Thailand

Basically I'm going to Thailand fishing again, i would like information on techniques to catch the predator fish there, such as the aropaima?

Why dont you ping Roto Fryerwho comes onto FM. I think he lives over there, or did.

Edward,
Drop me an e-mail, gary_newman@ipcmedia.com and I'll reply in detail when i get a chance. I was out there a few months back and sussed a few things out, including a way of preventing many of the losses that you usually get with this species. Landed them up to 150 kg.

when are you going Edward? I'm flying out this coming Sunday. Bangkok first, then Chiang Mai, where I'll probably fish some of the local lakes.

What I'd really like though; is to find some worthwhile river fishing in the area. Spent ages on Google, drawn a complete blank!

try my mate Stuart Gillam (google)he has his own lakes out there

and Mr Roto is in the know

Stuart is very knowledgeable, spent 3 weeks at his places, and can be contacted through the Ask Stuart section on his website or via e-mail.

When i was out there i was told that as soon as the arapaima jumps to drop the rod tip otherwise they have a habit of shaking the hook. But in the end i found that an even better way was to play them using sidestrain as much as possible as this stopped them jumping altogether as they can't use the tension in the line to help get them airbourne. With side strain they tended to roll on the surface instead and i lost far fewer fish, and i know that other people that i told to try this had better results as well.
You will always lose a few though as they feed by inhaling the bait and there is a tendency to hook them around the face which often results in a hook pull shortly into the fight.
They feed by dislocating there jaws for a fraction of a second when they inhale the bait, but the rest of the time they don't open that far. This means you have to be careful unhooking them as if you force their mouth open too far it snaps the muscle and they can't feed so die - best to cut the line if in doubt.
To help prevent them swallowing the bait it is best not to freeline, either float fish or use a method feeder or sunken bubble float to stop them taking it back too far.
Deadbaits and livebaits both work, but the smaller the better as it is easier for them to inhale. Hit bites straight away as they either have it in their mouth or they don't, they're not like pike where you have to wait for them to turn the bait.
The most important thing is when handling the fish not to bend their back. They are air breathers and have a blood vessel running the entire length of their back and if bent this snaps and they bleed to death - hence Stuart using cages to land them in and at least 3 people to lift the fish for a quick photo in the water.
When releasing them Stuart discovered that you need to make a big splash to make them think another arapaima is close by and make them bolt off, otherwise they go and sit on the bottom and can forget to come up for air and die.
There is always a chance of having one die on you, but Stuart loses very few compared to other waters and this is a risk you have to accept if you're going to fish for them - you just do as much as possible to prevent it happening.

Thats one fish I shall never bother then, sounds fartoo risky,......... leave them alone.

You could say the same about pike fishing, how long do big pike last once they start getting caught? Or zander caught in very deep water?

Arapaima are the most impressive looking fish that i have caught in terms of their sheer size and looks and none of the ones that i caught died. I was just trying to provide as much info as possible in order to reduce the chances of someone having one die on them, not saying that there is a high chance of it.
If they were that much of a problem then fishery owners wouldn't stock them as it would cost them too much to keep replacing them!

I would hate to have a fish die on me but there are certain species that if you are going to fish for them you have to accept the risk. In some parts of the world you wouldn't be able to put back what you catch anyway as you wouldn't be very popular with the malnourished locals by returning something that could have fed the village. We are indeed lucky that we can treat fishing purely as a sport and not as a means of survival.

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll be travellin on the 18th december. I've been fishing in thailand before, but only Bung Sam Ran, i had a alot off nice Mekong's! However i fancy something a little more testing. Gary, thanks for the great tips on playing the fish, sounds a bit like bowing down to the king tarpon! side strain is obviously the way forward. My Email is not sending out at the moment so would it be possible for you to email me at e.bailey2008@tiscali.co.ukwith what gear you think i should take? The places where im thinkin off goin are It Monster lake and maybe Gilliams! Im meetin Boy You've probably heard off him he's one off the thai guides that goes after the massive stingrays. Ric i think this guy isthe guide you want he knows alot about the river systems i have he's phone no if your interested?

So, there is a tendancy to hook them in the face, dont open their mouth too far or they will die, dont wait to strike or its a deep hook due to inhailing bait and dont bend its back or it will alsodie.

Just a tad trickier than a pike then I think Gary./forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

If they are stockie fish and put to be caught and eaten if they happen todie I have a lesser problem with it.

If they are wild fish then leave them alone.

I have never caught a Zander thankfully.

Hi Edward thanks for the reply.

I'm not really lookingfor a guide as such. That's partly due to limited finances; butalso because I value working things out for myself, rather than taking in too much advice, as can be the case when someone stands by your side all day.

I know that this will cost me fish; but I'll value any I catch under my own steam a lot higher.

All I'm looking for really is an indication of which rivers (preferably clear, fastish flowing) might hold a reasonable head of fish from half a pound upwards. I'll then head there under my own steam, possibly catch nothing, which is OK, as long as I believe there is a chance of catching.

Thanks again.

T Rocca,

All i was doing was providing as much advice as possible to someone who asked for it, I'm not saying that there is a problem with every fish.

These fish are in lakes and have been stocked, they are native to South America and don't naturally occur in Thailand. They are great fun to fish for and if you check out some of the websites for the lakes out there you will see that the same fish do get caught again, so most do survive.

Ric,

From what i hear of much of the wild fishing out there these days you might be struggling as a lot of the fish have been eaten. and some local advice would be a good idea.

Ric, i can understand your point and want to work this out yourself, this guy is one off thebest and a real top guy, if you email him he will probably be able to give you some very good advice on so if you would like his email just let me know.

like Gary said alot off the fish are taken for food, local advice would help you alot, the thai people are great as you know, he probably wouldn't mind helpin out a fellow angler

Edward,

Dropped you an e-mail with more info, hopefully you'll get it okay.

Ric,

It depends what species you are fishing for, obviously Mekongs are mainly plankton feeders in the wild so I'm not sure if it is possible to target them. Siamese carp inhabit the rivers (they won't breed in stillwaters) but many have been wiped out both for food and because it is considered prestigious for rich Thai businessmen to have a big carp in their pond, so many are removed from the river. A lot that are left apparantly are in areas protected by temples but not sure if you'dbe able to fish there. Chao Praya catfish can be found in the rivers (think they are named after a river, the Chao Praya near Bangkok) and are predatory so would be a good bet as would the freshwater stingray.

Thanks Edward/ Gary

I have gear with meto cover most disciplines. A 2.75tc Carp Rod, a light spinning rod and a 7-8 weight fly rod.

My preferance is fly fishing, I'd love to find a wild mountain stream/river with a chance of a fish or 2. As I said earlier, they don't have to be huge, just being inthis type ofplace is closeto being enough.

I'm in Bangkok now, not planning to do any fishing here. I'll be heading up to Chaing Mai shortly, then Pai, happy to make significant diversions if needed.

Thanks

Ric, good luck with your fishing, im sure you might be able to find a few rivers up chang mai way. lets just hope they have got some fish left hey! make sure you keep me posted on what you catch as im intrested, cheers!

Ric,
Don't really know the Chiang Mai area, if i remember right that is over towards Laos in the north-east?
I have heard of mahseer being caught up towards the border with Burma, a different variety to the ones you get in India and the same as can be found in Malaysia, think they call them red mahseer, that grow to around 20 lb or so.
Was hoping to get to Burma itself next spring but the political situation doesn't look good with elections coming up either next year or the one after, can still get in but can't travel around freely so pointless trying to fish there.
If you have a copy of 'Circumventing the Mahseer' it might go as far east as Thailand, definitely has Burma in it, so you could find a few rivers this way. In the office so haven't got my copy to hand to have a look.

OK well I'm heading west to Kanachaburi tomorrow, river Kwai, as in the well known film. Good fish are reputed, time will tell...

Hello Ric,

I have fished in Thailand for the last eight years and I am a partner in the company Fishsiam Ltd.As previously mentioned in this thread my company has been responsible for the capture of fifty individual Giant Freshwater Stingray with weights to an estimated 220kg's.My Thai business partner is Wuttichai 'Boy'Khuensuwan who I rate as the best guide in Thailand.If you are looking for somewhere to fish in Kanchanaburi Khao Laem Dam is an option,but the fishing will be patchy for the next few months.If you are interested in fishing in chiang mai then it is worth giving Dream Lake a try.My partner is fishing there at the moment with a client and has had several Giant Siamese Carp to 20kg's.Chiang Mai also has a few good dams worth mentioning ie. Sirikit Dam,Bhumipol Dam and Mae Ngat Dam which will start to fish well in the coming months.

If you wish to fish for Arapaima then IT Lake Monster in Ratchaburi is possibly the best opportunity to do so in Thailand.We have caught numerous fish to 145kg from this lake with Ian Welch's being the biggest so far caught by a Fishsiam client.Much bigger fish are present in IT possibly reaching 180kg.IT Monster Lake is a highly prolific venue which produces large hits of big predators on a regular basis.

I will be visiting Bangkok next week before fishing both the Ban Pakong and Maeklong Rivers for Giant Freshwater Stingray.

http://www.fishsiam.com