As we have been so busy of late we made the decision to close the lake on Wednesday to give it a little rest.

I asked our pal Dan if he fancied doing a little experimental fishing with me, trying different tactics and baits that could possibly add another string to the bow for some of our customers. Dan made a paste out of Fish Scale bait additive, a couple of eggs and a little luum and I dug out a bag or two of Dynamite pellets that friends had bought over from the UK. We both fished lighter tackle than we normally supply, waggler rods that have been beefed up with 20lb mono. Dan was into fish from the start, Pacu and Striped Catfish first falling to his offerings before the Siamese Carp, Walking Catfish and Amazon Red Tail Catfish moved in. Between replying to emails and other inquiries yours truly fished pellet waggler up in the water, trying between laptop activity to get a rhythm going with the catapult and feeding regularly for literally a fish a chuck, Pacu and striped Catfish and I’m sure if I had been able to keep going that the Carp and other species would have soon risen to the baits. Watch our Robert Porter, your lake record of 125 fish in one day is there for the taking with these methods and a batch of very high-quality pellets have been ordered and will be here soon. Unfortunately this style of fishing may not be available to all as many of our customers have limited experience and the lighter set ups would become a box of kindling very quickly but it may be an option for the experienced anglers.

Busy again on both Thursday and Friday with customers from England, Australia, Russia, Malaysia, Japan and Kazakhstan, once again the strange weather of late playing its part and at times the fishing was tougher than usual. Any angler knows that this is completely normal and no water anywhere will fish its nuts off all of the time. Still plenty of good fish caught and two hooked and lost Arapaima from adjacent swims kept everyone on their toes, just a shame that some people are selfish with no regard for others and were reluctant to bring their lines in while a fellow fisherman does battle with the biggest fish in the lake… outcome lots of cut lines to free the beast.

Bookings are still coming in thick and fast and in spite of our best efforts to advise people to book with at least 24 hours notice they still continue to show up expecting a place, saying that they can squeeze between others as its their last day……not going to happen, when we are full we are full and even if it appears that there is space our decision is final and we have to be fair to the customers already here so it’s very simple, please take a little time to read the advise on our website and just about every social media site you can think of, it’s there for your benefit, get in touch or better still book through the website, secure your place and join us for some…………..”FUNFISHIN!”…….

After a very busy few weeks we have decided TO CLOSE THE LAKE just for one day to rest the water, the fish and the staff who have been flat out of late. This will also give us a chance to catch up many other jobs that have taken a back seat recently.

Yesterday was fairly busy with customers from England, Russia, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, and Canada, all catching well, not so many lumps but good catch rates.

Jay who lives and works in Vietnam has been holidaying with his better half Lauren and spent a full day and a morning with us before heading for some beach life in Khao Lak, we must be doing something right as he is returning again at the weekend for another couple of days.

A little quieter than normal yesterday so yours truly dusted the cobwebs off the waggler rod for a bit of a dangle and some experimenting with different baits and set ups. Switching from waggler up in the water, on the bottom, mid water with various baits to freelined ground bait paste around 15 fish in a couple of hours with Jazzy helping me, she did a great job but there could have been more without the assistance ! The plan is to do more of the same today while tidying the place up a little and clearing some of the water hyacinth beds that grow for fun….no such thing as a day off really.

Back at it again from 8.30 tomorrow morning, several names already in the book for the next couple of day but still availability so why get booked yourselves, put a bend in the rod and join us for some ……..”FUNFISHIN!”…….

MORNING WORLD…..What a difference a day makes. Another fairly busy one though things have slowed down a little which is not a bad thing. The last few days have been a good bit tougher than we are used to and yesterday mornings customers were all forewarned that the mornings have been particularly tricky due to lower temperatures at night. Well, I should have kept my mouth shut, a warmer evening on Sunday after a hot day and the fish were very active from the start, still not quite what it can be but the Red Tails showing well along with the usual species, some nice Siamese Carp, Mekong Cats and Chao Phraya Cats.

Cliff, Annette and Dave joined us for the third time in the afternoon and they were into the fish from the start. While Annette was showing the chaps up to start with they soon got even. Before the fishing started over a “cuppa” Cliff said that today he was going to get an Arapaima……a few casts later his wish was granted and followed up with a nice Chao Phraya Cat and similar action for Dave as well to cap off their last session of this trip very nicely. We wish them safe travels back to Turkey and look forward to seeing them again next time.

Another familiar face was welcomed back, Pete has fished with us many times over the years and he too got amongst some decent lumps for his days work as did other new customers and lots of smiles at the end of the day.

The weather has been very unusual for the time of year with more unsettled weather forecast and in spite of yesterdays catches there is no denying that things have been slower than usual, lots of bait going in that may not have been eaten so we have decided to give the lake a rest tomorrow and close for the day after a very busy couple of months. This will also give us the opportunity to focus on the many other things that need doing around the place and behind the scenes and the lads can have a little well deserved down time.

Availability is good for the coming days but there are already places booked every day so we advise to pre book allowing at least 24 hours, we continue to welcome walk in customers but again please check with us before coming, we hate turning people away especially if they have paid for taxis. Get in touch, book your place and join us for some……..”FUNFISHIN!”…..

Another weekend over and a nice crowd joined us across the two days with new and repeat customers from England, Kazakhstan, Romania, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic.

We have seen posts from some other honest fisheries that the fishing has been slower than usual and we are no exception with cooler temperatures and not as much sun as usual keeping the catch rates lower, particularly in the mornings. Many people ask me what is the best time of the day to fish and the only honest answer is if you want to be here for the best part of the day is to be here all day. Normally we would advise that early and late can be very productive and the middle of the day should be avoided for short sessions as it is the hottest part of the day but as is so often the case here logic does not always apply and right now its the middle of the day when the fish seem to turn on. Yesterday was very slow in the morning with some customers struggling but things really did pick up as the day went on and plenty of nice fish were caught. The Chao Phraya Catfish have been feeding well, we don’t have so many of these so no one is going to bag up with them but you know all about it when you get one. Siamese carp showed well later in the day and the Amazon Red Tails turned back on again along with Pacu and Asian Red Tails showing that a little patience is the name of the game and all experienced anglers are very aware of that….good things come to those who wait. Fingers crossed that we get a little more sun and the water temperature goes up a notch which is sure to see the fish more active and back on the feed.

Bookings are still coming in and due to so many “no-shows” we now only take bookings for full and half days with deposits. This can be done on www.chalongfishingpark.com, in person or via Thai bank transfers and at least 24 hours’ notice is advised. We continue to welcome walk-in customers but strongly advise people to contact us before coming to check availability, get your place booked and join us for some……”FUNFISHIN!”……