Fly Fishing Locations And Species In Thailand

[tomster 452]

It would be good to have a thread running that listed some of the better places to fly fish in Thailand - maybe also getting some info on what patterns work for what fish there.

I currently live in Jomtien and i'm sick to death of the shitty fishing parks here - I really want to get out into the countryside and fish some more natural rivers.

I'm off to Kanchanaburi next week to get started, hoping to find some find some decent fly fishing somewhere in the province (which I believe is very possible)

Can anybody help out with some locations? Anything would be a start as there is almost no info available on this at all on the internet...

Cheers,

Tom.

[impulse 17,456]

Watched a guy throwing a topwater plug under one of the bridges on the big river in K'buri.

In about 15 minutes, he got 2 nice hits resulting in no hookups. I'm pretty sure they were snakeheads. These local guys were set up with some nice bass type gear and looked like they do it a lot. It also looked like a perfect place to toss a streamer but I hadn't brought any equipment.

Next day I rented a kayak for a 3-4 hour drift (450 baht- all in- great deal). I was wishing I had brought my fly rods or even some light spinning tackle. I suspect it's a sleeper fishery. Next time I head that way, I'll be fully stocked for fly and light spin fishing, and probably haul my inflatable kayak just to putz around where no one else goes- lots of offshoots and coves off the main river. One issue I'm trying to figure is the main river current is a little too strong to paddle upstream more than a few hundred meters....

Even without the fishing gear, I'd recommend the kayak rental to anyone who enjoys peace and solitude on the water. Saw not a soul for over an hour and very few in the 4 hour drift- until I hit the railroad bridge. I finally found the "other Thailand".

FYI, there's a real nice tackle shop on the main road about 200 meters from the big War Cemetery near the train station (direction toward the famous bridge). I didn't see any fly gear, but you could get nicely stocked up for some light spinning.

Post back with your results

[tomster 452]

Thanks Impulse, good info.

Tom.

[GarryP 4,616]

Watched a guy throwing a topwater plug under one of the bridges on the big river in K'buri.

In about 15 minutes, he got 2 nice hits resulting in no hookups. I'm pretty sure they were snakeheads. These local guys were set up with some nice bass type gear and looked like they do it a lot. It also looked like a perfect place to toss a streamer but I hadn't brought any equipment.

Next day I rented a kayak for a 3-4 hour drift (450 baht- all in- great deal). I was wishing I had brought my fly rods or even some light spinning tackle. I suspect it's a sleeper fishery. Next time I head that way, I'll be fully stocked for fly and light spin fishing, and probably haul my inflatable kayak just to putz around where no one else goes- lots of offshoots and coves off the main river. One issue I'm trying to figure is the main river current is a little too strong to paddle upstream more than a few hundred meters....

Even without the fishing gear, I'd recommend the kayak rental to anyone who enjoys peace and solitude on the water. Saw not a soul for over an hour and very few in the 4 hour drift- until I hit the railroad bridge. I finally found the "other Thailand".

FYI, there's a real nice tackle shop on the main road about 200 meters from the big War Cemetery near the train station (direction toward the famous bridge). I didn't see any fly gear, but you could get nicely stocked up for some light spinning.

Post back with your results

That sounds great fun. Rods or no rods.

[jackinbkk 93]

It would be great if you could post some video or photos too.

[impulse 17,456]

I didn't take pictures from the kayak (phone/camera was in a dry bag the kayak outfit provided), but I took these when I hired a longtail boat the day before to scout the area, middle photo from my guest house and top photo from the bridge where I watched the locals throwing topwaters. 700 Baht for an hour for the longtail ride.

Edited April 27, 2012 by impulse

[jackinbkk 93]

I didn't take pictures from the kayak (phone/camera was in a dry bag the kayak outfit provided), but I took these when I hired a longtail boat the day before to scout the area, middle photo from my guest house and top photo from the bridge where I watched the locals throwing topwaters. 700 Baht for an hour for the longtail ride.

God I wish I could be there. It looks very nice.

[jackinbkk 93]

... and thanks for sharing the photos.

[tomster 452]

^ I second Jack - thank you Impulse for sharing them.

Impulse - can I ask what guesthouse you stayed at and whether you rated it?

Tom.

[impulse 17,456]

tomster, I went without a reservation and just walked into the first guest house I found, which was Rainbow. It's right between Sam's Raft and VN Guesthouse (I think it's VN). They had no cheap bungalows left (450 baht with A/C, cheaper without), so I took their VIP Room which cost me a whopping $30 USD per night (900 baht). Well worth the $30 and in fact I stayed an extra night. Right on the water, great view, very clean, but a little small. Very nice people, always bringing me free cut up fruit and ice water when I sat on their nice veranda, and plates and silverware when I brought street food back as well. Free wifi staying in the VIP room and on the veranda. Great dog that was a little bit of a mooch and became my best friend because I'm a softy with my fried chicken. I'd stay there again in a minute

During my longtail scouting, I spotted some real nice looking properties up and down the river (many of them on rafts, with A/C) and I'm researching some on the interweb before my next trip. Not that I didn't like the Rainbow, but I'd like something to compare them to. I did find out I could have spent well over 2500 baht had I stayed in some of the bigger hotels on the river. But they were regal looking.

One caveat, many of the guest houses had great bungalows and raft rooms and some that were overlooking rather swampy areas. I wanted and got right on the main river. Not a single mosquito bite in 3 days and 2 nights. I was astounded.

Edited April 28, 2012 by impulse