Sensible gear for Mekong Catfish

[stickbom!]

Okay guys, I'm heading up to BSL in Jan (finally... after half the population of anglers here had a go @ em pussies ) but I'm in a dilema here. Some folks tell me 12-20lb gear can handle the fish and some say 65lb powerpro is about right. A friend fishing in BSL today emailed me "live" from BKK and said the guides there using Stella 20k and a Jig Wrex!

So what's it going to be? 20lb nylon or 50lb braids?! Would appreciate some advice from those who have fished there before. Thanks

[edylie]

Why dont you bring two sets?

1 light and 1 heavy.

Cheers,
Edy

[mark]

this time is confirm??? its like donkey years since you 1st said you're going there man..

anyway, 20lbs is just abt right, 30lbs if you wanna play safe. IMHO, line class is not as important as the length of the rod.. i brought along a 7.6ft rod when i was last there, casting was a breeze, even thou you'll still get fish almost regardless of where you cast to, the trick is to cast as far out to the centre of the pond as possible, book the 2nd hut furtherest away from the entrance to the pond (2nd from where the bridge is), then book a local guide to help you fix up the bread mix and sit back while he cast for you, also buy some small koi fishes if you are able to find any along the way, not for Mekong but for something else better..

p.s. bring along a Tiagra if you wanna see how Tia cast like, cos most of the guides can cast anything you dare to pass to them and with pretty decent distance too...

[Fish_Fingers]

i think 30lb braid is about right.

something that can achieve a bit of distance would also be an advantage.

[stickbom!]

Edy I'm planning to bring two sets.

Mark, yup this time its for real. Wifey is going with me and we've booked the trip already. Thanks for the tip on rod length/best hut/secret bait for mystery fish. Will relate the message to my friends there... see if they can arrange for me. I've heard about the guide's ability to cast there... but I'll keep my bottom bashing stick and big milo tins at home this time. Need more baggage allowance for wife's shopping spree.

FF, okay I'll load a reel with 30lb braid and the other with 20lb mono (for wife) Thanks!

[edylie]

I have no idea what is good but i guess nylon should be ok. I have never been there yet and hope in the near future i could make a trip there.

Wondering if popper works for the mekong catfish or not?

Cheers,
Edy

[Fish_Fingers]

oh ya. and remember to bring along a gimbal belt. u may not think you need it for 30lb casting gear, but after the 9th or 10th fish in quick succession, you will really start to appreciate it!

Save your groin for other better things in bangcock.

Sawa-D-cup!

[stickbom!]

hahahaha FF... Alice will be there with me so I guess no need for the gimbal belt?

Just kidding... I just got myself a gimbal belt. I found out the hard way in Brunei that fishing with "bottom canon" without belt can be quite a torture

[i am not attap seed]

the guides seems to prefer mono over braided.

tink its safer to handle too.

[mark]

guess all guides, deckies or whoever that has to leader the line would have prefer mono over braided as far as fish landing is concern but a way to get ard it will be just to have a meter or 2 worth of mono leader and try to reel in as much as possible while standing as far back towards the hut as possible so that they'll get to hold the mono leader when landing the fish.. and since the leader used for fishing Mekong is heavy braided the mono "topshot" can act to cushion the inpact when you're doing the cast..

[i am not attap seed]

mike, u go tour, dun forget to buy present for everyone. dun later act blur .

[arowana]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Okay guys, I'm heading up to BSL in Jan (finally... after half the population of anglers here had a go @ em pussies ) but I'm in a dilema here. Some folks tell me 12-20lb gear can handle the fish and some say 65lb powerpro is about right. A friend fishing in BSL today emailed me "live" from BKK and said the guides there using Stella 20k and a Jig Wrex!

So what's it going to be? 20lb nylon or 50lb braids?! Would appreciate some advice from those who have fished there before. Thanks

Hello Stickbom, no need to use 65lb braid leh.....overkill...20-30 lb mono mainline and 40 lb leader with hook size 2/0 to 3/0 is already more than enuff liao... small little reel like the size of ABU 6500 is already good enough...or the avet sx....i think should be there in size The trick lies in the Casting of the bomb bait (nongpang) to achieve the distance where the biggies play......somewhere in between the huts and private bungalows and the mixing of the bait using special mixtures. Use the pond's water to mix with the bread. Avoid any Cigarette ashes to drop into yr pail of bait.....No matter how good your gear is.......the huge 100kg Pla Buk will never bite.

Check out the big springs (for holding the bread bait) from 7-seas proshop in the lake itself.....ok

Kukluk

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by i am not attap seed

the guides seems to prefer mono over braided.

JFH's guide Kik told me that the reason they recommend mono over braid is because there is less float drift with mono main line. On days when the pond is packed with anglers, floats with a lot of drift can be a real nuisance.

Personally would opt for a 40lb 6.5-7.0 ft spinner outfit (less of a pain on the back when they come near) although a lot of the local Thais seem to prefer small overheads like the LD Ambassadeurs

cheers

[physlo]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Okay guys, I'm heading up to BSL in Jan (finally... after half the population of anglers here had a go @ em pussies ) but I'm in a dilema here. Some folks tell me 12-20lb gear can handle the fish and some say 65lb powerpro is about right. A friend fishing in BSL today emailed me "live" from BKK and said the guides there using Stella 20k and a Jig Wrex!

So what's it going to be? 20lb nylon or 50lb braids?! Would appreciate some advice from those who have fished there before. Thanks

Mikey,
Your blast loaded with PE4 and 60 mono leader should do the trick. If not use the 200lbs handline....hahahaha.

Regards
physlo

[stickbom!]

I'll be there on a Sunday so I guess the use of mono will come in handy Big thanks to everyone for the tips. Merry Christmas guys!

[MarkR]

Wonder if you guys know anything about a Thai guide that charges a whopping S$1k for a guaranteed Arapaima gigas catch at BSR?

Can't recall where I heard this rumor from...apparently no catch, no pay...not sure what happens if the fish dies though...Ah Jai apparently dislikes anglers who specifically target the Arapaima...might have to pay for the dead fish

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by MarkR

JFH's guide Kik told me that the reason they recommend mono over braid is because there is less float drift with mono main line. On days when the pond is packed with anglers, floats with a lot of drift can be a real nuisance.

cheers

yes that is the real reason why they prefer mono over braided to avoid line drifting in the pond but not to worry the local guide know their job well after they make the good cast you will see them using your rod to "sweep" the pond the reason to do so is to ensure your floated braided line sink down to the bottom.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Wonder if you guys know anything about a Thai guide that charges a whopping S$1k for a guaranteed Arapaima gigas catch at BSR?

Can't recall where I heard this rumor from...apparently no catch, no pay...not sure what happens if the fish dies though...Ah Jai apparently dislikes anglers who specifically target the Arapaima...might have to pay for the dead fish

yes the local fishing guide Boy or Ton provided such a service but sorry i do not have the contact.

yes it is confirmed that bsr boss not really happy customer to go for the arapaima due to many dead incidents after the long fight.

[belial]

Originally Posted by eeyore

yes the local fishing guide Boy or Ton provided such a service but sorry i do not have the contact.

yes it is confirmed that bsr boss not really happy customer to go for the arapaima due to many dead incidents after the long fight.

don't worry about the fish dying if you engage the guides as they know when the fish is tiring out. the problem why the fish dies is because of inconsiderate anglers using low poundage rod and reel and playing with the fish die of exhaustion. anyway, fighting the fish won't be easy as it involve getting into the water and going under stilts and obstacles (heard there are alligator gars in the water and some of the catfish are meat eaters). Boy told me that if you are attentive enough, you can see the fish coming up to take air near the restaurant area.

[Blackmarlin]

Originally Posted by mark

guess all guides, deckies or whoever that has to leader the line would have prefer mono over braided as far as fish landing is concern but a way to get ard it will be just to have a meter or 2 worth of mono leader and try to reel in as much as possible while standing as far back towards the hut as possible so that they'll get to hold the mono leader when landing the fish.. and since the leader used for fishing Mekong is heavy braided the mono "topshot" can act to cushion the inpact when you're doing the cast..

Hi guys,

Been there a couple of times, my guess is that if there is no mono top-shot their finger get hurts while casting out and also they dont like to see the braided line floating on the surface and all over the lake. 20-25lb of mono does all the job because the guides dislike tightening up the drag.

Cheers

[Blackmarlin]

Originally Posted by eeyore

yes the local fishing guide Boy or Ton provided such a service but sorry i do not have the contact.

yes it is confirmed that bsr boss not really happy customer to go for the arapaima due to many dead incidents after the long fight.

Just for your information, Ton has been banned from BSR lake.


Cheers