Baramundi!!

We had been warned that the baramundi fishing took place in a very exposed area well to the north of where we fished the previous day. When we met our guides Gob (yeah; I know...you all think I make these names up) and Tinkle (see! Well...that was their names...so there) we could tell we were in for some serious heat. Gob and Tinkle were dressed like members of the Taliban and we never got to see Tink's face all day...


Yep; it WAS hot exposed and hot.....but at least there was the beginnings of a five star resort for us to shelter under when the need arose for drink breaks....water only in this case!




There were 50 lakes set in the middle of no-where. They are breeding ponds for the baramundi so, from an angling point of view, it's cheating. The Thai owner is on to something good here....the baramundi are being bred for the Bangkok resturants with each lake netting (get it?!) £20,000 per year. That makes a cool £1 mill. And, as a bit of a bonus for his workers, he allows a LITTLE bit of fishing (we were the only three anglers allowed that day...ah, such influence one has) to take place in one of the lakes where the fish are just about ready to be taken to market.


It cost us £45 each for the day's fishing, plus tips and taxi (taxi had to stay with us all day as we were so far from anywhere) and the fishing gear we had to buy...so it ain't cheap...£100 each approx...but what an experience. (I put the financial details in for you lovely readers so you can get an idea what dosh you need to bring when you come for your holiday here with me!!!). Resembling bass, baramundi are manic fighters. These lakes were only a couple of metres deep so the fish leapt well clear of the water in their efforts, often successful, to throw the lures.

Obviously there's no tackle shop around so we had to provide our own gear. We bought, under our guide's advice, very light Shimano spinning rods with small Shimano fixed spool reels loaded with 20lb green braid. Because of the power of these fish we needed 60lb mono leader tied to the braid with the correct tapered bimini twist leader knot (you know the one lads, that one you all practise tying regularly in the evenings).

The leaders were tied to a variety of lures, mainly rapalas. Some were sinking and others were more like poppers. It was nice to try a couple of different types. But, with so many fish within a contained area, we couldn't go wrong. I guess we must have had 60 between us...maybe more. The fish were mainly in the 4kg range which is the size the restaurants want?

Here we are then, the three Musketeers with three of our hard fighting fish. All the fish were released as they were due to be shipped out later in the week.

OK...there was no challenge in this as regards the actually tracking down of the quarry and fishing in remote, untamed and natural surroundings BUT we caught stacks of manic fish on as light as tackle as we were advised. A brilliant if extremely hot day. The secret was just to be sensible and get in the shade now and then, drink plenty of water and stick a few cubes of ice under your hat!!