Thailand Fishing

[daleyboy]

Gday raiders,

Me and a mate are thinking about organising a fishing trip to thailand for a week or so sometime later this year.

Having never been there, nor knowing anyone thats been there, i was hoping some raiders might be able to give us some pointers on particular places to look at ... and more importantly ... the best time of year to go.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

And if theres anyone out there whos interested in a similar type of trip let me know, the more the merrier!

[andrew399]

Hey mate, I grew up over there because of my parents work. There are heaps of options, just do a google search. Phuket would probably be my pic, doing a weeks game charter. There is a brilliant sailfish fishery over there, and i think from memory november is the best time...but id check up on that because im not sure where i got that from. Apart from that there is good wahoo, dolphin fish, and gt's. then if you are interested in bottom bashing or shark fishing the list goes on. That would be a great trip!

[Guest]

Hve a look at this post from a few years ago Donna and I went on

http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.ph...c=11619&hl=

Cheers Stewy

[Beaver]

Gday Daleyboy

I was over in phuket last xmas. I went on a half day charter and we only got a couple of small tuna on the troll. I think that's par for the cheaper half day tours. My advice would be to pay more and go on a 3 day or longer tour chasing sailfish etc. There's heaps of charter operators over there and you can just book it when you arrive. Good luck and watch out for the ladyboys

[Zerko]

I just came back from Thailand for my wedding/honeymoon.

Managed to sneak in a couple of fishing outings. One was a sort of buck's thing.

Went on a day charter with these guys http://www.mahimahi.as/ I was told before we went that it would be hard to catch any sailfish at this time of the year. We ended up catching a heap of small tuna. Pretty easy going on their heavy gear. It's even quite funny sitting in the big game chair or strapping on the gimbal for ~1kg fish. Tried for bigger stuff, but not even a touch. As a day out for non-fisherpeople, it was fantastic. A great thai lunch, including ultra-fresh tuna sashimi and tom yum soup using the caught fish. Session also included snorkelling.

These guys operate from Chalong Bay (30 mins from Phuket) and have a great boat. Skipper and crew are very experienced and very nice. Gear is quality Shimano gear. Cost 25,000 THB (approx $AU830) for 8 people.

Also went for a half day with this mob http://www.biggame-fishingthailand.com/. I was shopping and noticed the booklet outside their tour office. Had never tried this kind of fishing before, so it was a chance to try something new. They go for Giant Mekong Catfish. Using a burley cage and bread. You can see the mouthes of the catfish in the water. It's pretty cool, but not really exciting as chasing pelagics. More like trying to pull in a slow-moving steam train. Ended up hooking on to a 20kg+ model as well as a few ~10kg fish. All catch and release.

You can actually go to the "fishing park" without a guide taking you, but you will need your own gear. Apparently, there a many fishing parks throughout Thailand. The one we were at was called Bor Sang.

Not nearly as good value as the charter at 1600 THB per person, half-day, no lunch, but something different.

We also went on a canoe trip through the caves, and being mad keen, couldn't help my self when the boat stopped to make lunch. They dropped everyone off for a swim at the beach, but I paddled back and hung with the crew as they fished off the side. They only had one rod, but I wanted to see what they were going for. They were only picking up small trevally. Undersized and punishable in Australia, but kept non-the-less. I had brought some slices of bread with me from breakfast solely for the purpose of feeding fish, that was bringing in small garfish. I got them to rig me up a handline. All they had was heavy line and not-quite-small-enough hooks, but I managed to get them about 6. Not exactly sport fishing, but still fun.

I've got pics, but you will get the idea from the web links.

If I was to go again, as suggested, I would book a 3-day charter. You need the extra time to go out further and chase the big stuff.

[Zerko]

Just reading mrsswordfisherman's post, our experience was very similar, but without the big fish. Still, highly recommended.