Thailand part 1: Khao Laem Dam

At the middle of the March me and my species hunting buddy Jarno left to a couple of weeks fishing holiday to Thailand. During our trip we visited three completely different fishing spots with variable target species.

After a couple of days shopping and relaxing at Bangkok we headed to the province of Kanchanaburi. There our destination was a huge reservoir of Khao Laem Dam.

We did some street fishing at the Bangkok canals also. All we caught was dozens of plastic bags.

Our floating village at the Khao Laem Dam.

We were supposed to fish three full days but cause we arrived to our floating accommodation well before dark I couldn’t help myself to pick up my short whip rod and go after the fish swimming right next to us. Quite soon I caught my first fish of the trip. It was a juvenile Giant gourami.

Giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy).

After sunset it was time to continue the fish hunt with the head lamps. About half an hour later I noticed some movement between the bamboo trunks our accommodation was built on. With a little bit of teasing I managed to get the fish bite and I swung my second species up to my hands.

Marbled goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata). Cool looking fish!

Next morning it was time to go after our main target Giant snakehead. On the forenoon trip I didn’t have a single bite but luckily Jarno caught two smallish snakeheads so his mission was already accomplished. We fished a little bit at the lunch break too but all I caught was another Giant gourami. There was some Tilapias living under our “village” but they were very wary. Bread, crab and Power Bait worms were all rejected by them.

Jarno with his first ever Giant snakehead.

On the night trip I failed four bites (probably all snakeheads) before I finally managed to hook a fish. After a nice fight our guide Nui netted my fish. It was not a snakehead but nice sized Hampala barb. A bit later Jarno caught his Hampala barb too.

Mine....

...and Jarno's Hampala barb.

After dinner I caught couple of more Marbled gobies and we both lost a small Cobra snakeheads which is one of the most rare snakehead species on the area. Jarno instead caught a nice little catfish.

Asian redtail catfish.

On the second morning I saw a school of Bonylip barbs swimming nearby and it didn’t take long to catch one. This little fish had the honor to be the species number 150 on my life list. When we were boat fishing I once again failed few bites while Jarno caught two more snakeheads. My time came when we got back to a lunch break. I saw a small school of tiny little fish I thought were some kind of sticklebacks. I dropped a size 26 hook with a tiny bit of crab between them and one of them nailed my bait immediately. Well, it was not a stickleback but a nice little gourami. I also caught a small Hampala barb and after I found a small snail to use as a bait I managed to lure up one of the Tilapias hanging around our village.

Bonylip barb (Osteochilus vittatus).

Croaking gourami (Trichopsis vittata).

Juvenile Hampala barb.

Nile tilapia, I think?

Then it was time to hit the “road” again. On our afternoon trip we put some efforts after Striped snakehead but Jarno failed to catch’em though he caught two more Giant snakeheads with Vibrax spinners and I caught one small Hampala with a frog popper. For the last couple of hours we got back to the “real” Giant snakehead waters and when there was about half an hour fishing time left I finally caught my snakehead too. It was a small specimen but I was still really happy to catch one.

You don't see me smile this widely very often.....

Night fishing in the village did not give me a single fish. I saw the whiskers of the catfish between the bamboo poles but the fish totally ignored my baits.

Because we both had already caught a Giant snakehead on the third and our last day at Khao Laem Dam we wanted to put all our efforts after Striped snakehead. Well, Jarno caught two snakeheads but again they were both Giants. He also caught two small Hampala barbs and surprisingly (yeah right) I caught nothing. To prove we were fishing at the right area our guide Nui caught two small Striped snakeheads from the spots we had already casted over.

Releasing of snakehead

Our guide Nui and a Striped snakehead (Channa striata).

On the break I once again grabbed  my little whip rod and got after the mini species. But I didn’t catch any more new species but two more Croaking gouramis. The Khao Laem Dam gave me seven new species (well the tilapia is still unidentified) which was a satisfying result. Now it was time to move on……Part 2 coming soon.

The windy Tenerife

At the middle of the February we flew to Tenerife to celebrate my father’s 60^th birthday. This was not supposed to be a fishing trip but surprisingly I could not control myself. My luggage included few t-shirts, couple of pairs of boxer shorts, maybe some other pieces of clothing and of course five rods, two reels, only one box of lures, some hooks, line, scales, tools, sabiki rigs etc. etc.

Well, cut to the chase my attempt to fish at the first morning was ruined by torrential rain. We spend the rest of the day at the theme park of Loro Parque.

One-two-three-many Sea bass at Loro Parque

Monday was my father’s birthday so we spend almost all day together. Except me and my father sneaked to fish for couple of hours. This day was not a success though I managed to catch one fish and it was a new species. At this point I was excited about it but later this species was gonna be a pain in my ass. It was an Ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo). My father also caught couple of wrasse and after he borrowed my ice fishing rod he caught also one Madeira rockfish I was jealous about.

At the end this guys were everywhere. Ornate wrasse (Thalassoma pavo)

My father with his first ever Madeira rockfish.

I started the Tuesday morning before breakfast. I had checked out the area of Playa san Telmo before and wanted to find out what was hiding at those nice looking rock pools. I baited my little mormuska with a Berkley Power Bait worm and started to bounce it between the rocks. I quickly caught few gobies and after I switched to another pool I caught few blennies and a tiny mullet too. The day had started superbly as I had caught three new species and haven’t even had my breakfast yet.

Madeira goby (Mauligobius maderensis).

Rock-pool blenny (Parablennius parvicornis).

A very very small Golden grey mullet (Liza aurata).

After breakfast I headed back to the shore. This time I went to the port of Puerto de la Cruz. My father joined me also and soon we were catching some Ornate wrasse. We both caught also couple of blennies which turned out to be Molly millers. A new species for both of us. I caught another two new species as well. They were both juvenile but species is a species no matter the size. For these fish I was using a four meter whip rod with a small piece of goby as a bait.

Molly miller (Scartella cristata).

Juvenile Zebra seabream (Diplodus cervinus cervinus).

Juvenile White trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex).

As the old swells started to climb over the wall we were fishing behind it was time to change place. At this point my father left back to the hotel and I moved to the other side of the dock. I changed to my ice fishing rod, baited my mormuska with a piece of goby and started to fish right by the harbor wall. Soon I caught couple of Madeira rockfish (another new species) and a small grouper of some kind (it’s still unidentified).

Who are You?

The port of Puerto de la Cruz.

After few more rockfish I changed the place once more. But there was nothing new to come anymore. This was a great day. Six new species and when I get the grouper identified it’s gonna be seventh….

Wednesday was a day off from fishing. We had a rental car and we were trying to drive to the Mount Teide. But surprisingly we found us among dozens of other tourist from the barrier which said the road was closed because there was too much snow on the road. So we headed to the nice little village called Masca.

There was some nice looking places on the way to the Masca.

That's Masca in the middle of the picture.

My alarm clock rang again at 5 am Thursday morning so I was fishing way before dawn. After I had caught couple of gobies for bait I headed once again to the harbor. My first drop of the mormuska brought me a hard hit and up came some kind of crab. After couple of quick pictures I dropped my mormuska back and had another hit immediately. And then it was time to yell again. A Cardinal fish was one of my target species but telling the truth I never believed in catching one.

Nice and creepy bycatch.

Cardinalfish (Apogon imberbis).

When the sun had rose I started my hunt for the Canary damsels I had saw by the wall every time I had visited here. I had tens and tens of bites but either there was bait stolen or I caught an Ornate wrasse. Man they’re fast and I think there were millions of them. Just before I was leaving for breakfast I caught one more wrasse. But this time it was not Ornate-version but Emerald wrasse.

Centrolabrus trutta.

After a nice breakfast our band hopped again to the car and we headed to the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz. There was some shopping to do. I was trying to find some fish identification books or at least some fishing magazines but my search was all fruitless.

Playa las Teresitas.

Then came the highlight of the day. We drove few kilometres to the beach of Playa las Teresitas. It was really nice looking place not least because the long breakwater at the end of the beach. While the other group headed to the beach me and my father took our fishing gear and walked to the end of the breakwater. First there was only some Ornate wrasse biting. But then I saw a school of grey fish just under the surface. I thought they were mullets and gave them a shot. I got immediate bite to my bread punch and flipped the fish up. Well it was not a mullet, it was a Bermuda sea chub. There was some Canary damsels cruising between the rocks and concentrated to catch one again. I think it took about half an hour to finally hook and land one. I think they are one of the most difficult species to hook up…

Bermuda sea chub (Kyphosus sectatrix).

Finally I caught one! Abudefduf luridus.

For a while I had watched a longish fish cruising on top of the big flat rock just in front of me. I tried to catch it at least fifteen twenty minutes but the constant movement of the waves made my bait presentation very difficult. I saw another fish on the side of the same rock. I dropped my bait blindly under the rock and had a hit right away. Wau, what a fish it was. Some kind of blenny with a huge fangs on it lower jaw. It was a Red lip blenny, one of the coolest species I’ve ever caught. This was a nice way to end the days fishing. With two new species at morning and three new at afternoon this was another successful day.

Red lip blenny (Ophioblennius atlanticus).

Like many mornings before I woke early on the two last mornings too. I caught some gobies, blennies, rockfish and couple more cardinalfish but nothing new anymore.

Madeira rockfish (Scorpaena maderensis).

All in all a nice family holiday and with pretty small efforts I managed to catch thirteen new lifers to add to my species list.

There were lot of nice rock-pools at Playa san Telmo.

Starting the 2014 season

Long time no see.

During the autumn I made several attacks after Pike but nothing worth mentioning happened. Well, I bought a fly fishing rod etc. for Pike fishing. Once I borrowed a belly boat from my friend I was totally hooked. So I was forced (yeah right) to buy a belly boat of my own as well. I caught some Pike  during the autumn but all the big ones got around me from the distance.

Me and my new toys.

Now, after a long and mild autumn the ice fishing season has finally started. I have made few bait fishing trips after a Pike but results have been crappy. After three full days trips I have landed only two smallish Pike.

Viljami with a huge Pike he caught...

At the end of  January we had a meeting of Finnish species hunters. The meeting was at the place where I had a great start for the 2012 season (You'll find the report here).

There was about fifteen of us hunting for Fourhorn sculpin, Baltic herring, Eelpout and what ever will hit our baits. During the day many of our group caught one or more lifers. I caught four new species for my 2014 lists including Smelt, Three-spined stickleback, Baltic Herring and Fourhorn sculpin. The Viviparous eelpout was one species I didn’t caught though everybody else caught at least one.

I was too lazy to take any pics at this trip. But hey, luckily you can find better report (in Finnish) and some pictures at Juha's blog.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m gonna do some serious species hunt at the Finnish waters this year again. I’m now on 10 species so the start has been quite good. Well the time will tell what I will do.

Quite soon I’m travelling to Canary Islands with my family. It’s not gonna be a serious fishing holiday but I’m still quite confident I’ll catch some new species to add to my life list as well….

Carp & surprises

After our last autumns successful carp fishing trip (http://fish-species-hunter.blogspot.fi/2012/10/late-summer-carping.html) to the southeastern Finland we decided to make new attempt this year too. First it was supposed to be only carp fishing trip but it turned out to be something even better….

Just couple of days before our trip I read from a fishing forum that there was some Siberian sturgeon stocked in the pond about a week ago. So besides the boilies, pellets and sweetcorn I packed few boxes of worms and bought couple of bags shrimps.

This time we started fishing at Thursday afternoon and continued straight to Saturday morning. After we had baited the area and set our carp gears up we decided to go to sleep so we could start float fishing early in the morning.

It was a bit chilly night because the temperature dropped all the way to zero degrees. But still we have several line bites until Viljami finally got a decent run at 3.15 am.  After a short fight I scooped a nice five kilos mirror carp to the net.

Rest of the night was much more quiet. I woke up at six thirty when it was still bit hazy. I did some rebaiting and checked my rods cause I had an feeling there would come a run at morning. And it came at half past eight. Well, it was one of Viljamis rods again. I was standing right next to his rod pod so I crabbed his rod and shouted him to continue the fight. This time it was a six kilos common carp.

Fish of the misty morning.

Before noon we baited couple of swims with pellets and some shrimps to attract the sturgeons. I had few cautious bites before I hooked my first fish. It was a strange fight. My 12 foot match rod was bended over for about five minutes and the fish made only one short run during the fight. Finally we managed to slip the fish to the landing net. And there it was, my first ever Siberian sturgeon. It was foul hooked from the anal fin but still I’m counting it as a new species. 

My first ever Sturgeon going back home...

Few hours later the bailiff Marko came to see how were we doing. He dropped some hashed worms to my swim and just ten minutes later I was on again. The fight was different than the first one and first I thought I was fighting a Tench. But soon the fish started to kite from side to side and moments later I had caught second Sturgeon of the day. This time it was hooked properly from the lip. Viljamis swim was dead as a stone so I asked him to try mine. About fifteen minutes later he also caught his first ever Sturgeon.

Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii baerii).

That's a one happy fisherman!

That was it. All we caught later was couple of small Perch.  The second night was warmer than the first one and we were sure there’s gonna be some serious carp action during the night. But how wrong can you think. There was no action at all. No runs, not even line bites. But hey, this is carp fishing. It’s not easy even at well stocked day ticket waters.

I did not catch any Carp but I caught a new species. I think the trip was even better I could imagine.

After that trip I have been fishing for Pike several times. So far my biggest one weighed 6,3 kilos so the really fat ladies have evaded me yet. My friend Ville joined me about a month ago and managed to catch a nice fish of 9,4 kilos.

That's another happy fisherman.

So far this autumn has been quite mild so I hope the Pike season will be long and fruitful….