Catching Plachon On A Rod And Reel

[turnpike]

anyone ever catch plachon on a rod and reel? i'm usually at work the few times a net has been thrown in our pond, but the wife said they almost had 2 huge plachon's that ended up falling thru the net. a fish that size is crying out to be caught on a rod and reel. any ideas? i would think a big chunk of meat on a big hook either sitting on bottom or close to the edge. the pond is about 4-5 meters deep, 20mX20m.

one more question. anyone ever put "sawai" in their ponds. i may have butchered the spelling, they're real big catfish. we put a couple hundred in and was wondering if anyone has any experience with these fish.

any good fishing stories from your (or any) pond?

thanks all,

tp

[Smithson]

We put 60 Pla Nin in our pond, I think the plachon ate them all! We set up rods with bait and they didn't touch them, must like the fresh food more. When the water level drops I'm sure there'll be a couple of nice fish for dinner.

How about farming plachon? I know it's done, but how? I'm guessing they use cages?

[jandtaa]

Took a pla chon out of a neighbours pond last year on a rod . They,re a predatory fish that sit amongst snags or in holes waiting to ambush their prey so I used a lure rod with a small spinner . It only weighed just under a kilo but made for good eating . (English name : striped snakehead)

[turnpike]

Took a pla chon out of a neighbours pond last year on a rod . They,re a predatory fish that sit amongst snags or in holes waiting to ambush their prey so I used a lure rod with a small spinner . It only weighed just under a kilo but made for good eating . (English name : striped snakehead)

jandtaa,

thanks for the reply. i've got a few lures at home, but never thought of using them, but thinking about it now it makes perfect sense. i'll give it a try when i get back there.

we just put in 3000 fry, mostly pladuk, and there's a large population of very small fish (not sure what kind) which must have been bred from previous stock, of which there is still plenty.

anyways, i'll give it a go when i get home.

thanks again for the reply.

tp

[Tim207]

any good fishing stories from your (or any) pond?

thanks all,

tp

No advice on plachon but I have a fishing story for pla duk.

One of the teachers at the local school asked me if I would visit her family farm and we could catch some pla duk and have dinner. It turned out it was just me her and her tomboy friend as chaperon. They drove me out to a plot of land 15 minutes out of town with a small pond surrounded by orchards.We sat in a hut next to the water with bamboo poles with sowing thread and hooks. The friend baited our hooks with pieces of shrimp and we hauled fish in one after another. The friend then took the fish off the hook and cleaned the fish. We spent all evening chatting and munching on the roasted pla duk we had caught, along with sauces and other dishes we brought with us. The best fishing experience I ever had.

[bassman]

For live bait I would use small fish (minnows) or frogs on a hook with or without a floating cork. Spinners that I have had some success on are in the 1/4 to 3/8 oz size with bright orange or red/white colors.

My five acre pond is stocked with Amazon peacock bass and they are by far a much more aggressive predator and the plachon I do catch are usually by chance.

As stated earlier plachon are an ambusher and you need to get the lure or live bait real close to their mouth, they are not going to spend a lot of energy chasing food across the pond.

If you have a small impoundment I would fish often for small duration, as if they seen it today and did not bite probably won't on successive passes...but tomorrow with different sunlight, wind, high pressure or whatever else turns them on might work.

Hope this helps you on your quest!

Don

[bruceboy]

Thanks for the good information.

[wagner54]

anyone ever catch plachon on a rod and reel? i'm usually at work the few times a net has been thrown in our pond, but the wife said they almost had 2 huge plachon's that ended up falling thru the net. a fish that size is crying out to be caught on a rod and reel. any ideas? i would think a big chunk of meat on a big hook either sitting on bottom or close to the edge. the pond is about 4-5 meters deep, 20mX20m.

one more question. anyone ever put "sawai" in their ponds. i may have butchered the spelling, they're real big catfish. we put a couple hundred in and was wondering if anyone has any experience with these fish.

any good fishing stories from your (or any) pond?

thanks all,

tp

Hi TP

I think you will like the sawai they grow fast and are a hard fighter for sure. I have caught them at several fishponds the smallest one was about your ponds size. The only problem he had with them was once in a while when it was raining some of his sawai jumped out of the water onto the bank and were not able to get back in as he found them onshore dead a several feet from the pond, but on that particular pond the banks were only a few inches higher then the water so if you have any sloping banks at all they would probably just flop right back in if they did jump out.

As for catching plachon I have caught them on small spinners by casting right next to them when I see them surface usually real close to shore and have also caught a few using live minnows, and as Bassman says I'm sure small frogs would work great.

Regards

[wagner54]

For live bait I would use small fish (minnows) or frogs on a hook with or without a floating cork. Spinners that I have had some success on are in the 1/4 to 3/8 oz size with bright orange or red/white colors.

My five acre pond is stocked with Amazon peacock bass and they are by far a much more aggressive predator and the plachon I do catch are usually by chance.

As stated earlier plachon are an ambusher and you need to get the lure or live bait real close to their mouth, they are not going to spend a lot of energy chasing food across the pond.

If you have a small impoundment I would fish often for small duration, as if they seen it today and did not bite probably won't on successive passes...but tomorrow with different sunlight, wind, high pressure or whatever else turns them on might work.

Hope this helps you on your quest!

Don

Hi Don

It sounds like a great pond you have there, there aren't to many fish pound for pound that put on a fight and a show like a peacock bass will. What other kinds of fish do you have in there besides a few snakehead and I assume tilapia as a feed fish?

Also I have been looking to buy some peacock bass fingerlings, would you please tell me I might be able to purchase some? I'm also trying to create my own little piece of fishing paradise

Thanks in advance

Regards

Roger

[bassman]

Hi Don

It sounds like a great pond you have there, there aren't to many fish pound for pound that put on a fight and a show like a peacock bass will. What other kinds of fish do you have in there besides a few snakehead and I assume tilapia as a feed fish?

Also I have been looking to buy some peacock bass fingerlings, would you please tell me I might be able to purchase some? I'm also trying to create my own little piece of fishing paradise

Thanks in advance

Regards

Roger

Roger,

You can buy the Peacock Bass fingerlings at the weekend market in Bangkok, they run from 100 to 150 baht each. Some aquarium shops have them from time to time, but expect to pay dearly for any PB of size, I have seen them in some shops at prices in excess of 4,000 bht each (15-25cm length). PB will readily spawn in a pond.

Another 'foreign' fish that I have in the pond are Pacu, caught one last weekend that weighed 9.5 kilo., Pacu have not spawned in the pond.

The land that the pond was built on had a pre-existing small pond that had flooded with the local creek several times. Originally I had a lot of the native Mekong flood plain fishes, however their numbers have dwindled as the pond no longer floods and most of the species need flowing water and distance to successfully spawn. I do catch some of the sheath fishes (pla thong) that were native from time to time and a few catfishes and pla chong still.

For forage fish to feed the predator, talapia are the main source. No other fish seems to be capable of keeping pace. I do restock about 8-10,000 talapia a year in 7-12cm range. I catch a lot of talapia on hook and line in the pond, mostly in the one kilo range, they are a blast on light tackle and make a delicious meal fresh. I have a second pond that is app. 20m X 20m that I specifically grow talapia in for consumption, I use a few peacock bass in this pond to keep the talipia from multiplying by adding the PB 2-3 months after stocking the talapia.

Hope this helps you, if you need any more specific info feel free to email me at [email protected]

Cheers,

Don

[turnpike]

Roger,

You can buy the Peacock Bass fingerlings at the weekend market in Bangkok, they run from 100 to 150 baht each. Some aquarium shops have them from time to time, but expect to pay dearly for any PB of size, I have seen them in some shops at prices in excess of 4,000 bht each (15-25cm length). PB will readily spawn in a pond.

Another 'foreign' fish that I have in the pond are Pacu, caught one last weekend that weighed 9.5 kilo., Pacu have not spawned in the pond.

The land that the pond was built on had a pre-existing small pond that had flooded with the local creek several times. Originally I had a lot of the native Mekong flood plain fishes, however their numbers have dwindled as the pond no longer floods and most of the species need flowing water and distance to successfully spawn. I do catch some of the sheath fishes (pla thong) that were native from time to time and a few catfishes and pla chong still.

For forage fish to feed the predator, talapia are the main source. No other fish seems to be capable of keeping pace. I do restock about 8-10,000 talapia a year in 7-12cm range. I catch a lot of talapia on hook and line in the pond, mostly in the one kilo range, they are a blast on light tackle and make a delicious meal fresh. I have a second pond that is app. 20m X 20m that I specifically grow talapia in for consumption, I use a few peacock bass in this pond to keep the talipia from multiplying by adding the PB 2-3 months after stocking the talapia.

Hope this helps you, if you need any more specific info feel free to email me at [email protected]

Cheers,

Don

bassman,

i've never caught a peacock bass before but a guy i used to work with has a fishing lodge in has a fishing lodge in venezuela and he's told me all about them.

how big do your peacocks get?

i've got pacu as well but the biggest i've caught is maybe a kilo and a half. visions of a nine point fiver gets my palms sweating.

i'm up here in isaan between khon kaen and udon thani, does anyone know if peacock bass fingerlings are available up this way? and does anyone know the thai work for peacock bass?

all this talk about fishing makes me want to buy some more land and dig another pond......swore i was done...

thanks to all who've replied so far, keep them coming.

tp

[bassman]

TP,

I have not bought any peacock bass in the last six years but I had bought some in Udon Thani at the aquarium shop there. I was in Udon a couple of weeks back and the aquarium shop is still in business, but whether they have them in stock or have access to stock I am unsure of now.

The aquarium shop is located towards the town center from the Big C (hwy 22). As you head towards town from Big C you will cross the railroad tracks, the shop is on the left just after the tracks, they have glass windows and you can see the aquariums from the road.

If they don't have the fish in stock I am just about sure that they can source them for you. Here in Thailand they call them C. Ocellaris or Cichla Ocellaris the sceintific name for butterfly peacock bass.

I live east of Udon Thani (1 1/2 hour drive) and transported the PB I bought from Bkk in an oxygen filled bag inside the air conditioned cab of my pickup. The drive was about 7 hours and had none dye on the trip.

The largest PB that I have caught so far was 8 kilo, but that was the exception by far. I catch fish in the one to three kilo range regularly and less than a kilo about anytime.

The 9.5 kilo Pacu was a little over six years old, as these are big fish I see them often. I don't think that they have increased in size much over the last two years so I suspect that in my pond that is close to as big as they will get.

Don

[Macx]

Hi,

Great write-ups and info, guys.

Bassman, nice pic. How do those PB taste? Can you compare them taste-wise to any of the local fish?

You guys make me wanna ditch work and go fishing

[bassman]

Hi,

Great write-ups and info, guys.

Bassman, nice pic. How do those PB taste? Can you compare them taste-wise to any of the local fish?

You guys make me wanna ditch work and go fishing

Macx,

PB taste great, the fish is pure muscle and a yellow meat, more in line with tuna. Lemon grass cramed down their mouth and thrown on an open grill...none better from fresh water. Deep fried or as an ingredient in Tom Yum, though I would probably prefer a tilapia.

Don

[Macx]

Ah, you're a poet, Bassman

I'm just having pla gra pong tonight, but your descriptions sure make me wish I had a PB.

Cheers!

[wagner54]

Don

Thanks for the great info, and yes it helps alot. I will go to jatujak market my next trip to Bankok and will also look for aquarium shops in Ubon. Also nice picture, it sure makes me look forward to catching my own in the not to distant future Happy Fishing To All Of You Guys.

Cheers

Roger

[jandtaa]

spent a day fishing at the local reservoir yesterday not too many bites but managed a good sized carp that went straight on the barbie washed down with a few cold beers unbeatable!

[allcladrad]

Hi Don, glad to hear the fishing is going well. I recently dug a 3/4 arce pond and am now looking to stock Peacock Bass. I think my tilapia have established and should be able to keep pace. That is a great size on the pacu, mine are a little over 10 pounds. The barramundi I stocked about 3 years ago are about 2 feet long.

Roger, I just tonight may have found a source for them, sorry I had discarded your email, thinking I would try a different predator, email me and I will give you the info.

Rad

[bonzor]

For live bait I would use small fish (minnows) or frogs on a hook with or without a floating cork. Spinners that I have had some success on are in the 1/4 to 3/8 oz size with bright orange or red/white colors.

My five acre pond is stocked with Amazon peacock bass and they are by far a much more aggressive predator and the plachon I do catch are usually by chance.

As stated earlier plachon are an ambusher and you need to get the lure or live bait real close to their mouth, they are not going to spend a lot of energy chasing food across the pond.

If you have a small impoundment I would fish often for small duration, as if they seen it today and did not bite probably won't on successive passes...but tomorrow with different sunlight, wind, high pressure or whatever else turns them on might work.

Hope this helps you on your quest!

Don

Great information.

What were your stocking rates for the various fish and any problems with pla chon and peacock bass coexisting? Are there any issues with escapees after flooding. How would you rate the fish in fighting ability? Do you have any baramundi? Do the pla chon need artifiaially construced places to hide or do you have lots of plants in the pond. Thanks for the info.

[Foreverford]

spent a day fishing at the local reservoir yesterday not too many bites but managed a good sized carp that went straight on the barbie washed down with a few cold beers unbeatable!

Ok guys here it goes I'm giving it up. Here is the best fishing secret that exists. (send me 500 baht and self addre Ha Ha) Anyway if you are lucky enought to be able to get into some big carp you are guaranteed all the pla duk you want! Gut the fish and the intestines have a meat like coating and are extremely strong and stay on a hook very well, just keep hooking it in many spots. Our best day in the Sacramento Valley rice field ponds found us using guts from a bunch of two two and half footers + (got to add the + cause it's a fishing story...but true) the baits were about the size of a big man's fist. On one bait I must have caught at least 6-8 fish all big big cats by California standards (now if I was in Texas..) I even caught about a 2 pounder that didn't really have a mouth big enough to fit in the bait. I've spent many a day at the exact same pond and nary had a nibble. after that night two of us had to carry the fish to the truck the stringer was so heavy. add about 60 pounds of carp to that for fertilizer. I can't wait to get into a big carp or even find one in the market that goes 5 plus kilos because when I do, it's on ice and I'm heading for the biggest waterway around with the heviest tackle I've got to see if there is a big big cat out there that wants some fine eating. choke Dee I guarantee this, if you don't catch a bunch of cats then I'll personally will come by and give you one my 40 year old Justin elephant hide cowboy boots to boil to make soup and I'll bring the potatoes

[Foreverford]

any good fishing stories from your (or any) pond?

thanks all,

tp

No advice on plachon but I have a fishing story for pla duk.

One of the teachers at the local school asked me if I would visit her family farm and we could catch some pla duk and have dinner. It turned out it was just me her and her tomboy friend as chaperon. They drove me out to a plot of land 15 minutes out of town with a small pond surrounded by orchards.We sat in a hut next to the water with bamboo poles with sowing thread and hooks. The friend baited our hooks with pieces of shrimp and we hauled fish in one after another. The friend then took the fish off the hook and cleaned the fish. We spent all evening chatting and munching on the roasted pla duk we had caught, along with sauces and other dishes we brought with us. The best fishing experience I ever had.

Here comes a great Thai pla duk story. We were draining the pond on a new rice farm and the family was netting the snake fish for a huge feed and give away and sell. Then one of the guys grabs a shovel and starts digging about two feet above the water line maybe 25% lower than the top of the pond. He dug horizontally with the small style Thai shovel and then started to enlarge the hold on the outside. Then he got a friend over and said go (or maybe something like that) and off they were to frantic digging and thenhe thrusts his arm into the hole and all his shoulder and nearkly part of his head and i can't figure out what the beejeezus is going on then bingo bango bongo out he starts throwing out a bunch of 1/2 kilo pla duk then the fish just kept burrowing further into the bank and they gave it up as they could feel them but couldn't get enough to hold on before the rest got away. Unbelieveable only in thailand. Say what lb test line do you use for catfish fishing out there in Thailand?? Oh we use just a couple of shovels and a big bag to put them in that'a all. gotta love this magical mysterious palce.

[bonzor]

I was all set to get some PB and was researching the net to find out what they were like to eat when came across a big fishing thread in malaysia regarding them. Apparently they have escaped there into the eco system and have wiped out indigenous species until in some areas they are the only fish left. Then they overbreed and all end up stunted. A real eyeopener. I've decided I will just use snakeheads as predators instead. I like the diversity around my pond and enjoy fishing the klong for all sorts of fish. I wouldn't like to be responsible for wiping them out.

[Macx]

Good point, bonzor.

Anyone ever seen Amazon PB caught by fishermen in the Mekong?

[KHUNDAN]

Good point, bonzor.

Anyone ever seen Amazon PB caught by fishermen in the Mekong?

For Snakehead (Plachon), my favorite fish that I always go for as I like the fight they put up plus the way the taste is.

I only fish for Plachon and have been doing so over 7 years now all around Thailand.

You can buy a lure it's called Pla Kade and comes in various colors. I have had the best luck on the silver with the white top and head. I have also used different spinners and almost any top water lure during the cool season or early in the morning or late evening. The Plachon hang near the banks, near brush and near debris in the water.

I believe that anywhere you can find lily pads or grass there will be Plachon there. Sometimes when I ride my motorcycle I carry a rod and reel with just a couple lures and when I see water on the sides of the road that have lilys or grass in them I will stop and try and catch a Plachon. On these trips I only do the catch and release method.

Always ensure you carry needle nose pliers or a leather man to help remove the lure once fish is caught.

Sometimes when you hook a big Plachon he will bury himself into the mud or the soft bottom and you will end up breaking things if you try and muscle him out. I will always cut my line and tie it around a good bush or tree so it is still tight and wait for the line to go slack (Plachon coming out of mud, hole whatever) and then grab the line (With a rag or gloves) and then pull him in.

Why else do I tie my line off?? So I can put another lure on and fish for more cause sometimes the Plachon will stay in the hole, mud etc. for awhile and it is boring just sitting and waiting for him to back out of the hole, mud.

Once you get into catching Plachon and get the hang of it you will love it. Watch for them to be breaking the surface around ponds, lakes, rivers near the bank and most of the time if you ease up to the area or close enough to get a lure there he will hit it as they like to stay around the same area for awhile.

Some ponds in Issan I fish, once I see a big one playing around the edge I will throw a lure back and forth across that area for awhile and if he has moved away, I will simply remember where he was at and try the same area that late afternoon if I saw him in the morning or I will go back the next morning and catch him.

I have caught a Plachon on fresh food and live bait but I believe it was all a case of where the bait just went right in front of his mouth and he took it. Don't try this method if you want fish to eat, cause 8-10 times you will not catch one. LURES, LURES, Pla Kade is best for me can buy for anywhere between 50-100 baht for one.

I also had some artificial worms (Black w/Red tails) sent to me from the USA a couple years ago and they worked ok. But had to end up putting a series of 2 hooks per worm or the Plachon was only taking the back half of my worm, so I would end up with only a half worm when using 1 hook set up and no fish.

Hope this helps. I can talk for hours, days about fishing I love it. Good luck and hope this helps.

Dan

Edited April 22, 2009 by KHUNDAN

[sceadugenga]

My wife is a successful pond fisherperson and uses no other bait but small live shrimp. On many occasions she's approached by other fishermen at the ponds and asked to sell them some of her bait.

Her main catch is Gourami, up to 2kg but got some nice Pacu once. she's limited because she refuses to use a rod with a reel on it, preferring the traditional "line fixed to the rod tip" method and often gets broken off by larger fish. Only yesterday one broke her rod and she came home cursing. Can't tell her though.

[KHUNDAN]

My wife is a successful pond fisherperson and uses no other bait but small live shrimp. On many occasions she's approached by other fishermen at the ponds and asked to sell them some of her bait.

Her main catch is Gourami, up to 2kg but got some nice Pacu once. she's limited because she refuses to use a rod with a reel on it, preferring the traditional "line fixed to the rod tip" method and often gets broken off by larger fish. Only yesterday one broke her rod and she came home cursing. Can't tell her though.

I taught mine how to use a rod and reel and now she likes catching Plachon also, but she still puts a line in the water tied around a bottle or can and catches the Bunins while she is throwing a lure.

Great to watch her do this.

Dan