Fishing Friends In Northern Thailand Wanted.

[developer3d]

Hi,

I am a keen lure fisherman living in Chiang Mai looking for fishing friends in Northern Thailand.

There are several dozen large lakes in Northern Thailand with lure fishing opportunities for Giant Snake Head and Jungle Perch.

Some are quite well known and close to the major centres like Mae Ngat ( an hour out of Chiang Mai ) and some are a little further afield and somewhat harder to get to - so far my experience has been that the extra effort is rewarded with better fishing and I am planning on doing more of these more remote trips this year ( maybe even into Laos or Burma ? )

If anyone is interested in coming along / or its planning any lure fishing trips drop me a PM - I have all my own gear and have recently purchased a small car topper dingy, outboard and minn kota - or at times still hire a local boatmen's longtail - my experience is if they understand lure fishing the local knowledge is invaluable, if they don't they can actually be a hindrance.

Just to clarify

1, this is not "fishing park" fishing but free water - if you are a lure fisherman you will understand : )

and

2, I am not looking for nor wanting to pay compensation for a "guide" - rather just to meet up with any other keen and serious anglers ( 5 am is a regular start time for lure fishing with lakes being 2 hours away ).

[IanForbes]

How do you expect to fish a Thai reservoir without a guide? Do you have your own boat? Do you speak Thai fluently enough to converse with the locals and hire a boat? I've fished many of the northern reservoirs, but I always went with friends who had a boat. Even then the fishing was not easy. Locals use any method necessary to kill their fish: nets, set lines and electricity. They kill everything and anything that moves. Very often they abandon old nets which create a hazard to anglers. I've lost countless lures and flies to old, abandoned nets tangled along the shore-line brush. There is hardly a reservoir worth fishing that doesn't have locals living on bamboo rafts. They live almost entirely off the fish they catch in the lakes. That does't leave much for sport anglers.

I'm not questioning the validity of your post. I'm just stating the facts.

[jackinbkk]

Lure fishing is extremely tough on free water. Like Ian said the locals have usually cleaned the place out and nets are everywhere. You can actually get some nice fish from the shoreline though. Snakehead like the structure that you often dont find out in the middle of a reservoir. It's also a great location for trying live bait at dusk/dawn. Wild mekong catfish are usually found in the deepest sections of the reservoir during the day.(if not lure fishing)

I guess the best fishing will be where there are the least people but that can be dangerous in itself. Oh and because the locals know the best spots on 'free' water, they are always taken. People live there 24/7 pretty much. So be prepared for tough fishing.

[developer3d]

Wow I have to be honest and say I am surprised by the negativity and I think misinformation of both replies here.

Firstly yes I own my own boat ( as stated in the original post ) and yes I speak more than enough Thai to hire a boat to go fishing for the day.

Maybe its the fact that I speak enough Thai to get by that I can talk to local fisherman - both of you do realize that there are certain areas in most dams that are no nets and no commercial fishing is allowed right ?

Even the two closest ( most heavily pressured ) dams to Chiang Mai Mae Ngat and Mae Kuang have reasonable areas set aside for no commercial fishing protection zones, you can fish with lures and line but no commercial fishermen are allowed in that area and it is enforced as I have almost never seen nets or lines set in those areas.

Thats where the fishing is good - I can only suggest that if your having the issues you describe in areas that they are nets and fishermen living you don't know that ?

I suggest that you ask the locals where the no commercial protection zones are and fish there.

The only additional information I would add is this, I have heard some Thai fishermen ( most Thai boats for day hire are "commercial" fishermen ) say you cant fish in those areas at all - that is incorrect. The truth is that they cant fish in those areas - its a no commercial fishing zone but amateur catch and release is certainly no issue.

Edited March 1, 2011 by developer3d

[jackinbkk]

Yes but this is Thailand. The reservoir near where I lived was completely no fishing allowed with signs up to say it yet there are nets everywhere, the fisherman have nets where they please and they have camps.

4 spots have permanent huts. They go out on the reservoir with boats. The police drive up a couple of times a day but they have never said anything.

My fiancee is Thai and she spoke with the locals for me so no problems with communication.

That's my experience.

Here's a local putting out a net in this no fishing reservoir.

A mekong catfish hooked here swam straight into a net on the right where it was completely entangled and the hook snapped.

The nets are visible with the floats keeping them up. It must have been a mekong catfish because it was unstoppable even with 30lbs of drag.