March was a marvelous month for Exotic Fishing Thailand with the arrivals of some very special fish , some new and old friends ,and even a celebrity visitor.
The introduction of Siamese Carp over 50 kilos is an important step for EFT. As with all our fish shipments we took great care to slowly adjust the water temperature in the trucks so the fish would have minimal shock when introduced to their new environment .
Exotic Fishing Thailand has already established itself as one of the top Exotic species fisheries in Thailand and are now in the process to improve our Siamese carp fishery to be on the same level or better than the other 2 premium Siamese Carp fisheries . There is no question that currently more carp over 100lbs are caught at Gillham's Fishery followed by Jurassic Fish park .. EFT will continue to add huge Siamese as we have done with all our other species until we reach our goal.
All our new Carp were carefully electronically chipped so that we can positively identify them as they are caught and do not need to weight them again . We always spray chipped fish with an anti infection violet spray after insertion and also always spray all our fish after netting .
It wasn't easy to coordinate as I also helped net the fish in Bangkok before they were shipped, but I am happy i timed things the way I did so that fishing legend John Wilson was at EFT to help welcome these beautiful fish
John and I even managed a tricky photo with 2 of the monster carp at the same time .
That wasn't the only 2 fish photo . as John Wilson's expertise caught him a double header Walking Catfish and Amazon Redtail pic
John also managed to land one of our many Arapaimas.. He was very taken back by the resort with "stunning" being his favorite way to describe EFT ..What a great compliment from someone who has fished some of the most beautiful places in the world . I cant wait to hear all the other very positive comments he has in his upcoming book on Thai fisheries.
Speaking of beautiful fisheries John explained that he has now finished his own piece of paradise at his own lake in Chumphon southern Thailand .. We are looking forward to offering packages to fish both EFT and Paradise lake [Bung Sawan] in the coming months ..Keep an eye on our website for further details at www.exoticfishingthailand.com..
It wasn't just about monster fish deliveries in March . We were also working very hard to make improvements to all our concrete swims. We extended all 16 of them and also added steps for safe entry and exit into the lake for fish photos. We originally built EFT to a very high standard but we always listen to our customers requests and try to improve even small details where and when we can .
Our busy customers caught 477 fish in March for 78 angler days fished .. Our catch rate for March was therefore 6+ fish per angler day with 29 different species netted. One of the highlights being that 88 Arapaima were caught which is more than one per customer . This was the most Arapaima ever caught in one month and was a direct result of us stocking another 15 Arapaima all of which were over 40 kilos . We didn't really want to stock more fish so soon , but these fish grow so incredibly fast and frankly we were running out of room in our stock ponds.
Michel Kowalski was a new customer who visited us with his brother Daniel and their wives. Michel "said" he caught the first fish which was this nice Asian Redtail
Daniel "said" he caught the first fish which was this Amazon Redtail ..
This brotherly banter continued throughout the day with the 2 of them even jostling over another Asian Redtail photo opportunity .
Daniel's Wife was getting a little bored with the brotherly battle and decided to head into the kitchen to take one of our Thai cooking classes . As with all customers she received a certificate of participation and a list of recipes and ingredients for the dishes she cooked
After a delicious Thai lunch cooked by his wife Daniel was all smiles when he caught this rare Wallagoo Attu on a fish bait.
Michel of course had to out do Daniel with his first ever Arapaima..
The day ended well and even the 2 brothers joined our guides in a team photo
Our good friend Martin was back and was eagerly targeting more new species . he was off to a great start with this beautiful Goonch
I am not sure if there is an official name but we call this an albino/silver Chao Phraya Catfish which is some kind of cross breed or breeder modified Chao Phraya..
Not a big fish but another new species for our Belgian friend was this Bony lipped barb
Martin has caught Arapaima every visit to EFT and never gets bored of them as you can see me his big smile .
Martin and Lek celebrating a good team effort .. Its great to see the guides and customers having a great time together
This Russian angler was making very good use of our newly modified swims and steps landing 8 Arapaima in one day to set a new EFT Arapaima record ..
The record had stood at 5 fish with a 3 way tie for quite some time , but within 3 days of stocking the new fish the record went to 6 , 7 and then finally 8 where it still stands ..
Another one of the record 8 Arapaima in one day ...
A Japanese customer with this very nice Alligator Gar .
The same angler also landed his first Arapaima guided by Neil Robinson of Fishing Khao lak
Another Alligator Gar for Martin who was visiting with his partner Jo
Martin also landed several Amazon Redtails
It wasnt just the men catching as Jo also landed a nice fish
Speaking of lady anglers, Lorine Mohammed deserves an honourable mention for her fish fighting efforts .
Lorine was visiting with her husband Barrie and friends and did a great job of fighting this fish which really gave her a run for her money .
The end result was a very nice Siamese carp .The fun group landed a mixed bag of fish but unfortunately no Arapaima. They have warned us they will be back :):)
Another group who were enjoying our food as much as their fishing were Warren Ferrington with family and friends
It wasn't just food though , as they did hook and land several nice fish
This included an Arapaima for a good Thai friend of theirs.
Kim Nilsson of Denmark visited us for the first time with his son Nikolas and daughter Natasha.. It was only a few minutes before Nikolas hooked into something huge
After a 30 minute battle this stunning Arapaima was in the cage ready for a photo
The rest of the day was obviously anti climactic for Nikolas with his several Amazon Redtails
Dad started small with an Albino Pacu
He continued along same lines with a Bony lipped barb
Things improved and Kim was very happy with a Goonch
Kim returned for 3 days and finally landed his first Arapaima after a mixed bag of fish .. Patience does pay off:)
Lars from Ao Nang visited on the same day as Kim Nilsson along with his friend Tobias .. It was definitely "Danish Day " with very customer on the lake being from Denmark :)
Lars landed an awesome Alligator Gar and needed no help for the photo . A word of warning though to customers when lifting a big Gar as their scales are very rough so maybe wear a long sleeved shirt..
Tobias was a very patient angler which was good as the fishing was slow until mid afternoon . Once the fish started to bite he landed several Siamese carp quite close together
After the Siamese Tobias's luck had definitely changed as he hooked into something bigger
After several runs and head shaking leaps he finally got his target Arapaima
Tom Roche was visiting us for the first time and had a great day catching 11 fish of 8 different species . This kind of day really shows off what EFT is all about .. Tom landed 4 different Catfish species including Amazon Redtails , African walking Catfish . Goonch and this awesome Piraiba Catfish
Tom also landed a very colourful Tambaqui .
His favorite fish though was of course this Arapaima.
This Giant Snakehead was yet another predator which came out on the float and lum method ..It made that fatal mistake of attacking fry which were eating the lum and getting caught in the act .. We use a very short leader and 90% of the fish are hooked perfectly
World Judo champion Lukas Krpalek from the Czech Republic visited us with his fiancee Eva and friends and family for an amazing afternoon . He started his catch report with a nice Alligator Gar
His father was next to catch with an Asian Redtail
Next up was their first Arapaima with everyone in for a photo ..
Lukas put his judo moves on this fish which ended up to be their big fsh for the afternoon
We wish Lukas and Eva well and hope they consider EFT if they have a fishing honeymoon :)..
Our good friend Koen from Belgium was back catching some really awesome fish with some Pbs and new species mixed in ..This Giant Snakehead was just one of his many quality fish ..
A beautiful Siamese for Koen on the lum and poly ball combo
Koen was smiling from ear to ear when he landed yet another fish on the float and a Wallagoo Leeri to boot .
Next up and more smiles for a Chao Phraya Catfish
Another cool catch was this Goonch Catfish .. Not big but it had an amazing colour pattern and a very rare fish to catch anywhere but especially in a lake..
More smiles and a fat Amazon Redtail
Another Chao Phraya Catfish which are even more fun to catch at night :)
Koen has caught many Arapaima but has a smile for every one.
This fish had a really nice red colour to it . I cant wait to see i when it reaches 100kg
Koen's Arapaimas got bigger every catch
When he hooked this fish just before 7pm I was hoping it would be his biggest of his visit..
Sure enough Koen had saved the biggest for last with this awesome Arapaima
Famed tattoo artist Matt Jordan caught the first fish of his visit and got a great photo here with his little guy and a nice Amazon Redtail.
Matt was very happy with his next fish . A good sized Arapaima
What happened next surprised us all .
It was ladies day as Matt's partner landed one of the biggest Chao Phraya catfish I have seen come out of EFT so far .. The most exciting part was that this fish was stocked at under 30kg only 2 years ago and is now clearly over 50 maybe even 55 kg.
March madness continued with Mark Fox hooking into another monster from swim 11
We have also had some big Chao Phraya from this swim before but when this fish surfaced it was yet another big Arapaima for the month
I dont have a photo of Mark's other Arapaima but I did manage a pic of this redtail tiger cross he caught
Mark's friend Spencer also landed a nice sized Arapaima , so a busy day for these 2 Brits ..
Match anger Mark visiting us with his friend Geoff and after experimenting with some rigs landed his first Arapaima
Our Good friend and fellow Canadian Kenny visited with Neil, Flob and the boys from Rawai and caught this Arapaima
Kenny like most Canadians;) has no problems catching Arapaima and managed one on both days he visited
Kenny also managed a couple of very nice Siamese to round out a couple of good days fishing .
Peter Stevenson visited us for the first time .His first EFT fish an Amazon Redtail
Next up for Peter was a beautifully coloured Giant Snakehead.
Last but not least a beauty of an Arapaima to finish off the trip
Sean Seddon visiting with Peter landed a beautiful Spotted Featherback as one of 14 fish and 7 different species for their 2 days of fishing ..I wish I could find some worms as I am sure we would clean up on the Featherbacks as they love the things
Next up was an Asian Redtail which Sean got in some kind of a head lock:).
Not the best photo but a nice Siamese from his list
A chunky Amazon Redtail gave him a good scrap , but not as good as his next fish
This colourful predator was Sean's fish of the trip .. and of course his target species
Razmuz Pedesen landed 5 Arapaima 4 Amazon Redtails and 1 Siamese also on "Denmark day" . I was wondering who the other Dane was as I was wring this :)
Razmus with his first Arapaima
His second fish was almost identical .Both were most likely part of the new stocking we had just done
More Arapaima and this time for Marku from Finland who caught 6 along with 1 Albino Pacu
Here is number 2 of 6
Another Arapaima from his busy day.
Robert from England was visiting with Martin and landed his first Arapaima.
This Amazon Redtail was another of his 6 fish total for the day .
Martin also landed an Arapaima but this wasn't his first bite for the day . Apparently he had been chased by a monkey as he was going to his taxi somewhere in his hotel and managed to escape with just a few scratches ..
Martin also got in on the catfish action but with an Asian rather than an Amazon Redtail . His catch report also shows a Piraiba Catfish but sadly no photo :(
Aaron Heller visited from Australia on a mission to catch his dream Arapaima . As with most anglers who are extremely eager to catch that fish of a lifetime he had to wait until his final day .. Mission accomplished though with this brute of a fish .Unfortunately this is the only pic I have from his visit with his friend Scott but at least it was the right photo .
Don't forget that EFT is fun for the whole family , so make sure to bring your kids fishing . EFT is still the only resort with a family special with 4 rods for 7000 baht .Make sure to also keep an eye open for our "Take a Child Fishing Initiative" coming soon ...
That brings to an end a busy March report with a mad number of Arapaimas and lots of other great fish . If you are looking for more information on our resort please take a look at our website at www.exoticfishingthailand.com where we have lots of info and even an "ask mike" section which I hope is helpful ..
You can also book online through the website booking form or email us direct at exoticfishingthailand@gmail.com . You can also book by phone at +[66] 883799377 from overseas or from a Thai number 0883799377 ..We hope to welcome you here soon
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