FISH & BOAT, February 2019- P41 Fishing Abroad From previous page deservedly so. There are a plethora marks (“only a kilo” was a common of wonderful attractions within an one). That is the Thai way! hour’s drive of Pattaya and Bangkok. After releasing that fish, I watched As a result, the fishing opportuni- several wealthy local anglers lock ties are too often over-shadowed by horns with some bigger 25kg plus other attractions. The Author with a small catfish using expensive jigging gear. In fact, I have recently come across Mekong catfish- they still I couldn’t help but fantasise about some great fishing for other spe- fight hard even at this size! using my better gear from Australia cies including huge arapaima and on these mega cats- maybe one day! Siamese carp (watch this space!). If you’d like to see a YouTube clip When it comes to our fishing goals, showing the spoils of my day type in people tend to create self-limiting this link: beliefs that play a damaging role in https://www.youtube.com/shaping a bland future of medioc- watch?v=S4nAWlzrMkp rity, ignorance, and later resentment. Also check out this link for more There’s no such thing as a practise information about Pattaya Fishing life. So why not try something dif- Park: http://www.pattayafishing.net/ ferent altogether, get your plane pattaya-fishing-park/ ticket and choose a new location Forming a Mekong Catfish Mis-with some different species? sion! If nothing else it will make for a Thailand has a long history as a good campfire story back home in tourist destination for Aussies and North Queensland. Now, it’s time for me to go to ‘Rig- ger’ tackle shop. I have a chrome Abu 7000 to buy. Cheers, Dan Bowater Hot tips on catching your own Mekong Catfish: - Choose wisely. Pattaya and Bangkok have a large number of fishing parks with a range of species. My advice with Mekong catfish would be to pay the ex- tra Baht and enjoy a higher quality experience. I liked Pattaya Fishing Park at Jomtien Beach. - Respect the admission fee! Foreign ‘farang’ anglers will get charged up to four times more at the entry gates. However, that extra cost means you will be regarded as a premium customer. The staff will make your catfish quest a unique priority. - Learn to bargain! Other peripheral costs like taxi fare, food (and pretty much anything else) are negotiable in Asia. - Respect traditions. Buddhism is the primary religion in Thailand and in- volves a different range of traditions than what we see in Australia. If the Thai fishermen are leaving an offering or praying, do not mock or question their belief One of the staff shows a system. freshly rigged bread bait. - Bring your own gear! Next time I will be. Some of the tackle at the fishing This big ball of sticky bread park has gone through the hands of hundreds of people. It is generally very basic crumbs explodes like a consisting of mono line and surf rods like we used in Australia during the 1990’s. The wonderful staff at Pattaya Fishing bomb when it lands! The wealthy Asian anglers do very well by bringing jazzed-up modern jigging Park made my day so enjoyable. gear. WHEN LIFE DEPENDS ON SEEING EVERYTHING Jason Hedges