From the Khao Laem we headed to our next
destination which was a Mae Klong River situated about 100 kilometers west from
Bangkok. Here our primary target species was a Freshwater whipray which can
reach an impressive weight of over 500kg. Jarno had booked three days of fishing so we
had fair chances to catch at least one ray.
Picture taken from our hotel balcony. We were situated right in the middle of the famous Amphawa river market.
Before we got fishing we had one days day off
which we spent sleeping of our sleep debts and checking out the shore fishing
possibilities nearby.
By this promenade was going to be our shore fishing spot for couple of afternoons.
Next morning our fishing guides picked us up
with a boat straight from our hotel door. We drove about five kilometers
downstream where the deckhands had already set our baits out. Now it was all
about waiting. Unexpectedly the first run came really soon. Jarno admitted the
first turn to me and after a few minutes easy fight our crew netted my first
ever whipray. It was a small specimen estimated about ten kilos.
A small specimen of Himantura chaophraya.
After we had released my ray Jarno and I set
up our light rods and tried to catch some smaller species. We caught one small
catfish each. Then our guide had a call that there was bigger fish on at one of
our baits.
Arius nenga. I didn't find any english name for it.
A bait used for rays.
Well it was Jarno’s turn to fight a fish and
what a fight it was. It took little bit less than an hour of sweating and
huffing and puffing until we could see the fish first time. As you can see from
the following video the landing of the ray was not easy either. It was a one
massive fish!
Quite soon after Jarno’s ray had majestically
glided back to her own element there came another bite. It was my turn again
and the guides estimated the fish to be between 50 to 100 kilos. Sadly the
super strong Owner Mutu hook snapped after a few minutes fight. Well you can’t
have all, can’t you?
A bit bigger specimen. Estimated to 210kg.
This fight ended way too soon....
Since we had some fishing time left we went
back to the shore to wait new bites. While awaiting we casted our light rods
out again. I caught only one fish but how cool it was. It was a Spotted green
goby and it looked just like a soft bait with a green glitter inside it.
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus. Look at the glitter on it!
There was no more ray bites to come and we
headed back to our hotel. In the afternoon we headed to the promenade of Amphawa
to do some fishing. Soon I spotted couple of archerfishes cruising on the
surface. I dropped my hook baited with bread near to them I they vanished
immediately. But then something unexpected happened. My float dived under and
the result was a Smallscale archerfish, one of the coolest species I’ve ever
caught.
Smallscale archerfish (Toxotes microlepis).
A bit later Jarno decided to leave back to the
hotel since he haven’t caught a single fish. I stayed and it was a right decision.
I found a nice little eddy by the river wall and managed to catch four fish
from there. The best part was than all of them were different species. One of
them was another archerfish and the three new species were Silver barb, Red
tailed tinfoil and Spotted scat. I also dropped few fish on the lift cause the
wall was about two meters high and I didn’t have any landing net with me. At
least one of the fish I dropped would be a new species.
Red tailed tinfoil barb (Barbonymus altus).
Very rough looking Java barb (Barbonymus gonionotus).
Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus).
Day two at the river was a bit quieter. We had
only one run on our ray baits and since I lost last fish day before it was my
turn again. It was not a huge fish this time either but I managed to double my
whipray record with a fish estimated to twenty kilos.
The release.
It was quiet with the light rods also. Jarno
caught one more catfish, one Tinfoil barb (new species) and from the delta of
the river he caught a small breamlike fish which later identified as a Pacific
seabream. I also caught one new species (still unidentified) when I lifted up a
tiny little catfish with my whip rod.
This little fellow is still unidentified.
On the afternoon shore fishing trip we focused
to catch a needlefish that were cruising on the surface. There was lot of them
but they were not easy to catch. Still Jarno managed to catch two of them quite
quickly and I really struggled with them. The only way to have their interest
was to pull the worm rapidly from the front of them and if they hit you just
had to hope the hook will stay on their bony beak. It was almost time to left
back to hotel when I finally caught one also.
Jarnos Spottail needlefish.
Strongylura strongylura
On day three we had plenty of time to fish
with our light tackle cause we didn’t have any bites on the ray baits. We
parked to the pier of the big hotel. There was also a nice looking river wall.
By the wall we caught few Spotted scats. It was a new species for Jarno. We
also tried to fish from the deeper water but it was apparently the kingdom of
the “nenga-catfish”. Then I found out that the hotel had a small pond on their
property too and there was some fish swimming on it. I think that the pond had
a connection to the river too. From the pond I managed to catch two more Red
tailed tinfoils and as a new species one Tinfoil barb and an Blue tilapia. So
after all it was not so bad day at all.
Tinfoil barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii).
Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus).
When we got back to the hotel it was again
time to pack our bags and head back to Bangkok where we had couple of more
fishing days booked.
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.
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 grabbedmy 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.
At the middle of the February we flew to Tenerife
to celebrate my father’s 60th 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.
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.
