Fly Fishing In Thailand

[administrator]

You just have to smile at the gregarious way in which families approach everything. This is how my first day fishing on the farm went.

'Dollink, why don't you fish in the lakes on the farm?'

'I would like to, dearest heart. I now have one of my fly rods here so I can try my favourite method of fishing.'

'Dollink, fish in Thailand not like farang fish. They no eat flies.'

'Well dearest, some of them must eat larvae and even small fish. I really would like to see how fly fishing goes. What is the natural food that the fish in the khlongs eat?'

'Banana and rice.'

'Hmm, might have known.'

I set off on my own down the lane to the farm, noticing family members getting into brother-in-law's pick up but thinking nothing of it. I walked around the first lake, picked a spot and, before I had a fly on my line, they all arrived. The invasion progressed by degrees. Firstly, huge chunks of fruit were lobbed continually into the best shaded corner where I knew a large fish lurked. That ruled out my first plan and I moved further round the lake. Then, I was given a glass of whisky and soda, a distraction fairly easily ignored, unlike the young children who got caught up in the fly line loops on the ground as they accurately positioned themselves in the path of my back cast.

This was not turning out to be the quiet, peaceful period of experimentation that I had hoped for, but worse was yet to come. With a whoosh and a splash, accompanied by what was probably muttered praise for the caster's accuracy, one of those darned nets spun out across the water into an area to which I was casting. When I prepared to move, net man moved on before me.

The last remaining drops of patience and determination evaporated with the dulcet tones of Mrs Saf rolling across the water, repeating her expert advice, 'Dollink, Thai fish no eat farang flies. Try pork.'

I gave up and left them to their splashing, yelling and, presumably, eating. However, I had a cunning plan. One hour before sunset, the time when a rise often occurs, I sneaked back on my own. It pleases me to be able to say that I caught what may well have been a small perch. Course fishing is not interesting to me so my skills of identification don't extend that far. However, I proved that fish can be caught on the fly in Thai lakes. Now I can experiment quietly to see how to improve my catch rate and the fish size. Thankfully, no-one in the family is at all interested.

[FranklyB]

Nice story saf

we have a fish pond on the farm which had large numbers of fish we needed to take out, for market, so we got a net, and the cousin was going to do the work, so i went and got some fish food, and was about to threw it in when arrived a family members truck with about 10 eager beavers, coming to help with a catch net of about 7 metres in width, what was a simple job of catching them turned out to be a major logistical farce, with all helpul chappies jumping in and being placed in strategic points of the pond, may i point the pond is four metres deep the net was two metres in length, well after about three hours of my wifes friends and family happily going about there carefree life, and being told to stop, as we had enough, but being told no problem we sell very quickly, finally they stopped and you guessed, having to give there families some of the catch, my wife and her cousin finally set off on there trip to market at approx 1

prices were

Tilapia 50 baht per kilo
Kingfish 60 baht per kilo

there was approx 120 kilo in a plastic ice boxes

guess what they did not make it to the market, they decided to make a detour, of all surrounding villages, and stop and have something to eat, well after about 4 hrs they returned home, after spending about 200 baht on ice, opens the box, to find approx 85kilo of fish left, before setting off they were informed no credit allowed, what a lot of good that turned out to be how much you make i ask, no-one want to buy i am told to expensive, why you not make more cheap, even though they decided the price, well i say you have to go and sell fish in market tomorrow morning around 5am Huh being the response , well locals coming now to buy on credit, i can see a major arguement arising soon.
next morning i am up and waking wife come on i say wake up, her cousin arrives prompt wife lazily wakes and before setting off, i inform them just to sell as fish cheap as there looking tired,and weathered.

well i will not tell you how much they made only to say i felt embarresed for them.

i left the rest of fish in the pond, when was up there last week the pond water had of drastically reduced in vulome, even though we have a water pump and well beside the pond, and dead fish floating on top of pond.

oh well all in a days life here, i happily just just sit and watch my euca grow now, waiting for when i sell for timber, that will be a major develpment.