Siam Fishing Tours Our Story

Jules A 60LB+ Giant Mekong Catfish It was just another steamy Bangkok Night, in 2005 when your hosts, Jules (above), Phil and Damian (right) had an idea whilst propping up a bar. Lets buy a house on a lake and invite our friends fishing!We had all discovered the joys of life in Thailand many years earlier, but despite Phil and Jules enthusiasm for fishing in the UK, and particularly our childhood fondness of chasing the carp in various lakes in the Darenth Valley, we had never considered taking fishing seriously in Thailand. Perhaps it was the buzz of Bangkok Nightlife, or the spicy food, or a host of other distractions, that kept us from the monster carp and catfish lurking not more than a stones throw away, in the depths of some very unsuspecting looking waters.Whatever it was, despite numerous visits to Thailand, it was 7 lost fishing years before we discovered the joys of fishing Bungsam Lan, VS Fishing Park and the many other locations in Thailand that we have now explored, it was a while before we realised that there were some lakes no larger than puddles with 100LB carp and catfish the size of Wales (and whales) swimming around in them! Not to mention 400LB Arapiama! What had we been missing???? What have you been missing?But 2005 was different, we had began a journey that would change our lives forever. For the first time ever I had decided to embark on my annual Asian travels with my fishing rods & tackle, much to the distain of my travelling companions, who felt it was... well , a bit impolite to say the least to be travelling with such troublesome items, whose carrying the beer seemed to be the major concern! But this time I was not going to be swayed from my mission, which was to give some of this Asian fishing we had all read and heard so much about a try. The (Not so) Mighty Cauvery River: India Our travels in fact began in India that year. We had all heard about yet another Carp species, the mighty Mahseer, of India's Northern and Southern Rivers, so after a lazy week or so in Goa, we hopped on an internal flight and headed south-east over the Western Ghats to Bangalore, and after a weekend struggling with the city heat and dirt and struggling to find a curry house, we were thankfully, in a jeep heading out into the wilderness. After a bumpy 4 hour journey, we was sitting on the banks of the Cauvery River, looking into its murky depths for signs of life, but all that glared back was the Crocs! Whilst over our shoulders Panthers lurked in the shadows! Not an ideal family destination! For 5 long days we placed our lines in that river from dawn 'til noon, from 4 'til dark. We managed a measly two Mahseer the first being of about 1LB, and another of 12LB. In fairness a fellow angler did have a 70LBer whilst we was there, even so one large fish amongst 6 anglers in 6 days was not as we had hoped for.Jules with his hi-tec methods, Kerala; India. It wasn't until some weeks later, after I had been reduced to fishing the Kerala Backwaters with a broomstick, the other two having confiscated my fishing rods after our Cauvery experience, and partly as punishment for not consuming enough beer! That we decided to depart to Bangkok, upon arrival we were straight out for a night on the town, (which is another story!) We made our way to Bungsam Lan thru the head pounding traffic the following morning, hangovers in tow.Bungsam Lan - The broomstick had the correct test curve! What a Hangover cure! No, that's not a snag Phil's into, it's the first fish of the day, a 45LB catfish, which was followed by another, then another and another.........this carried on for the rest of the morning, and by lunchtime we hardly had the energy to cast a rod! If we didn't have a 40LB to 60LB Cat in the net, we was getting cracked off on 80LB Braid, by fish that are simply unstoppable! As keen Anglers Phil and I were just lost for words. Perhaps it was a freak days fishing? But when we returned the next day, within 2 minutes of our baits hitting the water the action just started all over again. By the end of the 2nd day myself and Phil had landed in excess of a 1000LB of Catfish to 65LB. We were hooked! Were all the lakes in Thailand like this? And the rest as they say is history! So....why not come and join us in the land of smiles as our adventure begins? There are lakes and rivers in abundance throughout Thailand, and everyday we and our guests are discovering new places, some of which have hardly seen a westerners fishing rod, we are catching more and learning more, its only a matter of time before one of us breaks a world record! We know where the record breakers are, we want you to help us catch them. Our story has only just begun, and we want you to be part of it.Siam Fishing Tours are organised and run by Julian Fernandez, Philip Green & Damian Humphreys

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