Newsletter August 2016

Catches, entertainment and news from Thailand’s only exclusive syndicated sport-fishing venue.

Welcome once again to the Jurassic Mountain newsletter that gives you all the news, gossip, catch reports and light hearted anglers antics that relates to this Thailand fishing paradise for the month of August. A big thanks to all the new faces and returning guests who succumbed to the gravitational pull of our ‘extreme fishing gem.’ It was our pleasure indeed to welcome you all to Jurassic Mountain Resort and Fishing Park.

August, being a typically quieter month here in Thailand gave our Eddy Mounce the opportunity to take a busman’s holiday where he returned to the UK for his annual angling adventure. As a number of Jurassic Mountain guests were winging their way to the resort, Eddy traveled the other way and they flew past each other like ships passing in the night. Eddy had spoken wistfully of his hankering to fish for tench once more among the lily pads and under the willows of old England and we wished him all the best in his desire to do just that. From my experience, nothing beats the feeling of solitude one gets when sitting on the bank of an English river on a misty summers morning with the sound of the cuckoo in the distance and for me it is without doubt one of life’s greatest pleasures. Therefore you’ll understand why I fully appreciate Eddy’s nostalgic and romantic ramblings about the sport that he loves in that green and pleasant land that is England but unfortunately the reality is that he’s likely to catch sod all and it will piss down with rain for good measure. Hopefully this isn’t the case but in the event that it is, that crash that you heard would be Eddy coming back down to earth with a resounding bang but knowing Eddy as we all do….. he’ll still love it. I’ll let you know how he got on next month.

As the ongoing improvements around the resort gather more momentum than I can keep up with including the latest delivery of luxury salas and the expanding fully equipped tackle shop that Jules is hell bent on providing for you all and with phase 3 now underway being the lake extension with plans for nine more luxury villas, I often sit lakeside and wonder just how far this place is going to go. Already, we are worldly recognised as the number one fishing venue in Asia and the mind boggles as to what this resort fishery will eventually become. Probably one of the best in the world if it isn’t the best already seeing the way things here are shaping up which brings me to the question that I’ve asked Jules and Eddy on many an occasion…..”when are you two ever gonna stop and rest on your laurels?” Well readers and fellow anglers, I’m pleased to report that having seen their plans on the table and the enthusiastic response that was given by these two young pioneers, there is absolutely no intention of stopping the runaway train that is Jurassic Mountain resort and not only is it seen as the number one fishing venue in Asia that without doubt it has now become, it is also a certainty that Jules and Eddy and the rest of the team will make sure that it will remain at the top spot for many many more years to come. Therefore, congratulations are extended to the Jurassic Mountain team from yours truly and I know I’m not the only one who will bestow this accolade to Jules and Eddy….. Carry on the great work lads, you’ve got a fantastic fishery with a fantastic following…. and it’s getting bigger by the day !

On the subject of our new salas, we’ve also having two new salas erected on the clubhouse terrace which being lakeside will now become a firm favourite for our nightly diners especially couples who wish to enjoy a romantic meal after a hard days angling. The view across the lake to the mountain range that towers over it on a moonlit night is something to be seen to be believed but combine this with the fabulous cuisine that is served here along with a chilled bottle of your favourite wine after you’ve had a days fishing to remember and it don’t get any better I can assure you. Add this to the knowledge that while you’ve been fishing to your hearts content, the wife’s been kept busy lounging around the pool before taking advantage of our Thai massage service……. where on this gods earth would you rather be?

Also, as the majority of our customers tend to be couples, the wives and girlfriends will be very pleased to hear that we now have plans on the table for a fully equipped luxury spa that will keep them even happier whilst the guys get to grips with landing fish of their dreams so there’s really exciting times ahead here at Jurassic Mountain.

We had a bit of monitor lizard mayhem here in August. Firstly, one bright spark decided to climb the electricity pylon and not only burnt himself to a crisp but also blew the electrics out in the resort for an hour or so.
Secondly, we had one customer complain that a monitor stole all his chicken while he took a leak and wasn’t too happy about having to pay for another lot. This proves that it’s not only the fish who are attracted to the new baits from our bait freezer so you’d be well advised in future to keep a check on your chicken before checking out the carzee.

We almost had a bit of a sad note to tell you about in the August newsletter. Many of you will be aware of Tiger, the Jurassic cat who makes many an angler smile with her antics around the lake which includes wrestling with Alfie the Shih-tzu, hitching a lift on the cleaners trolley and pilfering the odd mackerel or two whenever she gets the chance. Tiger was found exactly a year ago as a helpless little wild kitten abandoned in the grass and although I’m not the greatest cat lover in the world, I adopted her and she turned out to be a fantastic pet indeed. Tiger and Alfie are inseparable and if ever there was a match made in heaven, it was made for these two. Unfortunately Tiger decided to do a spot of sunbathing on top of a taxi that was about to leave for Bangkok and unbeknown to the driver, he had an extra non paying fare on top. The taxi took off with Tiger on the roof and she was last seen being chased off into the wilds by a pack of dogs about a mile down the road from the resort. Neti and I searched the countryside for days and finally, after a week, we gave up resigned to the fact that she was lost forever or worse still. fell prey to one of the many predators that roam in these parts.
Anyway, all’s well that ends well because ten days later a skinnier Tiger found her way back home to Jurassic much to the delight of everybody on the resort especially Alfie the Shih-tzu who’d been noticeably depressed by Tiger’s unscheduled taxi ride.

Right, let’s now take a light hearted and a very tongue in cheek look at a selection of some of the anglers who graced Jurassic Mountain for the month of August. My apologies are extended to those who visited us and who didn’t get a mention. It’s nothing personal, there’s just far too many of you for me to keep up with. Here goes ….

August saw our resident Neil ‘Ninja’ Bartholomew and his son Cole carry on where they left off in July by landing specimen fish almost every time they ventured onto the lake. You’ll see the pair of them in the main newsletter photo posing with two Siamese beauties that they landed on a double hook up. Fabulous stuff indeed.
If Neil wasn’t fishing, you’d find him hard at work training to keep himself in peak condition for his sport and of course to show off the six pack that comes with hours upon hours of hard work and dedication in the gym.
I don’t care too much for exercising myself. I remember when I first joined the gym and the only machine I ended up on was a bloody respirator. From that day on, my idea of a strenuous workout was stumbling about in the mornings looking for my glasses and lifting my feet while the wife did the hoovering.
Personally, I believe that life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely with a perfectly tuned and attractive well preserved torso but rather to skid in sideways within my totally worn out body sporting a lager in one hand, a bacon butty in the other and with the words…. ‘ now THAT was one helluva ride.’

From the UK, Tom and wife Lyndsey had almost two weeks to enjoy the Jurassic Mountain experience and suffice to say, Tom made full use of his time here by landing quality fish on a daily basis including this fine Siamese carp (photo below) that was brought to the net during his last day of angling action. You’ll notice Tom’s expression which clearly portrays the fact that he’s none too happy about having to leave this place but his smile will soon be back when he returns in the future as he’s vowed to do. We look forward to seeing them both again.

George from Scotland who is based at the nearby seaside town of Hua hin is fondly known as ‘the flying Scotsman’ here due to his frequent flying visits to The Mountain. The fish at the top of George’s wish list was the arapaima and we were pleased to see George’s wish fulfilled as he landed his sought after arri of around 170 pounds sandwiched in between his day’s haul of Siamese carp and Amazon redtails.

Two new additions to the fishing mecca of Thailand that is Jurassic Mountain were a Wallagoo at 29 kilos and his bigger brother which weighed in at 46. That’s 101.4 pounds in old money and I couldn’t stop myself from jumping in and posing with this brute of a catfish. Hopefully we’ll be seeing him again soon but this time on the end of a lucky anglers line. Perhaps the lucky angler will be my son Jimmy who arrives later in the month but whoever it is who gets the pleasure….. you’ll be in for one hell of a scrap.

Stuart Nedjati from Nuneaton is only 8 years of age and came to Thailand with his father Richard to see his uncle get married in style. Imagine young Stuart’s delight when his father pulled in a Siamese carp weighing all of ninety pounds and he couldn’t wait to get in the water with dad to share the moment in a photograph that he’ll no doubt treasure for the rest of his life. See you again when you’re older kid!

Jurassic Mountain resident Gary Smock residing in Singapore arrived with his wife and family for an extended break. Fishing out of peg one, he was just about thinking that it was about time to wrap up and head to the Anglers Rest bar when the line on his right hand rod screamed off. As he struck into the fish, his left hand rod did exactly the same thing but with both of his hands full fighting the first take, he shouted for help which promptly arrived in the form of one of Jurassic’s gillies. As the gillie struck into the second take, he was amazed to see the line still screaming off at a rate of knots and showing no signs of stopping. The Chao phraya catfish of some considerable size that was screaming off towards Bangkok did a sudden U turn and in that precise moment decided that this wasn’t to his liking and spat the hook. Meanwhile, Gary was having his arms pulled out by a cracking arapaima that he eventually got to the net and with that, he decided he’d had more than enough excitement for one day and headed to the bar for a well earned and very well deserved pint of the ice cold golden nectar.

The red carpet was rolled out for Kevin and his family from Peterborough. Kevin is the deputy editor of The Angling Times and he couldn’t wait to get his lines into the lake to see what all the fuss is about and to see whether or not Jurassic Mountain lived up to it’s reputation. He didn’t have to wait long. Fishing on the waggler produced his first Siamese carp at around the eighty pound mark and he continued in this vein throughout his holiday here landing specimen fish for fun.
So, there I was in the bar one evening chatting to Kevin and he asked me what my personal best arapaima was.
‘ Just short of 300 pounds,’ I informed him, ‘Caught it on a lure on a spinning rod.’
”Wow’ said Kevin, ‘That must be a decent bit of kit to have got that to the net, how long did it take you to land it?’
‘About an hour and twenty minutes,’ I replied and with that, I got my trusty spinning rod off the rack to show him.
‘This is it,’ I said proudly presenting it and holding it by the butt and the rod tip, I proceeded to show him just how good a bit of kit it was by demonstrating the bend of the rod.
‘I love this rod,’ I said, but in my over exuberance in attempting to put a similar bend in the rod that the arapaima had achieved, I snapped the bloody thing clean in half and stood there feeling and looking like the local village idiot. Fortunately, after Kevin had picked himself up off the floor crying with laughter, he promised me faithfully that he wouldn’t mention it in the next edition of The Angling Times although somehow I get the feeling that this isn’t the last that I’ve heard about my rod bending display.

My son Jimmy arrived with his lovely family not only to check on Dad to make sure that I’m ok over here in this foreign land but also more importantly to carry on his love affair with the Jurassic Mountain lake. After ascertaining that I was very well thank you very much, Jimmy couldn’t wait to get his lines in the water to carry on exactly where he left off the last time he was here. Siamese carp and Amazon redtails gave Jimmy and especially his kids the thrill of a lifetime and it got even better when he landed an arapaima around the 140 pound mark. Things couldn’t get any better for Jimmy could they? Don’t you believe it! The next day whilst fishing out of peg one known as ‘Lazy mans,’ Jimmy hooked into a monster arapaima of some 260 pounds that gave him a back breaking, arm wrenching battle that lasted for almost a solid hour before finally succumbing to the net.
As Jimmy left to return home on his final day, he was still sporting the ear to ear grin that this visit provided him with. Well done Jimmy, look forward to seeing you back here in November mate.

August saw the completion of my dream house by the lake and I can’t overstate how thrilled I was to actually move in. I’d thought of hardly anything else for the last few months and it’s been well worth the wait for sure. Particularly pleased was my son Jimmy who will be reaping the future benefits of it and I’m very proud of the fact that someday I will be leaving a legacy such as this to him to enjoy here at this fabulous place for many years to come. I’d also like to extend my thanks to the Jurassic team who allowed me to name swim 17 after my granddaughter Lily. Swim 17 is just outside the entrance to my house and it gave me great pleasure knowing that ‘Lily’s Lookout’ will now be firmly etched in Jurassic Mountain history.
6am arrived on August 31st as I took my daily early morning stroll around the lake. The sun had just appeared over the horizon to the East and I’d just witnessed a particularly beautiful sunrise that welcomed in the last day of the month here at The Mountain.
Alfie, my devoted Shi-Tzu companion was as always by my side as we strolled around the deserted well trodden path that in an hour or so would bear witness to the footsteps of the latest horde of anglers all eager to sample their long awaited Jurassic Mountain experience.

At this time of day, the feeling that I get in a setting that can only be compared to paradise and which is a million miles away from the hectic world outside is so very difficult to put into words, but I’ll best describe it as one of those ‘Where in the world would you rather be’ moments. You know that feeling? That feeling that you get when you witness something magnificent for the very first time and you know that it will remain in your memory forever? Well, just imagine for one moment how I feel because I’m lucky enough to experience that feeling here at Jurassic Mountain every single day of every single week. Please God may it long continue.

And Finally one las anglers report, I thought it only fitting that it is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Lee Lancaster, one of Jurassic Mountain’s favourite sons, and very close persona friend of Jule’s.. The shadow cast by the Jurassic Mountain seemed particularly solemn in August as we very sadly saw the passing of one of Jurassic’s greatest friends. Bruce was one of the world’s nicest guys and you’d always find him ready to lend a helping hand which he did so on many an occasion here at Jurassic Mountain. My own everlasting memory of ‘The Bruce’ was seeing him stagger back to his villa after a particularly heavy session in The Anglers Rest. He decided to take the shortcut across the stepping stones that are in place across the stream mainly for the benefit of those who are sober enough to tackle them. Not so Bruce I’m afraid as the alcoholic content that he consumed ensured that he fell headlong into the arapaima infested pond adjacent to them. This is just one of the many stories that will be told by all of Bruce’s pals when they’re here next month for their annual get together which sadly, this time around will be a get together without him and will therefore be in memory and a big send off for their good friend instead. I’ll certainly be raising a glass or three with them because a send off it will be for sure.

So as August finally slipped away into Jurassic Mountain history, I looked forward to next month and all the new arrivals and old faces that it will inevitably bring.
I hope this newsletter tempts you to sample the delights that Jurassic Mountain has to offer and hopefully we’ll have the pleasure of your company in the future where you will have the opportunity to realise your dreams and maybe just catch the fish of your lifetime. However, in the event that the fishing gods decree that the monster fish lurking in the murky depths eludes you on the day, at least you’ll return home safe in the knowledge that you’ve just fished at the closest place resembling paradise that you could ever imagine possible.

Tight lines all, see you on here next month.