My last two past has been about fishing the Bungsamran pond in Thailand. You may be wondering why I am spending so much time on it. Well, for starters, it’s a really cool and awesome place with so much potential to catch something really big. And for that potential, they are charging only B5,000 per rod per day’s fishing, that’s roughly equivalent to S$50 or US$35.

If you did not bring your rod because you were just visiting or on a business trip, they rent you a reasonably good quality rod and reel outfit for B500 or S$25 (US$17). And if you are not sure how to mix your own bait, a guide will cost you another B1,000 (S$50 or US$35). This are really attractive prices considering that you are almost sure to catch something. In fact, the pond gives you a guarantee… if you catch nothing, they give you your money back!

So what can you catch at Bungsamran?

Well, take a look at some of the pictures here. This one below is a signpost at the doorway to the resort. It even says there are Arapaima (another South American Giant Freshwater fish) in the pond, and I absolutely do not doubt it.

Here’s a picture displayed at the pond showing an Arapaima caught here.

Here is another picture of another Giant Mekong Catfish caught at this same location. If you are worried about not catching anything, worry not. As mentioned in my last post, in one hour, we counted 5 hooked giant cat fish and 2 landed… and we were only patroling a short stretch of the fishing ground. Hooking up a giant is not even an issue, landing one is!

What’s really great about this fishing resort is that if you are not in a hurry, you can even stay there overnight. They have nice wooden, air-conditioned chalets available at very reasonable prices… with a nice restaurant that serves great Thai and oriental food. There’s even a bar and billiard table, if you get thirsty (check out the picture below).

And if you are a fly fisherman, don’t fret. There is an equally good chance of landing something on fly. There are Pacus, Arrowana (Saratoga to the Aussies), Snakeheads and a range of other fish that will go for the fly. In fact, our Barramundi guide reported that he landed a Giant Catfish weighing 35kg (ok a smaller specimen) on a 9wt fly rod. He “chummed” the fishes to the surface using bread crumbs (available there) and when the fishes got into a fishing frenzy, he tossed in a bread fly… almost like catching the elusive milkfish!

Check out their website at http://www.bungsamran.com. I’d be very keen to plan a trip there to try my luck at one of those freshwater giants.

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