONDS in Thailand? Put aside accessibility, cost and species. Thanks. I will be back in Thailand this December and this trip I have some free time to fish. I read this forum many is against 2 pricing, high price and I respect your opinions. But in my case I am willing to pay, if it's not exorbitant, to get some good fishing. Thanks

Looks and sound like nice place to fish but unfortunately the missus will not be warm to the idea of 2 hours from Bangkok in the car. Had a hard time persuading her to spent day alone shopping in Bangkok when I fish at Lake Monster. Envy you guys that live in Thailand so many different spots to fish. Perhaps when I retire will spent few months fishing round Thailand to heart's content. So guess I must make the most of it during the one month this December. Already decided on Bungsamran and Lake Monster. Comtemplating couple of days at Gillham's and wife can sightsee Krabi. Gillham's quite popular in the UK. My mate told me is a must. What are you guy's opinion? Thanks

Thanks again for feedback. Definitely buy and fish with my own tackle. Will get a baitrunner reel and how many pounds bradi yo guys recommend? Do I need a long casting rod? Thanks

Thank you for the feedback. I will fish for mekongs,carps and arapamais. Likely venues be Bungsamran and Lake Monster and hopefully another pond nearby to Bangkok. Not luring or spinning. just bait fishing. After reading it seem that baitrunner reels is the way to fish in Thailand. So Shimano or Okuma baitrunner reels?

What are the recommended brands and model numbers for rods and reels recommended to fish in Thailand? Also what brand and how heavy briad line is ideal? Thanks.

Thank you quiksilva,robblok,zoso,spud21 and kenny999 for your advice. Yes I intent to purchase a heavy tackle to fish in Thailand. Apparently from what I read you guys use heavy line, I am more a carp, lure,fly fisherman. What are the recommendaiton for rod, reel and line.

I will be in Phuket during the first week of December and if I fish in Phuket I will contact you kenny999. After that I will be in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai and where else my wife wishes to visit. I have a permit for 7 days fishing. Really looking forward to it the fishing. And I welcome company for my fishing trips.

Thanks again

It never ceases to amaze me how expats pass comments to holidyamakers about how to go about there fishing without EVER once putting themselves in the holiday makers shoes, almost without exception expats try and put off holiday makers from using tour companies for the obvious reason they are ina postion to do it all themselves...if holidya makers where all in that postion for all services then of course tour companies in any field would not exist.

If a holiday maker wants to get the best out of the Thai fishing scene within a short space of time, and is prepared to spend a little more to do exactly that and use a professional service, then he's got more sense than the ones I see trying to find answers on an expat forum on which all the contributors have long since forgot what it means to be a "tourist".

I think fishingtours have their place however in BSR they are not really needed as they provide Thai guides there for the tourists. I have watched tour companies just hire thai guides while the white guy who is also a guide does not do a thing. So the guy is not working and only costing extra.Other lakes far out Bangkok i agree then they have their place there.

I will be a tourist, also a keen angler, in Thailand this December. Although this is an expat forum it's also a fishing forum for Thailand. Here I am seeking advice for where to fish in Thailand with the hope of some info on fishing conditions. Instead rufanuf to quote "then he got more sense than the ones I see trying to find answers on an expat forum on which all contributors have long since forgot what it means to be a "tourist". Does it mean I have no sense to seek advice from fellow anglers living in Thailand where to fish. Regardless of tourist or expats all are fellow anglers and these is the forum I hope to seek advice from as a fellow angler. If for eg you are an expat living in Bangkok and you travel to Chiang mai,a city you never been to, to fish, aren"t you a 'tourist' too?

As to 'tourists' using fishing tour companies I am sure most have enough sense whether to or not to engage one. As for the advice from robblok I will not engage a tour company when I visit BSR instead hire a guide.Also to zoso quote " Fishing tour company is only good if you are not familiar to locate fishing ponds then they fetch you from hotel to and fro to ponds,so it's a matter of convienience,time and calculating dfference in cost and time if you go on your own." This statement didn't discourage 'tourist" from engaging tour companies but to do your planning and budgeting.. These are good advices.

As to where to fish, expats and "tourists", first and foremost we love fishing, we want information on where, cost, travelling and condition of the ponds. As for the ponds that have dual price then decide as an angler whether it's worth to fish. I will visit Bungsamran as it's world famous with the hope of catching a big fish. I am sure most "expats" have visisted Bungsamran, as a tourist or expat, once even there is a dual price policy. If I am not mistaken fellow angle quicksilva suggested "expats" post locations,cost,reviews etc of ponds they visited which is good idea.

So do I have "less sense" than most holidaymakers that engage tour companies. The most important factor is whether the fishing is good and is it worth it. Just like going for a dinner at a restaurant. To put bluntly it's just food so does it matter if you visit michelin stars restaurant and pay more for quality,ambient,service and good food.

This is a fishing forum.Just post information,opinions,reviews,photos and let the individual decide.

What are the freshwater fishing ponds is recommended in Phuket? Read the negative posting for Phuket Fishing Park dual pricing for foreigners find but I can't any other ponds. Thanks

Thanks for the info. Checked prices for some of the fishing ponds you guys recommended the price is pretty ok.

Will visit Bungsamran and a few other ponds the question is which ones. As a keen angler i would like fish at many different ponds as possible but due to time constraint and likely wife's attitude towards fishing guess I have to selective and go to good ponds.