Newsletter February 2019
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Welcome to our latest newsletter where you’ll find what’s been happening at Jurassic in February!
Welcome to Jurassic Mountain Resort. Fishing Thailand
Welcome to Jurassic
It’s fast approaching 5pm here at Jurassic Mountain and the wind is pushing down the lake towards the clubhouse after a still, windless afternoon. The last hour of the day, or the witching hour as it’s sometimes referred to, always has the potential to be a prolific time for catches when a number of the species start to stir and the sounds of multiple whistles, alerting the gillies to potential catches, pierce through the silence. Those anglers lucky enough to be battling a fish stay out until the job’s been done whilst the others wait in the clubhouse speculating as to what’s being caught, how big it is and what swim they want for the following day.
If you haven’t already experienced the excellent fishing available here with us as well as the top class accommodation contact enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com for more details – you will not be disappointed.
Quick round-up!
The weather has been breezy over the last month but without any precipitation. The prevailing wind has been south to south east almost every day, it has tended to pick up in the afternoon and been quite strong in the late evenings. The water temperature is still slowly warming and during the very hot still days it has sometimes been hard fishing on the bottom with more takes coming from mid-water. Many of the recent arapaima have been caught during midday out in the open in the deep water, perhaps due to them preferring the cooler temperatures there.
The end of the month has seen a big stocking take place but for more news on that you’ll have to read next month’s newsletter. We will tell you however that the juvenile arapaima are going from strength to strength with some of them now approaching 2 feet in length. Fantastic progress and exciting for the future here at Jurassic.
What’s been caught in February?
The top five fish this month are:
- Siamese carp
- Amazon redtail
- Indian carp
- Arapaima
- Tambaqui
Asian redtails have been more obliging to our guests than in recent months, the alligator gar have been very prolific whilst the different varieties of catfish have been keeping our guests on their toes. All in all it’s been a good month on the lake for every one of our anglers.
Tag Team Fishing in Thailand!
Richard had a great trip to Jurassic and is featured later in this newsletter. This is a story however of how a fellow angler rescued his day and gave him a different tale to tell.
It all started when Richard was in the middle of a good run of fish and was playing a Siamese carp on his left rod. Seconds after blowing his whistle, a signal of ‘fish on’ to the gillies, his right hand rod received a savage take causing the rod to bounce off the pod, engage the bait runner, sail off into the lake and disappear. To say he was gutted was an understatement and he couldn’t believe his luck, or lack of it! Two of our gillies cast a grapple for almost an hour but all to no avail.
Meanwhile oblivious to Richard’s situation Kevin was having a quiet morning; he’d found a few hard areas and baited them and then in the early afternoon he was rewarded with a take. He lifted into the fish as it ticked line from the spool and nearly an hour slipped by before the fish surfaced – it looked to be only around the 40lb mark however! As it neared the net the gillie spotted a second line and what looked like a massive bird’s nest attached to it. Shortly after that a second rod and a second fish surfaced! With some quick thinking the gillie netted the first fish, cut both lines, removed the second rod and connected Kevin directly to the second fish! It was Richard’s lost rod from earlier on in the day and after a short battle Kevin reunited him with his rod and the fish he thought he had lost!
What a great team effort to display one of the larger Siamese carp here at Jurassic.
A look back at who’s visited in February
Lots of fish, lots of guests – here’s a look back over the month.
Trevor came to Jurassic for his first visit to Thailand along with his son Grant and daughter-in-law. Both are keen anglers in the UK and were looking forward to pitting their wits against the residents of the lake. Trevor utilised the chicken hearts in a number of swims and caught Amazon redtail as well as Chao Phraya catfish, the latter being a specimen that stuns anglers with its fast takes. He was on fire during his stay landing an array of species taken on a few different methods. He landed his largest Siamese carp on boilies and a PVA bag and then followed this with two tambaqui.
Grant was on a mission to find the Siamese and find them he certainly did – landing a total of 4 fish, including 2 100lb plus carp in one day! Both fish were taken only a few metres from the margin on Jurassic Classic over a bed of boilies and pellet. The first fish came into the net around midday and our fishery team helped to ensure he got some good photos. Then, in the late afternoon, he set the hook into a second fish and battle ensued well into darkness. Definitely a day to remember and with the huge carp ticked off his list it was time to target the arapaima. Grant’s patience was severely tested as he hooked into several arapaima only for the hook to pull – a well-known occurrence experienced by a number of anglers as the rod tip springs back and the line goes slack. Determined not to be beaten Grant persevered and shortly after 7am on his penultimate day he flicked a single bait up the right margi, it wasn’t in the water long before the tip wrapped round and he set the hook into his first ever arapaima.
On previous fishing trips to Thailand Shelly has landed large arapaima so top of her list this time were the Siamese carp. Trying to focus her attention on them was hard however as the arapaima kept surfacing in her swim so there was only one thing to do. Firstly she presented a dead bait but this brought the tilapia in so a tougher hookbait was required; a trimmed piece of chicken carcass fixed into position on the hook with a rubber bead. A simple technique to improve gape and hooking potential during longer distance casts which proved to be very successful for Shelly who landed two arapaima during the one afternoon. The second one attempted to bolt during the gillies’ first attempt at landing it but they held their ground and managed to landed it on the following go.
Nigel had been fishing all morning and was getting constantly pestered by tilapia so he switched to chicken hearts. What a good move as within the hour he had landed a giant snakehead, one of the more elusive species in the lake. After seeing the snakehead’s teeth and rather erratic behaviour he was more than happy to let one of our fishery team display the specimen on his behalf and just take photos.
It was Jon and Stephen’s first time at Jurassic and they enjoyed a fishing bounty during their stay. Jon experienced an epic day’s angling when he landed 4 arapaima from one swim. He had seen a number of them showing in open water and this is where he chose to target them with a concoction of mackerel and chicken hearts at range using back leads to maintain a low profile in terms of line lay. Stephen meanwhile was targeting the Siamese carp on the Jurassic Classic boilies. He kept his old pop ups and used them as markers inside his PVA bags. Once cast he waited for the bag to break down and the pop up to surface before baiting up with loose feed to ensure maximum accuracy and this strategy certainly paid off for him.
The first day was hectic for Phil but day two saw action slow a bit so it was time to change his approach and critically balanced sweet corn with a steady scattering combined with pellet over the top saw his luck change. This is a bait choice that is rarely used but it certainly paid off for Phil with this 100lb plus Siamese.
George and his wife Libby had visited Thailand before but this was their first time at Jurassic and we don’t think it will be their last. With arapaima on his hit list he settled into the swim nearest the clubhouse and prepared his spod mix for the day ahead. Heading into the afternoon however he was getting frustrated as he’d lost 3 fish in quick succession. At 6pm he spotted a large arapaima tucked tight into the margin and managed to position a bait ahead of it – this resulted in an instant take and a hard battle that went on into the dark. With an arapaima caught and a different swim the following day it was time to tackle the carp. Fifteen kilogram of Jurassic Classic and pellet soaked in tuna oil was fed throughout the day and used in PVA bags during recasting. The result? Over 10 Siamese carp including two over the 100lb mark. Great fishing in Hua Hin!
Ash had a very successful trip to Jurassic ticking species off his hit list. On day one he saw a number of arapaima rolling in the middle of the lake and presented a few chicken hearts on the deck towards showing fish. Not long after doing this, his reel went into meltdown as line was ripped from the spool. After a testing battle with his own heart no doubt pounding hard he claimed his prize – a very unexpected but very welcome Chao Phraya. Next day and he was in the swim nearest the clubhouse, chosen because of the predator activity he had seen the day before. Well, what a choice that turned out to be – in the late afternoon he received a very subtle take, his instinct was to strike which set the hook into his first ever alligator gar. Ecstatic with this result he reset the rods and caught another one within half hour! For the first one Ash was reluctant to hold it for photos but this time he decided to display his catch himself. The following day and over the moon with his catches thus far he went on to land 2 arapaima – amazing angling. Well done Ash!
A few anglers have been targeting different species in mid-water with good success. Richard safely set up a simple float rig to present chicken hearts near the surface cast towards showing fish. Some of the takes came within seconds as he totalled over 15 fish during the course of the day. The next day was equally as good with Richard struggling to keep 2 rods in the water at times as the Amazon redtails moved in on the scent of the chicken hearts – total fish for the day 14.
Employing his usual tactics the following day saw him land 2 arapaima and an alligator gar as well as other fish. Richard prefers to be active and stays by his rods, honing his watercraft and adapting his methods accordingly rather then sitting in the sala. This certainly pays off for him and the next day he landed 2 more alligator gars. Incredible fishing Richard – hope to see you again soon!
Although the majority of our guests stay for more than just a day we do offer day tickets and it’s amazing what can be caught in a day. One of our recent day trippers managed one of the elusive Rita Salween catfish.
And another this specimen carp:
Below are pictures of our other guests with their captures…
If we haven’t included you in our round-up and you would like to share your experience of fishing/staying at Jurassic please email enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com
Arapaima – almost there!
It’s always a tense time as the arapaima nears the net and the angler’s dream is almost complete. During this time the communication between the gillies and angler is key to ensure both safety for the fish and a successful ending for our guest. It’s essential to keep the rod tip in tune with the arapaima and for the angler to listen to and act upon the gillies’s guidance; this will hopefully prevent the fish jumping as this not only potentially injures the arapaima but also increases the chance of it shaking the hook.
You will see in this photo the gillies guiding the fish into the arapaima cage. We have several of these cages spread around the lake, ready to be deployed when the shout goes up of ‘arapaima on!’
Alligator Beware!
The alligator gar have been around for so long that they are often referred to as living fossils. The torpedo like species have an elongated snout which is home to two rows of sharp teeth that often make light work of prey that pass them.
This photo also shows why some of our anglers are reluctant to get too close for photos!
John Wilson Memorial Service
Column 7
For those of you who live in the UK and would like to pay their respects – John’s memorial service will take place at 2pm on Friday 24th May inside Norwich Cathedral.
This invitation is open to everyone in the angling community who wishes to celebrate his life.
February Videos
Just the two for you this month
Perry and another 100lb+ carp for this collection! https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/245684829644745
Birthday boy – Lewis landing his first Siamese carp https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/380046599444248
If you would like to submit an article for inclusion in a future newsletter please send it to enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com
TIGHT LINES, SEE YOU ALL ON HERE NEXT MONTH.
Jurassic Mountain Fishing Resort
43/6 Moo Baan Kokesehti Tambon Na Yang, Na Yang, Cha-am District
Phetchaburi 76120 Thailand
For all enquiries/bookings contact: enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com
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