THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

In terms of approach, we used a very large method feeder loaded with a grapefruit sized ball of paste
made up from rice husks suspended under a sliding float. The float was there not so much for bite
indication as maintaining fishing depth, as once a cat had picked a bait up it would be off, tearing line
from the bait-runner spool. And they were relentless.
From start to finish it was every egg a bird, with an incredibly brutal mauling guaranteed. Mainly from
fish in the forty to sixty pound bracket, with, as you'd expect, progressively fewer numbers as the size
range increased beyond that, though hundred pounders were reportedly common enough. No worries
then in terms of the price refund guarantee ever needing to be met.
In the end it became more akin to punishment. I'd caught sixteen of the things and couldn't physically
take any more. Yet as soon as a fish was disgorged, Ali, my personal guide, had the rig baited up and
out looking for yet another. I tried to get him to stop by pleading with him that I needed a rest, but
nothing. The only way to escape was go for a walk around the lake.
Unfortunately for her, my wife Dawn was sat at the back of the bungalow under the fan reading a book.
Like a machine, Ali just kept on casting, then turned to her and said "you, lady, wind in this fish".
By the time I got back Dawn was struggling with catfish number three. Needless to say I got it in the
neck for deserting her. But at least it let her see that contrary to what she had previously said on many
occasions about me going away enjoying myself, it wasn't necessarily always the case.
My next visit to Thailand was five
years later, by which time Eddie
Mounce had set up a fishery of his
own. He was still doing all the other
stuff as well, but had based himself a
couple of hours to the west of
Bangkok at a purpose built water he
called Jurassic Fishing Park, where
the big attraction was the availability
of siamese carp.
Normally at locations such as
Bungsamran, it can take a couple of
days to get a carp result. At Jurassic,
you can expect at least a couple and
more in a single session, plus you get
Phill Williams, Siamese Carp Jurassic Park Lake
to put a second dead-bait rod out for
arapaima which can well top two hundred pounds. A very pleasant fishery way out in the countryside,
with excellent dining facilities, plus on site accommodation for those that might want it.
For my part, I just wanted either an arapaima or a siamese carp. I didn't unfortunately get the arapaima,
but I had a few nice carp to fifty five pounds, one of which ran me peg to peg along the entire length of
the lake.
Very powerful fish with huge shovel like tails and the strangest of faces, with their eyes, for whatever
reason, set way down the side of their head. Very odd. But very good fish to catch on halibut pellets,
both on the bottom and suspended under a float with a few fed in loose every so often.
I can understand why people want to catch them and rave over them when they do. There were also a
few small amazonian red tailed cats just to add a bit of extra variety to what in 2015 was still a fairly
new fishery only just reaching maturity, but with a very promising future when that time does eventually
come along.
483