It has been a few months since I last got the urge to indulge in a spot of fishing but today I finally made an effort, and really pleased that I did!
The last week has seen temperatures around the Udon Thani area drop to as low as about 9 degrees C at nights, which made me wonder just how much of an impact this would have on the fishing.
The last week has seen temperatures around the Udon Thani area drop to as low as about 9 degrees C at nights, which made me wonder just how much of an impact this would have on the fishing.
Phon fishing lake is close to our home and coincidentally one of my favourite places to go fishing in and around Udon Thani. It is not a large lake, maybe 200m long x 60m wide, and I am not sure how deep it is although most lakes around here are not much more than 4 or 5 feet. I arrived at about 10:30am and the place was void of anglers (nothing new at that time of day) and the first thing I noticed was the lack of fish activity on the lakes surface, as there is normally fish rolling around all over the lake - not today though. It appears the drop in temperature does indeed put them off making their presence known.
I rigged up as usual and tried my luck all the same, but for the next 90 minutes nothing happened other than me chucking in more free offerings. This was the signal for me to get something to eat myself and once that was done, I resumed in my pursuit of some catfish. About 30 minutes later I had the first 'run' of the day, resulting in a nice fat Catfish of about 10kg. To appreciate the size of the fish, the landing net is about 16 inches wide. This fish was very fat at the front, where most of the weight was packed on, and a fish this long normally weighs in at around 6 - 7kg.
The lake appeared to come to life as I dragged in another 'cat', but this was was much smaller, no more than perhaps 4.5kg. Another 15 minute wait saw another 'run' and this time it was like hitting a train, at it swam away at some rate of knots. This fish, however, soon gave up the fight but I knew it was a not a tiddler. One landed, it became quite obvious why it gave up the battle quite quickly - it was too fat to fight! This beauty had weight from it's head to its tail and was built like a submarine. It weighed just a fraction under 15kg! My new personal best in Thailand.
The session saw a downhill trend after that, with just one more 'tiddler' of perhaps 3kg, then nothing for two hours, at which point I decided to pack in and leave it for another day.
All the fish were caught on a very basic 'Bolt Rig' with bread on the hook and used as a groundbait. Fishing does not need to be complicated here as the fish are almost always very happy to feed.
Throughout the day though, very few fish rolled on the surface, something I was paying a lot of attention to, due to the recent weather, and something noted for future sessions.
I cannot hide my joy with today for two reasons - 1. Personal best fish as highlighted above but more importantly.... 2. The biggest Catfish I have seen anyone catch in this lake has been about 8kg - there are not supposed to be any real 'biggies' in the lake, according to the owners, but it is now nice to know there are some present and I dare say there are bigger fish than what I have caught today swimming around just waiting to be hooked. I will be back to try and find them some time in the new year after the water has warmed up a bit more.
For a little more information on fishing in and around Udon Thani, I have a fishing page you can visit.
The session saw a downhill trend after that, with just one more 'tiddler' of perhaps 3kg, then nothing for two hours, at which point I decided to pack in and leave it for another day.
All the fish were caught on a very basic 'Bolt Rig' with bread on the hook and used as a groundbait. Fishing does not need to be complicated here as the fish are almost always very happy to feed.
Throughout the day though, very few fish rolled on the surface, something I was paying a lot of attention to, due to the recent weather, and something noted for future sessions.
I cannot hide my joy with today for two reasons - 1. Personal best fish as highlighted above but more importantly.... 2. The biggest Catfish I have seen anyone catch in this lake has been about 8kg - there are not supposed to be any real 'biggies' in the lake, according to the owners, but it is now nice to know there are some present and I dare say there are bigger fish than what I have caught today swimming around just waiting to be hooked. I will be back to try and find them some time in the new year after the water has warmed up a bit more.
For a little more information on fishing in and around Udon Thani, I have a fishing page you can visit.