Fishing for stingrays with TBS Network from Japan. – 04 08 2009
Day two of a six day Thailand stingray fishing expedition saw the Japanese television team back on the banks of the Maeklong River at Samut Songkran.
With the incoming tide imminent it was not long before a Giant freshwater stingray was hooked.
On winding down into the stingray it was soon apparent that the stingray was a much smaller specimen than the previous day’s encounters.
Five minutes later a small Giant freshwater stingray was brought alongside the boat where it was quickly brought into the boat.
The stingray was measured at a width of 0.7m’s and was quickly identified as being a male.
The stingray was quickly transported back to the waiting scientists who recorded all measurements and took blood samples for later analysis.
An estimate of 20-25kg’s was placed on the Giant freshwater stingray before it was released back into the river.
Back on the river the team had already hooked another Giant freshwater Stingray which like a carbon copy of the first capture was brought up in a matter of minutes.
This time the stingray was identified as being a female and measured at a width of 0.9m’s and estimated to weigh 25-30kg’s. The fish was moved to a smaller boat in order to transport it to the waiting researchers.
The anglers waited for a further hour before another take was indicated on one of the rods.
On winding down into the fish it was soon apparent that yet another small stingray had taken an interest in the bait.
Totally overwhelmed by the big game fishing tackle, the small Giant freshwater stingray was brought up in record time.
The juvenile stingray was measured at a width of 0.7m’s and was identified as being a male the fish on this occasion was estimated to weigh 25kg’s.
With still a short time left for angling the team laid out their lines in the hope of catching a much larger specimen.
Thirty minutes later another slow knocking on the rod tip signaled yet another bite from a stingray.
Yet again the culprit was a small stingray which was literally winched to the surface in a matter of minutes.
The Giant freshwater stingray was measured at a width of 0.65m’s and was estimated to weigh 20kg’s.
