Thailand IT Monster Lake & Boon Mar

[MarkR]

Hi fellas,

Just got back from a short Bangkok fishing trip. Had an awesome time

Used Bad Boy Wuttichai's guide services...my first time fishing with him...top-notch guide who knows his stuff and a very good tactician...he has quality gear like Carpenters and JMs for BSR fishing...understand that Okubo from SMITH fished with him recently...Bad Boy has international clientle and must be one of the top guides in Bangkok.

Fished at IT Monster Lake for a day...very nice lake...scenic and quiet...weather wasn't that good and bite rate was affected...some rain and a very gloomy morning...water level in the lake was also pretty high so the fish weren't responsive to lures...nevertheless I managed to land an Arapaima Lots of Amazonian Red Tail catfish, two Asian Red Tail and an Alligator Gar landed...very impressed with the Alligator gar, super strong headsakes...Arapaima was put at the 30kg mark and the biggest red-tail around 14kg...I love this lake...will be back for sure in the hot season to give my lures a good work-out

Went to Boon Mar Barramundi farm the next day...the sun was out in full force today A special pond was reserved for top water lures...somehow Barramundi in this pond respond very very well to top water lures (fish from diff ponds respond differently, so ponds need to be tested to see if top-water lures work)...the STORM chug bug was deadly and so were some small yo-zuri poppers...no kidding I was getting strikes amost every cast! No need to use sinking lures, rubbers, hard-body lures etc...great surface lure action! Fish were 8lb to 12lb...there is hope that a pond with 8-10kg fish will be open very soon...lost count of the number of fish I landed...easily 35-40 for I guess for 5.5 hours of fishing...

Enjoy the pics!

Bad boy can be contacted at fishingboy2005@yahoo.com

Tight lines

[MarkR]

Boon Mar Barramudi Farm

[Narc]

Very good catch.

I heard from some Thai locals the fishes in Monster Lake had stopped responding well to lures the moment some farang guide started his field invasion with baits over there. Heard Dave Irving has been fishing with him over at Monster Lake quite a bit. No wonder JM has found its way into the amazon themed lake.

Now that you have fulfilld the aim of landing an Arapaima... whats next??

[MarkR]

I heard from some Thai locals the fishes in Monster Lake had stopped responding well to lures the moment some farang guide started his field invasion with baits over there. Heard Dave Irving has been fishing with him over at Monster Lake quite a bit. No wonder JM has found its way into the amazon themed lake.?

Yeah...Dave told me he fished 12 days straight at IT Monster Lake with JFH! Some amazing pics he has

Boon Mar hit rate on popper was amazing...better than the trip we had with Louis in 2005 bro.

I'm thinking of a big Pacu at fishing world now ...maybe throw in a freshwater stingray while i'm at it??

cheers mate

[Sugizo]

hi MarkR, may i know the details and cost for barramundi fishing over there ?

[MarkR]

hi MarkR, may i know the details and cost for barramundi fishing over there ?

Hi Sugizo,

Best to contact Wuttichai, "Bad Boy" yourself at fishingboy2005@yahoo.com if you want to have a go with top-water lure Barra action.

There are several options available for Barramundi fishing in Bangkok I believe. Cost varies a fair bit but in general, you get more hits and bigger fish with the better guides who will bring you to the more productive Barra ponds.

Good luck!

[ChrisT]

Great catch Mark!

Hope to get an arapaima one day.

P.S. the lures have arrived and I dropped them off at your place.

[seahorse]

Hey bro,

For a moment there I didn't realise it was you kakaka....must be the cap.

How's the fight with the aropaima very strong? I will probably be there with my bro in November. Get the details from you then. Good catch

Cheers.

[MarkR]

How's the fight with the aropaima very strong?

Yeah...it was good...landed the arapaima on a Certate Hyper 4000 & Carpenter BC60M combo...juz nice

But the bigger red tails pull really hard too!

[Daveirving]

Great catch Mark you did very well to get an arapaima in just one days fishing! The easy bit is hooking it...trying to steer him into that cage is like trying to park a bus!

That pic is the same lure I used to catch my best lure caught arapaima...expensive but effective!

I am also keen to fish this lake again....it is much more natural than any of the others I have fished in Thailand....and actually its not easy to catch the fish so it makes it a bit of a challenge!

Very good catch.

I heard from some Thai locals the fishes in Monster Lake had stopped responding well to lures the moment some farang guide started his field invasion with baits over there. Heard Dave Irving has been fishing with him over at Monster Lake quite a bit. No wonder JM has found its way into the amazon themed lake.

Now that you have fulfilld the aim of landing an Arapaima... whats next??

Yep have been fishing there a lot - great lake. When I first started fishing there the bite rate on lure was good especially for the redtails....but heavy rain and water clarity I think slowed the bite down. The water turned bright green while I was there and definitely slowed the fishing down. I don't think it has anything to do with using baits as the owner even bans them before 2pm each day.

Every couple of days a truck load of tilapia is dumped into this lake to feed the fish....so I don't think a few tilapia livebaits amongst hundreds of others is going to make any difference whatsoever.

I think the arapaima are getting harder to hook on lure because they have all been caught before...we had to keep coming up with different lures to get them to bite. These fish aren't so stupid once they have been caught on a lure a couple of times they will certainly think twice about taking another. I watched one big one swim right up to my rapala, nudged it and it decided not to take it!

Cheers

Dave

[shark07]

Nice catch Mark,
So now whats on your target list?

Cheers,

[Jules]

hi MarkR, may i know the details and cost for barramundi fishing over there ?

Hi All, we organise trips to IT Lake Monster and Boon Mar Ponds for visiting anglers. We supply tackle, guide (we use Boy if he's available!) accommodation and priavte transport (not minibus....new pick up).

Price for solo anglers Boon Mar all in (includes a breakfast and a nights accommodation) 7,500. Discounts for groups.

Thanks

Jules

FISHING HOLIDAYS THAILAND

[Jules]

I don't think it has anything to do with using baits as the owner even bans them before 2pm each day.

Every couple of days a truck load of tilapia is dumped into this lake to feed the fish....so I don't think a few tilapia livebaits amongst hundreds of others is going to make any difference whatsoever.

I think the Arapaima are getting harder to hook on lure because they have all been caught before...we had to keep coming up with different lures to get them to bite. These fish aren't so stupid once they have been caught on a lure a couple of times they will certainly think twice about taking another. I watched one big one swim right up to my rapala, nudged it and it decided not to take it!

Cheers

Dave

Hi Dave,

Just joined the forum to have some input. Certainly with over 5,000 predators in Lake Monsters, no amount of bait from anglers entering the water is likely to effect the way it fishes. Although of course larger older predators that have been hook up on lures before will grow increasingly wary of certain moving targets. We fish Lake Monster all day on baits since most of our guests come from UK and Europe and they are predominantly bait anglers. Everytime I take a guest to Lake Monster I get concerned something will change, but it just never seems to stop fishing well on deadbaits. Has anyone here considered Gillhams yet? They have huge Arapaima down there.

Jules

Fishing in Thailand

[thunnus]

Hi Jules, where's Gilhams ? And how 'huge' the Arapaima is ?
Thanks...

cheers,
Lod.

[stingrray]

Yeah...it was good...landed the arapaima on a Certate Hyper 4000 & Carpenter BC60M combo...juz nice

But the bigger red tails pull really hard too!

Yo bro, U have nice setup for the arapaima... btw, we have a freshwater pari expedition on 12-13 May 2008. Care to join us? All equipnement provided. U also have a choice to use your own.




cheers,
stingrray

[Jules]

Hi Jules, where's Gilhams ? And how 'huge' the Arapaima is ?
Thanks...

cheers,
Lod.

Sorry, Thunnus, it's been a while since I surfed the forums. Gillham's is in Krabi, and it has some of Thailand's largest Arapaima. It has around 50+ fish over 70kg and not so many smaller fish. Palm Tree Lagoon is very small venue that has 6 or 7 large Arapaima up to 150kg+. I'm not sure what the situation is on Lake Monsters except to say we still regularly take 3 or 4 fish or up to 35kg theres still big fish there for sure...we have around 15 days booked up there in Nov/Dec so lets see what we get!