jack2964

I think I found out some info for you Jack , try Taiwan Whip Scorpion , is bout the closest I could get in the short time looking , apparently harmless , I could not link from images though

Cheers

Good job Goompa! Thanks!

Let me try this again. I posted this ages ago looking to ID it but no one responded.

Perhaps someone might this time.

Silver-eared Mesia at a watering hole, Mae Wong NP.

Av mode; 1/250sec; ISO2500; F4.5; F/L300mm; off axis flash fired.

These are a real challenge for me and I like the way this looks. I avoid flash like the plague as a rule but there are times you just have to go with it. I see you have the ISO pumped up and quite a fast sync speed (faster than my gear will cope with. Did you dial the flash down or fire on auto? You seem to have kept the illumination limited to the central region (which I very much like as it focuses attention). Did you need to do much editing?

Can't recall which flash mode I chose as I kept switching between Manual and HSS. This was probably HSS with minus 3-stops in an attempt to provide fill flash only. The waterhole was under deep shade and it would be near impossible to get a shot without motion blur without the flash. The flash head was triggered wirelessly with a pair of Yong Nuo triggers with the head displaced about a meter above and off axis of the camera. This was edited only with ACR. The parameters adjusted were exposure, brightness, contrast, white balance, clarity, saturation and then sharpened. No noise reduction at all.

I don't have an answer for you as I too find it incredibly hard to catch fish in the wild. Best is to tap into local knowledge or copy what the local folks do. I've seen guys with up to 20 rods set up by the banks and all use 'lam' (dough balls) on coil feeders and even then their results aren't good. But occasionally they do land some very good sized carp like Rohu over 5 or 6 kg. Generally they get smallish catfish.

They are big but the pic is distorted he holds his hands towards the camera.

True, but these are the biggest I've ever seen them. Using the bloke's hands as a frame of reference helps in sizing the fish.

Anyway, I know they will take 'lam' (dough balls) but I'd rather drop shot using Texas or Carolina rigs with rubber/plastic worms. Would like to hear if anyone has had success using fake worms.

I have fished over 2 years in this reservoir and never seen anyone caught Tilapia of this size until y'day.

I would love to catch these on light tackle, anyone knows what is the best method for tilapia?

I have the dame problems with white - it is a real problem with Canon. I am not ken on ND filters (I like to use them but for birding shots they are too awkward for me) I usually just set at -3 to -6 and this usually works but in overcast or dull jungle lighting this can be a problem also. My 6D seems to cope a bit better than the 60D in this respect but this is most likely the extra data that can be used in RAW processing.

Should have used Man mode for this shot to slightly underexpose it and use ACR to tweak it. But as usual with this fidgety subjects one grabs the chance offered. I must have another dozeb shots which are no good, mainly motion blur. The 6D being FF would have helped here I think.

IMG_0502c.jpg

Nice!

Where was this taken from?

Must share this mornings catch, a Chestnut winged Cuckoo, another first for me.

chestnut winged cuckoo.JPG

chestnut winged cuckoo. 1.JPG

Got me thinking as I was slowly wandering along hoping to see it again what a great place this country is where I can ride the bike around 2km from home in the morning and see something as beautiful as that, not to mention the 20 odd other species of birds I saw and the many beautiful butterflies.

Then after coming home and putting the photos I took on the computer, having a look at the local news and general topics and seeing the usual mob of whingers, whiners and anti-everything's doing their thing it make me wonder how they can live like that. They don't know what they are missing out on.

Congrats Robby! I had one last year; also a first for me and never seen it again since.

Off topic here; I been going out very early before dawn to my fishing hole and as the horizon just starts to light up I noticed over several trips/days that there is a flock-yes a flock of perhaps 20+ nightjars flying over a narrow channel of water and not much higher than tree tops and appear to be hawking insects but I could be wrong. Every time I've passed this stretch of water to my fishing spot they are there. But once the sky brightens up a bit more they disperse. I don't know what kind of nightjar these are but they have quite a long tail relative to their bodies and pointed wingtips.

They are not flying away but seemed to cruise over the tee tops and the stretch of water until light disperses them. Any ideas what they are up to?

It doesn't exist, Jack!

I was going to suggest Racquet-tailed Treepie.... but it doesn't have this hood (nothing seems to !), But it does have the spatulate tail.

How about this fella? http://orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?p=5&action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=2236&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1

If it is, I get at least half a tick due to poor views.

Here are 2 awful pics taken from Chong Yen, Mae Wong NP. Elevation appox 1300m.

Taken from afar in failing light.

My guess is some kind drongo.

Thanks AjN. It is so obvious after you pointed me the right direction. Got myself another tick!

Quote: Only ever seen the red vented once and that was at the entrance to Hellfire Pass and red and yellow vented were both together.

Over in lower NE Isaan they are all orangey vented.

I was at this little known wildlife sanctuary about 30km NW of Kamphaeng Phet, elevation approx 150m and found what appears to be a Sunbird but going through C.Robson's guidebook didn't yield any match. The slender bill should rule out Flowerpecker too I think. Any ideas? Thanks.

Anyone have experience with the Shimano Bait runner or similar spinning reels. Also. has any one been fishing in Bo Saeng, Chiang Mai?

Never owned one before but I had a Ryobi baitrunner many many years ago when I used to fish for Tilapia and Carp. It worked pretty well for me then.

Don't know about Bo Saeng. I once fished at a pay pond near my village and didn't get any joy out of it. These days I fish only in the wild.

I have 5 bait casters and they get regular use but all are magnet controlled casting apart from an abu mgx, the abu has an ivcb control system which is beginning to show signs of wear after 3 years,

@ jack...i guess you bought a shimano? All parts are easily available even tuning parts such as ceramic bearings and lighter spools,

My lastest acquisition is also an antares but the digital controlled model, so easy to use even casting into wind.

My first Shimano baitcaster was a cheapo - model 'Salty One'. I managed to break that one barely into 2 years of fishing. The level-winder would get stuck at end of travel and of course made a mess of line laying in the spool. I retired that reel and went a bit silly buying both the Antares HG and Aldebaran. I find the Antares a bit heavy and quite tiring as I toss lures all day long. The feather-weight Aldebaran is my favorite now. Both reels are a joy to cast but I still get bird-nests specially so after changing lures (rather frequently) and being careless with fine tuning the cast control tension. You know how it is when the fish are on a rampage all too briefly.

Between the 2, I find the Aldebaran easier to get right in setting brake and cast knob tension.

Note: The brake bits are different sized in all 3 reels.

Good news is that my Shimano Calcuttas, Curados, and others have 6 of the nubbins.

I have never worn one out, even after decades of using some of the reels. But since I only engage 2 or 3 at once, my plan is to swap to the ones that don't get engaged if the others ever do wear out. I stand ready...

I wouldn't sweat a replacement for a few years at least.

What brand are the reels? That may helps someone identify a Thai source of parts if they're popular brands (or dastardly clever knockoffs)

I've googled this and I couldn't find any discussion about those plastic bits wearing off. It just goes against logic that they are so resistant to wear.

I am a Shimano fan myself and recently treated myself to an Antares HG and an Aldebaran BFS XG. Love 'em both!

So I guess it is safe to conclude; the brakes would outlive the reels.

Being relatively new to baitcasters, I have a question regarding wear of the adjustable plastic tabs found in centrifugal braking systems.

I understand those little plastic tabs one flicks 'ON' to engage work on friction and surely this would result in wear over time.

My question is how does one know they are worn and replacement is due and where can one source these parts?