Thailand Fishing for freshwater stingrays – 08 01 2013
US angler Ben whilst on a Thailand holiday from working in Afghanistan decided to fish for Giant freshwater stingrays at the Maeklong River.
Bens Thailand stingray fishing trip started well with him landing a small 25kg Giant freshwater stingray almost immediately after placement of the large deadbaits.
With Giant freshwater stingrays obviously in the fishing area it was not long before the US angler landed further Giant freshwater stingrays of an estimated 90 kg and 100kg before the short daily tide began to recede back towards the Gulf of Thailand.
With another short tide timed for a few hours time Ben was soon back in position as the tidal river began to rise again.
Soon the angler was once again attached to another Giant freshwater stingray which after a stubborn battle which saw the stingray clamping onto the bottom of the river on several occasions saw another decent sized female of an estimated 120kg’s landed.
A sudden lull in action saw the angler moving location slightly in an effort to regain contact with the stingrays and it was not long before the move paid off in style.
The US angler soon fgound himself attached to possibly the biggest fish of his life which saw the unseen Giant freshwater stingray moving powerfully off upstream on an unstoppable run.
Ben battled the unseen Giant freshwater stingray for over one hour using every ounce of his strength to try to bring the river monster up from the depths.
With things looking at something of a stalemate with the stingray once again clamped onto the bottom the angler gave the heavy duty stingray fishing rod another huge lift trying to prise the stingray from the bottom.
With the stingray fishing rod creaking under the strain something had to give and moments later it did!
The 80lb class stingray fishing rod snapped casuing the angler to spring back with the force.
Immediately the guides leapt into action stripping line from the multiplier before cutting and rejoining on another even stronger 130lb class stingray fishing rod.
With the new heavier weight stingray fishing rod now in action the angler managed to gain some ground on the unseen Giant freshwater stingray and son had the stingray up into midwater.
Severl fraught minutes passed as the Giant freshwater stingray was brought up from the depths and finally netted by the guides.
The gigantic Giant freshwater stingray with a width of 188cm’s across its wingspan was quickly brought to the riverside where it was estimated to weigh 200kg+.
After a period of retention for recovery the Giant stingray was released back into the Maeklong River.
With all of the choas from the last hour Ben settled down for the last hour or so of the tide probably thinking that that would be the last he would see of the stingrays.
This was not actually the case as the US angler went on to land two more much smaller stingrays before the tide began to return to the Gulf of Thailand once more.
Bens day of Thailand stingray fishing is probably one of the most productive days stingray fishing in Thailand we have had to date and truly a red letter day for his first fishing holiday in Thailand.
