A Great Catch of the Day PSC Fishing

I  think  it  is fair to say that Derek had provided a service to many folk in Pattaya over the years, and it may well have been that Derek, himself subsidized many of the days himself. From everyone, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, DEREK.

 Thus, it came to pass that Derek asked me if I would like to be nominated as the new fishing Chairman. I  duly  accepted,  based  on  the  fact that  I knew where we could charter a boat for the future days. So, before I could put on a new pair of willies or get me sailors hat out and feed the parrot,  the  vote  was  carried  unanimously,  and  I  was  sworn  in,  (well I  think  there  was  a  few  expletives from the parrot).

 So, today was to be my first day at the helm? After scratching around for a suitable crew of only four fishermen, we arrived at the harbor to board our yacht for the day. Well, there appeared to be enough rusty old nails holding the thing together. (I'll leave it your own imagination to guess who the rusty old nails were).

The Skipper (TING) and his first mate (TONG) welcomed us aboard on a fine morning.  With  a  gentle breeze  and  still waters,  the  skipper duly  informed us all  that  the waters were  perfect  for  BIG  FISH.  Normally anyone who says that gives the day the kiss of death and we all thought "Ah yes, we've heard all that before".

 Was This Going To Be A "Ting Tong" Day?

So we settled into the upper decks to relax whilst the boat chugged its way out to the fishing grounds. Best bit of the day. It's a chance to catch up about an hour’s sleep you’ve lost by getting up early.

 As we approached the area where the skipper had predicted there may be some big fish and air of expectancy overtook the whole crew and passengers. There, in the near distance was a huge shoal of large fish obviously enjoying a feeding bonanza. They were going crazy.

 So we approached with stealth and quiet??? No chance. The boats engines  are  very  throaty  (but  in good  health),  but  with  BIG CHRIS YOUNGERMAN  at  the forehead explanting  his  normal American  football  fan enthusiasm, we all thought this would be enough to drive all the fish away. Only joking Chris.

Chris was  the first  to  reel  in  the first bite of the day and as you can see  by  the  photo  he  started  on  a good  note.  This fish must have been all of 8 kilo's plus. It was then ,new  kid  on  the  block,  PETER (from Australia)  who  reeled  the next one in, Then his fellow Australian,  (and  still  going  strong), DENE  MUNDEY  bringing  in  the third  one  with  yours  truly  getting my  turn. And verily our turns came round very quickly.

 As  time went by  and we had  all caught at  least 1 each young DENE MUNDEY    suggested  that  it would be  nice  if we  could  get  2  each. As you can see by the other photo, this was the understatement of the day. by  1.00pm  the  skipper  told  us  that the  waters  had  now  changed  and were no longer any good for big fish. By this time we had amassed a total of 22 large QUEEN FISH and 1 medium TREVELLY. A total weight well in excess of 100 Kilo's.

 Time for lunch and a little break, whilst the skipper moved us to a different location so that we could add to our catch for the day, by fishing for smaller species.  After  an  afternoon  of  catching  a  reasonable amount  of  PLA  DANG  and  a  few other unknown species we called it a day at about 4.30pm. All thoroughly tired out, but satisfied.

 As  we  pondered  over  the  sight of  the catch for  the day,  it suddenly dawned on us that we would have to get  these fish  to, firstly  the  car  and secondly  to  the  bar  on  the  beach, where,  whilst  we  sat  and  enjoyed a  beer  or  two  the  bar  chef  would clean and prepare  all  the fish  ready for freezing at home. With so many fish to wait for us, we ended up enjoying a couple more beers.  I think it was then that fatigue started to set in???? Don't remember much about getting home.

Result:  A Great Catch Of The Day.

Our next trip is provisionally planned for the 21st FEB 2009, so if anyone would like to join in the fun give me a call on 087 091 7565. We limit the fishing personnel to a maximum of 6 people.

Private charter for your own party will be based on a cost of 7.500 baht. Through the PSC.  Deposits will be required.