National Geographic Channel's Top 10 Monster Fish
National Geographic Channel's program, "Top 10 Monster Fish" airs in the U.S.A. at 7pm and again at 10pm on Monday July 27th on the National Geographic Channel where many of FishSiam's captures of G.F.S will be shown.
River Monsters Death Ray show with Jeremy Wade premiers on Discovery Animal Planet in the US and is screened on ITV1 and ITV4 in the UK.
Jeremy Wade River Monsters Thailand.
Extreme angler and fish biologist Jeremy Wade joins the Fishsiam team in Thailand to film the award winning series River Monsters for Discovery Animal Planet channel.
Jeremy Wade extreme angler and fish biologist visits the mighty Mekong River, the Chaophraya River and the Maeklong River in his continued quest for the world’s largest freshwater fish in Thailand.
Extreme angler Jeremy Wade battles a monster Giant freshwater stingray in an epic battle spanning hours testing his angling abilities to the absoloute limit before finally landing the ultimate River Monster.
On examination at the riverside and assisted by veterinary scientists from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok Jeremy Wade witnesses the miraculous birth of two newborn Giant Freshwater stingrays!.jpg)
The full account of Jeremy Wades amazing Giant freshwater stingray fishing trip in Thailand can be seen in the episode entitled Death Ray in series two of River Monsters on Discovery Animal Planet.
Read about Extreme angler Jeremy Wade's Thailand fishing trip with Fishsiam fishing for Giant freshwater stingrays in his most eagerly awaitied book entitled River Monsters which is on release currently in the USA, UK and throughout Europe.
River Monsters with Jeremy Wade in Thailand
Read More
Watch the video of Jeremy Wade's amazing Giant freshwater stingray capture during the filming of River Monsters here
Snakehead fishing at Mae Ngat Dam produces monster 7.2kg Giant Snakehead.
Austrian angler Andreas visited the Mae Ngat Dam in thepicturesque Sri Lanna National Park in Chiang Mai Northern Thailand.
After previously capturing a monster Giant freshwater stingray which gave birth whilst fishing at the Maeklong River the angler headed up country to the northern province of Chiang Mai.
An early start saw the Austrian angler boarding a traditional longtail boat before slowly beginning to explore the lake.
Fishing with a variety of lures the Austrian angler carefully cast into likely looking holding areas in an attempt to induce a strike from the highly territorial Giant Snakehead which lurk in the nearby submerged trees.
After several perfect casts the lure was violently attacked by a large predator which aggressively shook its head in an attempt to free itself from the artificial lure.
A short dogged battle ensued which saw the fish diving deeply towards nearby submerged trees.
Clamping down on the spool soon turned the Giant Snakehead away from the danger area where it continued to thrash around wildly to free itself from the lure.
After a few fraught moments in the final stages of the fight the fish was quickly brought alongside the boat before being gloved by the guide.
The magnificent Giant Snakehead was weighed at a weight of 7.2kg’s before being released after a few trophy shots.
Read More
Latest Thailand Arapaima captures from the Arapaima fishing pond in Cha Am
Fishsiam has recently added another new venue to our rapidly expanding portfolio of predator fishing locations in Thailand in the shape of the Arapaima pond near Cha Am and Hua Hin.
This new predator fishing venue is situated approximately two and a half to three hours from Bangkok and offers predator fishing enthusiasts visiting Thailand the opportunity to fish for large Arapaima reaching lengths of two metres and weighing over the magical 100kg's.
The Arapaima pond near Cha Am covers an area of three to four acres and has recenty been stocked with a good head of hard fighting Arapaima.
Recent exploratory fishing trips to Cha Am have yielded several large Arapaima to an estimated 100kg's in addition to plenty of medium sized specimens and other freshwater predatory species.
German angler and Thailand fishing veteran Uwe and friends recently visited the Arapaima pond near Cha Am for a two day session which yielded a large haul of Arapaima topped by two beautiful specimens which both topped 100kg's.
Contact us to book your fishing trip to the new Cha Am Arapaima Fishing Pond.
Fishing for Arapaima or Pirarucu in Bangkok with TBS Japan.
Another visit to Thailand saw TBS celebrity comedian Kawata San and two colleagues from Japan fishing at Bungsamran Lake in Bangkok for its legendary Pirarucu or Arapaima.
After successfully landing a massive sixty fish haul of Mekong Catfish, Striped Catfish and Giant Siamese Carp to 54 kg’s in a two day session the anglers decided to target the lakes monster world record sized Pirarucu or Arapaima..jpg)
The Japanese comedy trio were soon tackling up with long flouro hooklinks and mounting large Mackerel fillets onto Owner Hooks.
With several large Arapaima or Pirarucu regularily surfacing in a quiet corner of the lake the anglers quietly lobbed out their mackerel hookbaits.
A series of large bubbles was clearly observed in the vicinity of the hookbaits before all hell broke lose as line was ripped from the spool of one of the reels. Kawata San wound down hard into the unseen predator causing a massive armoured body to explode through the water as a very large Pirarucu charged off with the bait.
After an epic ten minute battle which saw the predator hurling itself out of the water on several occasions, Japanese angler Kawata finally landed the fish of his dreams, a monstrous Amazonian Arapaima or Pirarucu estimated to weigh 160-180kg’s!
Arapaima fishing in Thailand
Read More
Zeb Hogan Giant freshwater stingray expeditions
 Fishsiam Ltd Thailand is proud to announce an exciting series of research expeditions for the coming year in search of Giant freshwater stingray in association with emerging National Geographic explorer Dr.Zeb Hogan and expert veterinary scientists from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Conservation minded anglers will be given the unique opportunity to fish alongside Dr.Zeb Hogan during field trips to various locations in search of Giant freshwater stingray.
Megafishes project Director Dr.Zeb Hogan will be working alongside Associate Professor Dr.Nantaika Chansue with her expert team of aquatic veterinary scientists from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in an attempt to mount the world’s first comprehensive study of the awesome Himantura Chaophraya/Giant freshwater stingray.
The forthcoming research expeditions which have official approval from the Department of Fisheries in Thailand will see conservation minded anglers fishing at various locations throughout Thailand in search of the mythical Giant freshwater stingray.
With our expert team of Thai fishing guides anglers will be pushed to their absoloute physical limits in pursuit of what has been described as possibly the largest freshwater fish in the world whilst also contributing to science.
Read More...
Watch the National Geographic Wild Chronicles video of the Giant freshwater stingray birth with Zeb Hogan here
The World's Largest freshwater fish is captured again
 Another expedition to the Maeklong River accompanied by Hirosumi Yamaguchi from Japan's premier television station NHK saw the Fishsiam team involved in another documentary concerning Giant freshwater stingrays.
During a one week expedition the team landed eight individual Giant Freshwater stingray's with all stingrays caught by the team acoustically tagged by National Geographic explorer Dr.Zeb Hogan and Dr.Nantaika Chansue from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
The expedition was highly productive and provided a wealth of scientific data concerning Giant freshwater stingray's.
On the date of 28/02/09 the Fishsiam team whilst filming with NHK landed a massive Giant Freshwater stingray from the Maeklong River after an epic four hour battle.
A closer inspection of the prehistoric fish saw the Giant Freshwater stingray being identified as the same Monster Fish that Dr.Ian Welch captured exactly one month before at a record breaking estimated weight of between 265-350kg's.
The fish was identified by an external tag previously fitted by Dr.Zeb Hogan and was released soon after capture due to the fish clearly showing signs of pregnancy.
Read more...
National Geographic & MegaFishes Project join FishSiam to Study Giant Freshwater Stingrays 
The FishSiam Team has been engaged in some highly adventurous and pioneering angling on two of Thailand's wildest and unexplored tidal rivers. In a short one year period the FishSiam Team has accounted for almost 300 individual Giant Freshwater Stingray (Himantura Chaophraya) captures with massive weights to an estimated 265 kg / 583 lb. These groundbreaking captures have attracted worldwide media interest and have seen the Fishsiam Team engaged in research with various agencies such as the MegaFishes Project and the National Geographic Society.
The Fishsiam Team was recently joined by Stefan Lovgren and Dr.Zeb Hogan from the National Geographic news team. Whilst filming at the Ban Pakong River the team caught a large female Giant Freshwater Stingray which was observed to be heavily pregnant. While being held at the rivers edge the prehistoric predatory giant gave birth to a live newborn measuring a mere 34cm. This ground breaking capture is the first documented example of a Giant Freshwater Stingray birth in its wild and natural enviroment and a good sign for this highly understudied and obscure species. The mother and infant were safely released together after Dr.Zeb Hogan recorded measurements and made a short scientific examination.
Watch the video of the amazing Giant freshwater stingray birth at the Ban Pakong River with Zeb Hogan here.
Ian Welch and the Fishsiam team land the largest freshwater fish ever caught on rod and line!
Anglers Mail journalist and fish biologist Ian Welch recently joined the Fishsiam team to assist in the filming of a documentary with National Geographic Channel featuring Giant Freshwater Stingray.
The Fishsiam team were also joined by eminent fish biologist and National Geographic Explorer Dr.Zeb Hogan in addition to a National Geographic film crew.
 Soon after his arrival Ian would witness a truly enormous Giant freshwater stingray being caught from the Ban Pakong River of over 180kg’s. After witnessing such a colossal fish Ian would not have dreamed of events that would take place the following day.
An early morning start saw Ian and the team traveling to the Maeklong River in Samut Songkran province in Western Thailand. The team fished extremely hard throughout the day catching Giant Freshwater Stingray with weights of 40kg, 45kg and 65kg’s from various areas of the river. All fish that were caught were examined by Dr.Zeb Hogan and a top Thai veterinary surgeon with accurate measurements and weights being recorded in addition to the attachment of numeric tags externally to the prehistoric fish.
With still a few hours of fishing time left Ian returned to the river in search of more Giant Freshwater Stingray. Later in the afternoon Ian would go on to hook a much larger fish that would require every ounce of his strength and angling ability. After an epic ninety minute battle a Giant Freshwater Stingray was finally brought alongside the boat.
The enormous leviathan with a width of over 2 metres was safely secured before being brought back to the waiting scientists at the riverside. The fish was observed to be heavily pregnant and it was decided not to attempt to weigh the Monster fish.
After a thorough scientific examination by Dr.Zeb Hogan and the visiting Thai veterinary surgeon the fish was released back into the river.
Scientists present at the capture have estimated the Giant freshwater Stingray to weigh an incredible 265-350kg’s making it the largest freshwater fish ever landed on rod and line!
Whilst fishing with Dr.Zeb Hogan and the National Geographic production crew the Fishsiam team successfully captured and released sixteen different Giant freshwater stingrays.
The Fishsiam team is now engaged in a two year research project concerning Giant freshwater Stingray populations in several Thai rivers and is working closely with Dr.Zeb Hogan and Thai scientists in an effort to gain a greater understanding of this prehistoric predatory fish.
The results of the expedition with National Geographic can be seen on Hooked! Monster Fish of Thailand which premiers on NGC on the 6th of July 2009.
Read the Anglers Mail Thailand fishing article.
 Visiting angling journalist Ian Welch from the Anglers mail joined the Fishsiam team at IT Monster Predator Lake in Ratchaburi. Ian bagged numerous predatory species whilst fishing this highly prolific water. Ian’s haul included Redtail catfish, Alligator gar, Sorubim and various other hungry predators.
After a brief trip to the local clinic due to a small injury caused by a lively Sorubim Ian once again began fishing. With the light beginning to fade Ian received a savage take to a rod fished in the nearby margins with a mackerel fillet. This would herald the start of a gruelling thirty minute battle with a 2.3m Arapaima gigas continually trying to shake itself free of the hook!
Some thirty minutes after hooking the Amazonian giant the fish was expertly netted by Boy and Jeab. The fish had an extremely large girth and required five anglers to hold the spectacular creature for photography. The fish was estimated to weigh 140kg+ and was measured at a length of 2.3 metres. The entire capture was caught on video which will be appearing in our video section shortly.
Read the Anglers Mail Arapaima fishing report.
Watch the video of Ian Welch's monster Arapaima caught whilst fishing at IT Lake Monsters
|
