Good day everyone,   I haven't really done

C

Couta-Cuack

New member
Good day everyone,

 

I haven't really done a report yet so I hope it comes out okay.

 

I was on honey moon in Thailand end of September and my wife was kind enough to let me go fishing a couple of times.  Initially I thought of doing some deep sea fishing but decided against it after speaking to some other people there who had gone out and said the sea was not even compare able to SA it was dead.  We were on Koh Samui at the time so I decided to go to a place called Top Cats where you can catch all kinds of exotic species of freshwater fish.

So I phoned Top Cats and they said I could come the very same day with the second session of the day starting at 2pm till 8pm.  When I arrived it was not quite what I expected as it was actually very nice.  Every angler gets a little reed hut to sit under and you are issued with two barbel rods they call it but its more like offshore jigging rods! :::S  The guide there helps you all the way and baited up my one rod with 6 pieces of corn on a hair rig coverd with their ground bait which is made out of soy.  The other rod was baited with a big boilie aimed at catching Siamese carp.

It wasn't long before the first reel started screaming and I was into a very strong fish, well actually the strongest fresh water fish I had ever had the privilege to have a tussle with.  Going for lots of strong runs and giving me quite a bit of back pain before the guide handed me a bucket! hehe!  Felt funny using one for a fresh water fish!  After about a 15-20min fight I had a 30 odd kg meakong catfish in the net!

That was just the start in the end I caught 4 differnt species of fish including meakong catfish, siamese carp, pacu and a beautifull arapaima.  Very good fishing to say the least!

In the end not bad for a a honey moon! ::S

Ill try and put some pics up of the bigger ones, including This 60kg meakong!


166990_10150409466891289_647126288_10148362_1549689863_n.jpg

 
 
J

JFE

Senior Member
Very, very nice! that fish on the second pic has some lovely scale patterns, it that the siamese carp?
 
D

Duanejc

Senior Member
Very nice. I did an 8 day fishing trip to Thailand last year myself, and was a trip of a life time! We also got stuck into the Mekongs for a day at BSR, very stubborn and hard fighting fish! Well done on some great catches there!
 
C

Couta-Cuack

New member
Thanks guys.

 

And yes the second one is the Siamese carp a very beautiful fish.  Just to give you a bit more information, the guide is quick to tell you that the carp is number one at top cats firstly because it is one of only a few indigenous fish they have there and secondly because they reach gigantic sizes.  Some people come fish there for a week plus only for carp, I spoke to British guy when I was there who says he was at the top of the species carp angling in England but gave it all up to come fish for Siamese carp every six months.  He said his pb is standing at 165lb!  But my most memorable catch was the arapaima because they have very bony mouths, missed about 4 before I got the one, they straighten a hook like its nobodies business!

They also take good care of the fish by never taking them out of the water except for a quick photo, they put antiseptic on where the hook came out and they even put them in an overnight recovery pin.  But its understandable as the fish is their business!
 
S

shuraj

Sealiner
you are one  lucky guy , to be on honeymoon and get permission to fish.

Congrats on the excellent catches.
 
T

ThefishinMagician

Sealiner
My wife has been nagging to go to Thailand...

I doubt we will be making it to Koh Samui as the wife tends to prefer the commercial touristy things, so basically Bangkok and Phuket.
Any suggestions of Good Fisheries there worth visiting?

  I have been told that the Ocean is just about fished out.
 
C

Couta-Cuack

New member
Hi magician,

 

We were only on Koh Samui and Phi Phi Island so I didn't do much research on Phuket or Bankok but I know there are quite a few places in and around Bankok to go fishing!  So unfortunately I dont have the names but  Google should be able to shed some light.  

But I don't think you or your wife will be dissapointed with Koh Samui as it is quite a busy Island, lots of shopping and sightseeing especially on the main Chewang beach area!  Phi Phi on the other hand is almost the opposite!

 
 
D

Duanejc

Senior Member
Hey Magician, if you go to Bangkok drop me a PM and I will put you in touch with one of the best local guides in Bangkok for fresh water fishing.
 
K

kaboem

Sealiner
I know its late, but hell mate thats an awesome session 4 species all great sizes and all released to fight another day!

You fishing and honeymooning man life does not get better than that!

Well done mate! Great catches especially the one you married, allowing you a fishing session on honeymoon now thats one catch you dont want to let go of!

:wfish

 
 
Y

YN

New member
Hi guys, can you please assist with good fishing spots in phuket and bangkok, want to put in a quick session while on holiday if possible.

Thanks
 
D

Duanejc

Senior Member
Not sure about Phuket, but if you are going to be in BKK for a couple of days then you HAVE TO do a session at BSR!
 
M

mahomedhoosein

Senior Member
went to bangkok and koh samui because of this report which i read 2 years back.

Fished at Bungsamran in bangkok and it was brilliant fishing. the hardest fish i ever caught. anyone going to thailad bungsamran is a must. caught 20 cats for the day weighing between 15-30kg. went with www.fishthailand.co.uk. I definitely recommend them.


Fished top cats in koh samui and was rather disappointed.Fished at top cats on 2/1/2014 for a full 12 hour session. On our arrival we were met by Shaun the owner who did not seem friendly at all (he might be a man of few words but a smile doesn't cost anything). once taken to our seating area which was good( a shelter made of bamboo with good soft cushion cant complain about that) we started to fish. it took many hours to get the first fish it was a good size pacu the fish was treated well and after a few photos and some iodine it was released.

There were many times when the guide have left rods unattended out of the water. I have read in earlier post that the guides are assistants and you should handle yourself. But you are quite reluctant to do so because when you get there and the first thing is you are given is a rule page that states if you don't listen to the guide and something goes wrong or gets damaged you will be charged from 10000 baht to 30000 baht for rods and reel, alarms and as much as 1000000 baht for fish. As noted in another post there are only two guides looking after a few fishermen which in my opinion is rather inadequate since its charged for.

The guides knew what they were doing when baiting up but when it came to hooking up the fish they missed most of the runs and bites. If we wanted to strike they would tell us to wait. I'm not sure if i had faulty equipment or the equipment is not up to standard. on 2 occasions the line snapped off once on strike and the other while playing a fish. At the end of the day and we had big runs on some fish bait and as the fish took off the line got tangled on the spool which ended up in a fail hook up.

Food seemed good and the services around that. they would come take your order at your spot and deliver it to you. I didn't not buy since i could not eat their food due to religious reasons just noted what I saw.

Considering the price you pay (5500 baht for 12hr(R2000)) and most anglers only caught around 3 fish and some even caught none its not worth that cost. It seemed that they try to limit amount of fish caught because once you got a fish they tend not to be consistent with tactics.

Some positives the place is well maintained, good quality water, good bathrooms and you are provided with towels, Shaun will organize transport at a good price since transport is costly in samui. Guides spoke sufficient amount of english

Negatives fishing not great, don't think friendliness is where is should be.
Not sure if i just went during a busy period and thus for my views and the poor fishing as i've read reviews of better days fishing at the lake.

Considering the large amount of areas to fish in thailand at the same rates and cheaper would probabaly not return to Top cats

My next trip would be jurrasic park and definitely not top cats
 
D

Duanejc

Senior Member
Sad to hear you had such a bad experience at Top Cats. I was there end of July and had a great time. I did however spend 2 days there, but I had success on both days. Shaun is a lot friendlier towards his UK patrons unfortunately, but I must admit he took good care of me as well. July is also a lot quieter, on both days there was only one other stand occupied, so I pretty much had the lake to myself. But as Mahomed rightly said, it is quite pricy, but I'd say worth a visit in the off season.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top