The Mission - The name 'Shawn Moffitt' will be familiar to those who follow Fish Thailand's catch reports. Shawn usually comes once a year with a friend fishing in Thailand - each time making Fish Thailand's job harder to better the last years catches! It has only been two months since Shawn's last annual fishing holiday in Thailand and here he is again already! You can't keep a keen angler away! Shawn's goal this trip is to fish for only BIG Mekong catfish and Siamese carp, followed by a species hunt of those Shawn has never caught before.
Bungsamran Fishing Bangkok - Of course for the BIG mekong catfish and Siamese giant carp the obvious venue was Bungsamran Lake in Bangkok. Fishing the Big Fish Style which Fish Thailand is renowned for, two days were planned for fishing here. Both days were spent fishing on the upgrade bungalows with extra rods fishing the 'waiting game.' Although not too much waiting was required as Mekong catfish to 104lb came on the first day and 84lb came on the second day. Between these two fabulous fish came another 25 fish over the two days between 40lb - 55lb. The Siamese carp still eludes Shawn as none were caught here - but Shadow Lake awaits for the last day; first......off to the Predator Lake at Ratchaburi.
Predator Fishing Ratchaburi - Also known as 'IT lake monsters' is a beautiful large lake set in the countryside of Ratchaburi. This is the most amazing and diverse predator fishing in Thailand and where Shawn caught most of his new species from. An early start followed by a two hour drive and The Fish Thailand Team arrived to begin fishing at 8a.m. The day before Eddy Mounce had been gathering the 'ingredients' for the predator fishing session in the form of 30 mackerel, 6 carp, 4 boxes of worms, stink bait & wait for it........................ buffalo blood ...yes...buffalo blood! By chumming the swim with blood and rubby dubby, the chances of a big snakehead are increased. A technique not seen by many anglers but maybe now more will use this method and enjoy some great catches because of it. Clever and evolved rigs were also used in certain situations and at certain times of the day, which all together produced consistent fishing. Several fish were caught off the mark including pacu, arapaima & alligator gar. The next fish was perhaps the most remarkable catch of the year for Fish Thailand - even more outstanding than the world's biggest carp caught by a female angler guided by Fish Thailand in January '08........ a 24lb (11Kg) giant snakehead. Pro-guide 'Golf' & Eddy along with Shawn himself just so happen to be absolutely crazy about snakehead - you can only imagine the scene as this trio clapped eyes for the first time on the enormous snakehead! Redtail catfish and a rare 'pla kot kang' followed along with another 7 arapaima resulting in .....
8 arapaima, 1 redtail catfish, 1 pla kot kang, 3 pacu, 2 alligator gar, 1 snakehead.
Shadow Lake Fishing Bangkok - Shawn's final day fishing in Thailand was spent at Shadow Lake - a venue he is very fond of. The target was to try and catch that elusive Siamese carp of any size - just needed to get one! A mix of ram with curry powder, strawberry additive, chopped worms and corn oil made for a tantalizing mix which brought the fish on the feed immediately. Half a dozen huge striped catfish to over 40lb later Shawn caught his first Siamese carp - just a small one but delightful none the less. Later in the day a shark catfish of about 12lb fell to the curry mix, looking at the pictures one would be forgiven for thinking it was a striped catfish - but it is indeed a different and not so common species - with quite a 'kick' to it!
