Fishing for Chaophraya Catfish at Bungsamran Lake in Bangkok.

Fishing for Chaophraya Catfish at Bungsamran Lake in Bangkok. - 05 04 2010

UK specimen hunter Brendan returned once again to Bungsamran Lake in search of monster fish.

After setting up on the public bank the angler gently lobbed his baits close to the submerged supports of the fishing platform.

After an extremely slow start the angler hooked his first fish of the day one hour after first casting out.

The fish was beaten after a short five minute battle which revealed the culprit to be a small Striped Catfish of an estimated 9kg’s.

After repositioning the rods the angler waited a further forty minutes before a high speed run indicated the presence of a much larger fish.

Winding down into the fish saw the fish embarking on another high speed run which ripped thirty yards of line from the reel on its initial charge.

Continued pressure on the fish slowed the fish down somewhat leaving the unseen fish continuing to pull line form the tightened spool of the reel.

After fighting the unseen monster fish for almost twenty minutes a large elongated dorsal fin broke the surface of the water way out in the centre of the lake.

With the appearance of the gigantic dorsal fin out in the lake the fish was easily identified as being a large Chaophraya Catfish causing the angler to exercise extreme caution as he played the predatory catfish.

After several ore powerful runs the Chaophraya Catfish was brought towards the waiting net and scooped up on the first attempt.

On hoisting the monster Chaophraya Catfish onto the unhooking mat the fish was estimated to weigh 33 kg’s before being returned after a few quick photos.

Brendan continued to fish for the rest of the day adding several further Striped Catfish and Mekong Catfish to an estimated 18kg’s.