Thailand Bangkok Fishing Day 2 - My First Mekong Cat at Bungsamram

I went to Bangkok last week to do some fishing and here's part two in the series. I've never caught a Mekong Catfish before and the only catfishes i caught were the Chao Phraya Catfish and Patin from farmway 3. If anyone thought the fight would be similar, you are DEAD wrong.

We headed to the popular fishing pond at Bungsamram which fishing grounds have been graced by many fishing pros since long long time ago. It happened that Robson Green did an episode here as well. The place was clean, very professional and BIG. It was nice to see a world class destination where fishing was the sport and anglers were the customers.



A place specially made for anglers

The charges



John had his own photo up there which just shows his experience



Their very own in house tackle shop.



On the way to the hut

We engaged John as our guide again and this time he had Boon Soong. Boon Soong was one of the local fish guides at Bungsamram. He's a friendly chap and spoke sporadic English. Don't let his friendly features fool you. This guy is a real pro and he tied the leader on the mainline for us instantly. I was a little aghast when he told me i used this reel for saltwater because the line is salty.

Boon Soong preparing the bait and terminals

Yup... I'm using the Shimano Bassterra AX 10-20lbs 7ft with a Caldia Kix 3500 with 50lbs tuff line that i didn't have time to change. John just laughed and told me to try it out. He told me that he wanted me to get a feel of the fish with my own way and own style before he advise me. I can sense something wrong here hahaha. My own thinking was that the fishes will take the bait and then just swim towards you and use the wooden pillars to cut you off. I was right about that but more drama was about to unfold...

Boon Soong made the bait ball and launched the big ball of bait out into the pond. The aim was to draw the catfish to the bait ball. I could smell a hint of coconut flavoring to the rice ball. I was quite shocked when we had a hook up almost immediately and John passed the rod to me. He just smiled and told me to play with the fish. The fish went left and right but I feel it was just playing with me.... :(

When the fish surfaced for awhile... the drama started. Both Boon Soong and John gave each other huge stares. "It's a big one!!!" John shouted. Boon Soong was also suddenly very jumpy and both went to my side. John told me that this time I cannot fight the fish by myself because this is a really big one estimated 70kg and above.

The fish continued to bring me on a joyride... and then.... PIAK!

Silence was had between the 3 of us... John was visibly disappointed while Boon Soong wore a blank expression. After we blamed it on the old line and my tackle, John was adamant that we had to use his setup because we will lose more fish. After the episode with that fish, I was thoroughly convinced.... We put on Alan's Calstar 15-40lbs and John's big baitrunner with 60lbs braided mainline.

Alan's Demon Rod



The bait was lobbed out again like a bomb and it was instant hit again. This time, AG had her chance at landing her first Mekong. It's a small one but it made her arms burn. This episode of casting baits out and landing fishes would be happening for the rest of the day. The cats which were foul hooked were easy to bring in after their initial burst while there were some cats which just swim slowly towards the wooden platform and try to burst you off. It took alot of arm power, Alan's strong rod and alot of drama to get it out of the structures.

Some actions of the fish fighting



Boon Soong diverting a fish from the stilts 4 bungalows away!



Before lunch, me and AG were too spent and whenever one of us lost a fish if it threw the hook, we will be happy!!! We took turns fighting the fishes... Lunch was great and I particularly loved the Roasted Pork Neck. The Tomyum soup was good and even had part real crabs in it.

It's time for lunch!

After lunch, we landed more fishes and even a few Patins. The patins here fight like mad dogs... Yup... They are definitely stronger than those at farmway 3... At 2pm, we had a conclusion. Me and AG will land our last fishes of the day and call it a day! Well... she had her Mekong but my last fish of the day was a Patin...

Overall, a very entertaining trip and my expectations were fully accomplished. I landed my first Mekong! It's definitely one of the more world class destinations specially catered to anglers. And it's a definite back breaker.

Oh and the fishes!!! Below! :D