Last Sunday was the first time in a couple of months that I had been able to get out fishing and I have missed it!
Bung Samran Pier
We decided to have a full day at it so at 0730 hrs we where setting up on the central pier at Bung Samran before the night fishing crowd had packed up.
We had decided to fish for Carp – Siamese Giant Carp and Mekong Giant Catfish – a giant day. We had 3 rods between us so dedicated one rod each for the carp and catfish and one rod for lucky dip.
The Carp and Catfish bait is primarily “Lam” or “Ram”, this is rice bran which is one of the by-products of rice milling. The secret of success is in the bait preparation and both the carp and catfish have their preferred additives and texture for the Lam. The mixes are a constant source of conversation around the fishing park and I think every guide and regular customer has their own recipe, some share some keep it a secret.
Giant Mekong Catfish
Giant Siamese Carp
We good day and where kept busy all day with over 20 fish caught between us including our target species of Carp and Catfish and a couple of bonus fish with the luck dip rod using chicken fillet as bait.
Chao Phraya Catfish - Pangasius Sanitwongsei
Pacu - Colossoma Brachypomum
The Pacu is omnivorous and can be caught with almost anything you can get to stay on a hook. The Chao Phraya Catfish is a predator which eats mainly small fish – in Bung Samram the diet is mainly Tilapia
Chao Phraya Catfish Mouth
The mouth of the Chao Phraya Catfish is lined with very small teeth which are velcro like in feel and appearance and these are used along with a strong bite to grind up the particularly spiky and spiny Talapia ready for digestion
More information can be found at my web site fishing page www.john-tom.com The page has details of various fishing venues in and around Bangkok along with prices and fishing tour recommendations
Hi John-Tom, I’m a Bangkok fisherman and am an occasional frequenter of the fishing ponds and reservoirs and I love your blog. I think I may have seen you (assuming that you are the foreign man in the orange shirt in the picture) at Bungsamran at least once bring up one of those monstrous carps.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
BH.
Thanks for the comment, hope to see you at Bungsamran soon, we only get there once a month now as the fly fishing is addictive and seems to always win the vote for the weekends fishing.
Best regards
John
Fly fishing sounds like good fun. Right now I’m still crazy about surface lures and snakeheads.
I see that you go fly fishing at Bor Num sometimes, do you ever take it to the reservoirs?
I have tried Bangpra Reservoir on fly – only had a couple of hours and blanked (1 take but missed) but it has good potential
Directions and details are on my website – http://www.john-tom.com/FishingInThailand/FishingInThailand.html#Bangpra
Hey johntom,
I’m quite familiar with Bangpra, I’m a Bangkok resident and it’s the closest place to go for the snakeheads. Have you ever checked out Kaeng Krajan Reservoir just three hours south of Bangkok? The fish there are very responsive to topwater fishing.
If you’re ever heading to Pilot 111 again please let me know, it’d be fun to fish with a new friend. I can be reached via schanarat@gmail.com.
Also, I find your entry about Bangpra Reservoir very comprehensive and informative.
Keep up the good work!