Bangkok Fishing – 04 11 2012
Visiting angler Damian decided to try his hand at a spot of fishing for Mekong Catfish during his Bangkok holiday in Thailand.
On arrival at Bungsamran Fishing Park the angler was soon fishing from a private fishing bungalow and cast out large feeders packed with local groundbait to the many showing catfish.
After a short period of only ten minutes the anglers float bobbed before burying under the surface of the water as line began to be ripped from the open spool of the reel.
On closing the bale arm the fishing rod bent into full battle curve as the first Mekong Catfish of the day powered off into the lake.
An arm aching battle followed which saw the angler connected to a decent sized fish which charged up and down the margins dangerously hugging the supports of the fishing bungalows which lined the bank of the lake.
Applying maximum pressure and side strain soon saw the unseen Mekong Catfish brought away from the danger zone where it continued to chug around in open water for several more minutes.
Continued pressure on the catfish soon began to take its toll with the fish surfacing twice in quick succession before embarking on another series of runs. Soon the fish was brought into netting range where it was soon engulfed by the net and hoisted onto the fishing platform and waiting mat.
The Mekong Catfish was estimated to weigh 20kg’s and was quickly released back into the lake.
Further casts resulted in yet more arm aching action with the angler landing a succession of hard fighting Mekong Catfish with weights between 10-20kg’s.
After a short break for refreshments at lunch the angler resumed fishing and began to pick up the odd nuisance catfish in the form of Striped Catfish in the 8-12kg range.
With larger fish clearly in residence in the centre of the lake the angler re positioned his baits further out into the lake and was soon rewarded with a run of slightly better sized catfish with some specimens estimated to weigh closer to the 30kg region.
As the days Bangkok fishing trip at Bungsamran Fishing park continued the angler caught fish regularly and slowly bulit up a tally of over 15 Mekong Catfish in addition to several smaller Striped Catfish.
At the end of the days hectic catfish trip in Bangkok the angler was more than ready to finish fishing and head back to Bangkok city for some rest and relaxation
