Gillhams Fishing Resort, Krabi, Thailand Fishing Report

The Trip Of A Lifetime

5 years ago at the age of 13, I watched River Monsters Season 4 Episode 4 Asian Slayer for the first time. Watching Jeremy Wade fish at Gillhams Fishing Resort made me want to one day make the trip halfway around the world to fish at Gillhams myself. More than 40 species of large fish from around the world in this one lake was more than enough to fuel the hunt. After years of planning and trying to convince my Dad, I finally made the trip out to Thailand with him to fish for 3 days at the resort. We were provided with 2 fishing rods each, and we used boilies, fish baits and pellets for bait, no lures or live bait allowed. We also had a fishing guide to help us with the bait rigs, as well as net and care for our fish. Our first day started off a little slow, but we finally hooked up at about 11 am. After a hard fight, I had the first fish of the trip which turned out to be a 75 lb Siamese Carp. All fish are released and are sprayed with antiseptic over where they were hooked prior to release to ensure their wellbeing. About an hour later, another rod went off. This time I ended up pulling in a new species, a beautiful Julian's Golden Carp of 25 lbs. After releasing this fish, yet another rod went off and we got another species! This time it was an Asian Red Tail Catfish of 45 lbs. Not only was it yet another species, but our guide said it was the largest Asian Red Tail he had ever seen, which only added to the excitement. There was no more action for the day with the exception of a brief hookup and loss just before going to bed. The line was cut above the sinker, so most likely an Alligator Gar. The next day we got right back at it again. At 10 am, we got the first hookup of the day which turned out to be a larger Siamese Carp, weighing about 95 lbs. Two hours later, I hooked up again and had an epic fight with a huge fish. I knew it was either a Mekong Catfish or a giant Siamese Carp, and it turned out to be a monster Siamese carp about six feet long and weighing 178 lbs! It took 3 of us to hold the fish and we only rolled the fish onto its side due to the fact that lifting the fish could seriously injure it. After that, the action died down until dusk, and I caught a 30 lb Siamese Carp. A smaller fish, but still lots of fun. On our third and final day, we decided that we would try for Arapaima, the fish that most anglers want to catch. Almost immediately I hooked and lost a fish, argh! About an hour later, I caught another Asian Red Tail Catfish of 20 lbs. I also caught another Julian's Golden Carp of 15 lbs. A while after catching those two fish, I hooked up again with a fish that came in very easily. However, once it got close, the fish took off like a shot out of a cannon. The strength and power the fish possessed led me to believe it was an Arapaima. The fish caught my line under some weeds, so my guide swam under and freed my line so I could continue to pull the fish in. As soon as the fish got close again, it leaped clear out of the water, revealing that it was indeed an Arapaima weighing about 120 lbs. My guide whistled for another guide to help him net the fish since two guides are needed to net an Arapaima. After a few failed attempts, our guides were able to successfully net the fish. As with the monster Siamese Carp, we also rolled the Arapaima on its side. After catching the Arapaima, the action quieted down until dark when I caught yet another 75 lb Siamese Carp, which was my 10th fish over 3 days of fishing. We left the next day at about mid day to begin our long journey back to Massachusetts. This really was the trip of a lifetime, and the only thing that could have made it better would have been staying longer. For anyone who views this trip, I uploaded a lot of photos, but please take the time to view them all, I think you will enjoy them. If anyone is interested in booking a trip to Gillhams, visit www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for more information. Special thanks to Stuart and team and most of all, our incredible guide Bud for making this such an amazing trip, and we look forward to a return trip one day.

• Added By: newenglandangler on 07/07/18 10:30 PM
• Location: Gillhams Fishing Resort, Krabi, Thailand
• Report Date: 6/12/2018 - 6/14/2018
• # of Hotspots: 1
• # of Photos: 12
• # of Fish Caught: 10
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