10kg Chao Phraya? What was I thinking?

After that Chao Phraya it seemed that I had gotten in onto a bit of a dry spot, with rather unfruitful trips to Rompin (twice) and Sarawak. Well, I finally got my revenge thanks to John aka Bkkguy.

The famous Bung Sam Ran fishing park in Bangkok!

Fishing fanatics may recognize this as the place Robson Green came to in his Extreme Fishing World Tour. Here's the clip of his little excursion to BSR, starting at the 5:45 mark.

Its a real tranquil place, an oasis in the concrete madness of Bangkok and possible the only place in Bangkok that doesn't sell clothes.

the Weapons Dealer

the Weapons dealt

so many Weapons, so little Thai Bhat

Those sheet like things in the shop aren't clothes, they are equipment for you to catch fish in.

So Bkkguy suggested we share 3 rods between 5 persons, and to leave the pond at 2.30pm in order to return to central Bangkok by 5pm. The conversation went something like this:

Bkkguy - "3 rods between 5 persons, confirm non stop actions!"
Me - "o_O"
Bkkguy - "We'll leave at 2.30pm to get back before 5pm."
Me - "O_o"
Bkkguy - "Confirm! DOUBLE CONFIRM!"

I was skeptical. Back home, 1 person to 3 rods and you'd still be waiting out all day for a tiny snapper. Well, we didn't have long to wait...

Ta dah! 40 - 50kg. Really! The fish, I mean.

And before you compliment me on my wonderful photoshop skills, take a look at these videos. Apparently they blow the horn (aka saxaphone) when someone reels in a biggie!

The Mekong Giant Catfish are amongst the largest freshwater fish in the world and listed as critically endangered. This is a strictly catch and release pond, so +1 to conservation and +1 to sport fishing =). You don't have to be greedy and kill everything you catch.

Another 50kg monster. The fish, I mean.

Many thanks to Leo

I wasn't the only one who had a smashing good time as you can see from the above pics.

Remember the thing I said at the start when I said the thing about 3 rods between 5 persons and how I was totally like, o_O? Turns out he was right I was wrong and we were telling him to for goodness sake please stop baiting the lines we want to have our lunch! Oh damnit there's another bite. WHOSE TURN IS IT NOW!

We even managed a couple of triple hookups. I'm quite certain we would have an x-ple hookup, where x (being a positive integer greater than zero), is the number of baited rods set up.

Triple hookup yo!

10 kg CPC at FW3? These Mekong would have you for breakfast except that they are vegetarian.

Many thanks to John aka Bkkguy who throws in a youtube video with every expedition.

You the man, John. Till we meet again for WILD TOMAN fishing!

Here's a picture of him NOT helping...

Because the rule is you never help another man fight his fish unless he asks you to.

New Year firsts

Made my way down to Farmway 3 over the weekend. Sigh Farmway 3 why do you play with my heart so? Twice I've been there, twice returned as a zero fighter, two round splotches of red marring my cheeks. This time, I will not be mocked!

So I wore my lucky red shirt and lucky red sunglasses. A 10kg Chao Phraya Catfish was my prize! Huat ar! Another one got away... Naturally, the one that got away was at least 5 meters long and weighed half a ton.

Some videos too...

And a video of Mimi's CPC that got away... He had his revenge later!

Tragedy at the Kelong

By now, most local and Malaysian anglers would have heard about the capsizing of the ferry at Tg Leman, claiming the lives of 5 Singaporean anglers. The body of the 5th has just been found, 4 days after the sinking.

Commentary by the local community on this incident has been varied, with some stating emphatically that safety is one's own responsibility and that they knew the risks associated with going to these places. Caveat emptor, applied to angling I reckon. But nonetheless cold comfort to the families. Gone is gone.
 
Other seasoned anglers who have been in harm's way on the seas repeat their exhortation that safety at sea is number one priority at all times. Wise words we should all heed. Respect nature. Respect her power and might. Respect her whims and fancies. Respect her magnificence and beauty. And always live to fish another day.

To the bereaved families, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. It could have been anyone of us. Myself, I have been to these kelongs before, in Sibu, and elsewhere. Its a beautiful place. Its a place we would like to come home from and share with our loved ones pictures of the beautiful sunrise and the delicious seafood.

I suppose there really are no words to describe the searing sting of loss, and unfairness.