Finally, I managed to pay a visit to one of the world's famous freshwater fishing venue, Bung Sam Ran, or Bung Sam Lan. After reading so many reviews on this place, I just had to come.
I booked the Giant Siamese Carp and Catfish package with www.FishSiam.com which had a special promotion going which offers another person to share the package for free. Manage to convince (or rather con) Dee Lern to join me for the trip, considering that he has never held a rod, a fishing rod, in his whole life. Paid 7000 Baht for it which included return taxi ride from hotel, fishing gear, bait, 'private bungalow' and guide.
The cab picked us up at 8am and departed for Bung Sam Ran. The journey was around 40 minutes from Sukhumvit. We were in a town area, when the cab went into a small road and behold, a fishing haven.
Comparing with the price list here, I'd say the package was a pretty good deal. More or less the same price, but without the hassle.
The place was really huge, and you can see Giant Mekong Catfishes playing on the water surface. A lot of these catfishes. No wonder some tours even dare to offer 50% money back if you didn't manage to catch a catfish above 35 kilos.
Thank god that it didn't rain today. It has been raining almost everyday in Bangkok so far, and today was cloudy. Just the way I liked it.
The place was like a resort, and was a good getaway from the hectic life of the city. They had 'private bungalows' with rooms for family members (who don't fish) to chill, a small massage parlor (found out later why it was a good idea to have one there), a mini arcade, and restaurant. They also had a complete fishing gear shop and also a shop that fixed broken rods and reels.
Our 'private bungalow'. No, I am not complaining. A good shelter and space where you can chill, and fish without being disturbed by other people. Or rather disturb other people. As Dee Lern has never fished before, and I have never experienced such big fish before, it was great to have this little space for fishing.
Our guide, Bui. A guide here is really worth getting over here. They will make your bait (Bui did a good job here. The neighbour's bait keep breaking off while casting), keep casting and reeling back the line every 5 to 10 minutes, always keeping an eye on the line to know if a fish is biting, and guiding you when you are tackling the fish (perfect for us, beginners).
How the line is setup over here, for Mekong Catfish. For the Siamese Carp, they use the bottom fishing method.
How the bait (chicken feed flavored with pandan syrup)is setup. And that bait is bigger than my fist. No wonder they gave us 50kg of bait.
Bui will cast it off for us, and let the fishing begin!
Didn't have to wait long before the line start to rip out of the reel.
First catch of the day, a 6 kg patin. The smallest catch of the day, as if giving us a warm up round. The rest were 20 kilos and above.
Dee Lern with his virgin catch. Still afraid of the fish, and posing far from it.
Biggest catch of the day. Or rather bigeest catch in my life so far, a 40 kilo Mekong Catfish which took me 40 minutes to bring in. This damn catfish (all the Mekong catfish) fight hardest when it gets to shallow waters. This bugger ran off three times when it was near the net up place. Every damn time when you think it's over, you are so wrong.
The fish is almost as big as Dee Lern. Eventually, he had the guts to pick up the fish.
How the rod bends ...explaining the repair shop.
Still looking cool here. These fishes takes about 15-30 minutes to land, ripping arm muscles, hips and knees. Later on, whenever the string is ripped into the water, he went "NOOOOOOOO! I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!"
Neighbors in action.
In total we caught 23 fishes. I have two swollen fingers now, and aching arms as I'm posting this entry. My only complain is that all the fishes we caught were Mekong catfishes. We did try for the Giant Siamese Carp, but according the guide, these fishes are easier to catch during the winter (must be their cold season here). But besides that, this place is just awesome.
Bung Sam Ran, none stop action and definitely an experience. Simply amazing.
I booked the Giant Siamese Carp and Catfish package with www.FishSiam.com which had a special promotion going which offers another person to share the package for free. Manage to convince (or rather con) Dee Lern to join me for the trip, considering that he has never held a rod, a fishing rod, in his whole life. Paid 7000 Baht for it which included return taxi ride from hotel, fishing gear, bait, 'private bungalow' and guide.
The cab picked us up at 8am and departed for Bung Sam Ran. The journey was around 40 minutes from Sukhumvit. We were in a town area, when the cab went into a small road and behold, a fishing haven.
Comparing with the price list here, I'd say the package was a pretty good deal. More or less the same price, but without the hassle.
The place was really huge, and you can see Giant Mekong Catfishes playing on the water surface. A lot of these catfishes. No wonder some tours even dare to offer 50% money back if you didn't manage to catch a catfish above 35 kilos.
Thank god that it didn't rain today. It has been raining almost everyday in Bangkok so far, and today was cloudy. Just the way I liked it.
The place was like a resort, and was a good getaway from the hectic life of the city. They had 'private bungalows' with rooms for family members (who don't fish) to chill, a small massage parlor (found out later why it was a good idea to have one there), a mini arcade, and restaurant. They also had a complete fishing gear shop and also a shop that fixed broken rods and reels.
Our 'private bungalow'. No, I am not complaining. A good shelter and space where you can chill, and fish without being disturbed by other people. Or rather disturb other people. As Dee Lern has never fished before, and I have never experienced such big fish before, it was great to have this little space for fishing.
Our guide, Bui. A guide here is really worth getting over here. They will make your bait (Bui did a good job here. The neighbour's bait keep breaking off while casting), keep casting and reeling back the line every 5 to 10 minutes, always keeping an eye on the line to know if a fish is biting, and guiding you when you are tackling the fish (perfect for us, beginners).
How the line is setup over here, for Mekong Catfish. For the Siamese Carp, they use the bottom fishing method.
How the bait (chicken feed flavored with pandan syrup)is setup. And that bait is bigger than my fist. No wonder they gave us 50kg of bait.
Bui will cast it off for us, and let the fishing begin!
Didn't have to wait long before the line start to rip out of the reel.
First catch of the day, a 6 kg patin. The smallest catch of the day, as if giving us a warm up round. The rest were 20 kilos and above.
Dee Lern with his virgin catch. Still afraid of the fish, and posing far from it.
Biggest catch of the day. Or rather bigeest catch in my life so far, a 40 kilo Mekong Catfish which took me 40 minutes to bring in. This damn catfish (all the Mekong catfish) fight hardest when it gets to shallow waters. This bugger ran off three times when it was near the net up place. Every damn time when you think it's over, you are so wrong.
The fish is almost as big as Dee Lern. Eventually, he had the guts to pick up the fish.
How the rod bends ...explaining the repair shop.
Still looking cool here. These fishes takes about 15-30 minutes to land, ripping arm muscles, hips and knees. Later on, whenever the string is ripped into the water, he went "NOOOOOOOO! I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!"
Neighbors in action.
In total we caught 23 fishes. I have two swollen fingers now, and aching arms as I'm posting this entry. My only complain is that all the fishes we caught were Mekong catfishes. We did try for the Giant Siamese Carp, but according the guide, these fishes are easier to catch during the winter (must be their cold season here). But besides that, this place is just awesome.
Bung Sam Ran, none stop action and definitely an experience. Simply amazing.
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