I made it this time (Dec 12) to go fishing at Bungsamran for Giant Siamese Carp (Pla Kaho) with Joseph and the gang. We rented a chalet (#2) and decided to fish 3 rods, 1 rod targeting the Giant Siamese Carp and the other 2 rods for Striped Catfish, Pla Sawai (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and Giant Mekong Catfish, Pla Buek (Pangasianadon gigas).
We started the day by mixing our bait of rice bran (lum in thai) with additives for Pla Buek and landed the first one within minutes. However, we were all eagerly waiting in anticipation for the “Giant Siamese Carp” rod to go because we can see from the surface of the water that we have Giant Siamese Carps in the vicinity where we cast our bait.
We didn’t have to wait long before the drag on the setup went in a long run and upon hook up, we guess it was a Giant Siamese Carp from its run. We managed to land the Giant Siamese Carp after about 20 minutes of fight but it decided to take of before we could take any pictures.
I know some of you reading this will find this hard to believe without pictures to prove our catch. Anyway, we learn from our mistake, we didn’t bring the Giant Siamese Carp “in” far enough on the platform of the chalet. It decided to do a little dance on the platform before it slipped back into the water. Although the hook was still in the mouth, we were not fast enough to fight it out of the pillars of the next chalet and it ended up with a burst line!
Pictures tell a thousand words but sad to say we don’t have any to share. A price catch bundled with the facts that this is the first time without a guide, it’s a big achievement given the facts we are still considered “not so experienced”.
Anyway, that happened to be the only Giant Siamese Carp to be hook up that day. The rest of the day belonged to the Pla Buek and Pla Sawai and the rod that went flying into the water after it was pulled in by a Pla Buek because we got the drag setting wrong. The workers at Bungsamran spent an hour before a guy on a boat in the middle of the lake managed to retrieve it with the Pla Buek still on. They brought the whole setup back to us and we landed the Pla Buek too!
Guess it’s going to be sometime before I head back to fishing at Bungsamran for Giant Siamese Carp again. Some pictures to share with all during our trip.
