My thirteen day Thai fishing adventure(day eleven)

[SIMPLE MAN]

Ham and eggs again this morning and Damian turns up on the dot at 8.15 and 30min later we are back at Bungsamran,As yesterday Boosong is there in less than a minute,barrow loaded and we are back to no 29 bungalow,when we arrive Boosong says that no29 is booked for tommorrow so where would i like to fish ,This was my fault as the guys at siamfishingtours had had me down for four days fishing from the shed but i decided to go after the big mekongs and the bungalows offer the best chance,also if i was fishing from the shed and had thrown two sacks of lum in some one else could of turned up and fished where i had baited and i would be back to square one and they would be fishing over £25 worth of bait,After a quick chat Boosong said no 1 was free the next day and 29 was again free the day after, Boosong also said that he knew the guy who would be fishing 29 the next day and that he too would be bottom fishing so the bait would still be going in the swim,so i agreed and Boosong was straight on the phone sorting it out for me,and again for the next 30min i sat back while he mixed up and prepared my bait,It seemed quite slow this morning but then most people say that nothing much ever seems to happen before 11.00 anyway and sure enough at 11.00ish one of the rods bends right round i go to pick it up but Boosong is there before me and after hitting it passes me the rod and says mr pacu now i had caught a few of these all around Thailand but none of them were much over 5lb and this was definitely a bit bigger and took me 7-8min before i got it to the net and sure enough it was turned out to be my biggest pacu of the trip at 13 1/2lb


Over the next couple of hours i have a couple of those sawai at 20lb and 26lb and its now nearing dinner time,i am just thinking of what if anything to have when the nearest rod starts to bend round and Boosong is on it like a shot and after hitting it three or four times hands me the rod with a big grin on his face and says mr mekong John big mr mekong John big fish and before i can say a word he is blowing down the pole for half of Bangkok to know that we are in to a big fish and i am not sure but it feels bigger than the fish i had yesterday,this thing just cruised off to the far right and then out 30-40yrds and then back right again and after 20min i had to ask Boosong to pour some water over my head as i was in danger of sweating so much that i couldnt see a thing,a further 10 min or so and at last i am making ground but this is turning out to be a real battle,just when you think you have got the better of it it turns and goes on another run and all the line that i have took 10min to gain is gone again,after all the reading that i have done on these fish i am now sampling the raw power of these fish,at the 40min mark i now have it under my rod but i still have not seen it and i am putting a lot of effort in to just turning it and stopping it from going on another run and then all of a sudden its there on top coming in like a huge wet sack,the net is lowered and yes i have caught a cracker it takes four guys to get it out on to the mat and at this point i am sitting down with a cold water and i am knackered,its unhooked put on the scales and it comes in at 146lb



And boy am i happy this thing gave me a right old run around,you only have to look at its tail to see where it gets its power from,i get my pictures and its released safely back to fight another day,and my first thought is i must get some ear plugs because i dont know how much more of Boosong blowing his fog horn i can take before i grab it and put it some where that i shoulnt
About 30min later my rod goes again but Boosong says its a small mr mekong which was a relief as i am not sure if i have fully recovered anyway 15 min pass and i have a mekong of 60lb a nice fish but no monster and its not even 2.00 yet




And as the day goes on i then have a sawai of 24lb and a bit later i hooked what Boosong said was a med mekong which after 10min straightens my hook and not long after i am into another mekong of small to medium size but this one is a real dirty fight and although it never goes far out it keeps making random sorties to try and get under the bungalow and i really have to give the equipment a real test on four or five times to prevent this blighter from a home run but after 15min i have it in the net and i think my groin is starting to complain



And still they keep coming i then have a 15 min battle with a mekong of 55lb guestimateand not long after i am in to another fish of 65lb guestimate which for some reason hardly fights at all and much to my groins relief is in the net in less than ten min,
I know it may sound daft but after you have a few of the 40-70lb fish you tend just to net them unhook them some times this can even be done in the net without taking the fish out of the water at all and putting them straight back as once you have quite a few photos unless its a big one i dont bother to much
And they are still coming,next i have a 25lb sawai and then just to knacker me out all together i then have mekongs of 55lb and 50lb guestimate,and here was i thinking lake monsters was a challenge,at the end of the day i can hardly walk back to the car,but the thought of a few ice cold changs tonight gets me there in the end
Day 12 to follow

[MRG2000]

OMG ... 146lb Mekong is a monster ,well done that man !!! Another cracking report ..

[chesty]

yea nice one john

[Greenheart]

Great report & Pics John. Those Mekong cats give a great account of themselves. Had a few myself in Koh Samui a couple of years back. It certainly helps you work up a thirst for a few cold Singha beers...