Fishing in Bo Sang, Chiangmai, Thailand

Is this a dream or what? Fishing not in M'sia but in Thailand!!! Fishing in M'sia is expensive and the facilities are not conducive. My thanks to Air Asia for offering very low fares to enable us to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Chiangmai for less than RM500, net for 2 pax. Thanks, Tony.

A little info about this fish, taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_giant_catfish

The Mekong giant catfish, Pangasianodon gigas, is a species of catfish (order Siluriformes) in the shark catfish family (family Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia.

Fishing for the Mekong giant catfish is illegal in the wild in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, but the bans appear to be ineffective, with the fish continuing to be caught in all three countries.^[4] However, in recognition of the threat to the species, nearly 60 Thai fishermen agreed to stop catching the endangered catfish in June 2006, to mark the 60th anniversary of Bhumibol Adulyadej's ascension to the throne of Thailand.^[7]

Thailand is the only country that allows fishing for private stocks of Giant Mekongs, this is helping to save the species as the lakes purchase the small fry from the government breeding program generating extra income that allows the breeding program to function.

Fishing lakes like Bung Sam Ran in Bangkok have this species up to 140kg,most common size landed is 18kg although there are some companies that specialise in landing the larger fish. These fish are non-agressive but very powerful with a shape like a tuna they are designed to live in the running waters of the Mekong River wher the current flow can be high at times.

The Giant Mekong can also be seen now in the Bangkok River, when feeding fish at the Bangkok temples the Giant Mekong Catfish can be seen at times the largest to date spotted has been about 25kg.

This species needs to reach 50 - 70 kg to breed, it does not breed in lakes. The Thailand fishery Department has been running a breeding program to re-stock the Mekong River it is yet to be see if the fish will spawn.

SIZE

Attaining an unconfirmed length of 3 m, the Mekong giant catfish grows extremely quickly, reaching a mass of 150 to 200 kg in only six years.^[8] The largest catch recorded in Thailand since record-keeping began in 1981 was a female measuring 2.7 m (roughly 9 feet) in length and weighing 293 kg (646 lb). This specimen, caught in 2005, is widely recognized as the largest freshwater fish ever caught (although sturgeon can far exceed this size, they can be anadromous). Mekong giant catfish have been confirmed as anadromous also. Thai Fisheries officials stripped the fish of its eggs as part of a breeding programme, intending then to release it, but the fish died in captivity and was sold as food to local villagers.^[9][10][11]

Grey to white in colour and lacking stripes, the Mekong giant catfish is distinguished by the near-total lack of barbels and the absence of teeth.^[8]

... unquote.




A video of this giant Mekong catfish(Plabuk) caught, photographed and released. Too bad, M'sia doesn't have such ponds and facilities. Noticed the power of this fish when it's going back into deeper waters? It reminds me of killer whales "beaching" themselves, just to catch some sea lions. BTW, it cost RM10 to fish there for the whole day. Only Mekong catfish are designated for "catch-and-released". Other species can be food on the table.


















This still picture showed some of the local Thais with another catfish. Again, it was quickly released after being photographed.

















The power of this fish is awesome. Many reels are damaged if one is not careful. See the office cum restaurant at the centre, far end? The food is great and cheap, though one can get it a wee bit cheaper in town. Next to this building is the public toilet and bathroom. There are zinc-roofed huts scattered around the perimeter of this pond for the convenience of anglers.