Following my previous two holidays, I was really looking forward to another trip to the amazing Jurassic Mountain in Thailand. It’s always a massive relief to finally pull into the resort after basically a full day of travelling and after signing in and dropping my bags in the room, I had a quick walk round the lake chatting to the anglers including my good friend Keith from Ireland who I’d met last year.
For my first days fishing I was on the Species lake and still on my wish list were a bony lipped barb and a Chinese black carp after failing to catch either on my previous trip. I had a hectic day catching three ripsaw catfish to 16lb, four roho up to 9lb*, two common carp to 9lb*, a black shark minnow of 8lb* and two grass carp to 10lb* but didn’t manage to add any new species or pb’s. Most weights are estimated*

First fish of the trip, a small ripsaw catfish

Black shark minnow, one of my favourite Thai species

Another ripsaw, this one was weighed at 16lb
The next day I was on the Specimen lake and after drawing a low number in the bar the evening before, went for 16 which is one of the best swims for arapaima and redtails. It was a slow day with the only run turning out to be a foulhooked siamese carp which was disappointing as I recorded my first blank at Jurassic.

It was great to see my mate Larry again
It was then off to Hua Hin for three nights, staying at the Hilton Hotel which was fantastic again and I had three fun nights out and some lovely meals before heading back to the resort for some more fishing. One of the nice things about staying at Jurassic is the people you meet and this year was no exception, along with Keith (from Ireland), there were two Brits (Allan and Kevin), Steve from Oz and a guy from San Diego (it almost sounds like the first line of joke!). They were all great fun to be around and one night in the Angler’s Rest it was Steve’s birthday and we all ended up drinking shots although I’m not sure mixing Tequila Rose, Jameson’s whiskey, Jagermeister and Thai whiskey was such a great idea!
I actually had a day off planned in my itinerary but managed to book on the Species lake as there was a space left but with all four swims occupied, I thought it might be a little trickier than my first day. My first fish was a new one for me, a Soldier River Barb, a nice catla around 23lb* followed before I went to have some breakfast. The afternoon session got off to a brilliant start with a little Chinese Black Carp, not the biggest fish but another new species and I was well chuffed to tick that one and then a 9lb* Mrigal added further variety to the day. While I’d been there, several bony lipped barb had been caught but they were proving elusive for me and with just one day left on the Species lake, I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen for me again this year.

Soldier River Barb

Catla carp around 23lb*

Saw this little beauty on the way to my room

Another new species, a little Chinese black carp

9lb* mrigal (another carp species)
Back on the Main lake, I was in swim 12 and it was hard work but a 55lb* siamese carp got me on the board, the next day I went in swim 3 which had been producing well and a 60lb* siamese on boilie was followed by a wallago leeri of around 17lb* on chicken heart, a new personal best for me. In the bar that evening I actually had first choice but decided not to go in 1 or 16 which are the sought after swims and picked number 3 again, hopefully I wouldn’t regret it!

Estimated 55lb* siamese carp

Another siamese, 60lb* this time

Wallago leeri of 17lb*, a new pb
The writing was on the wall when I lost a fish after a screaming run when the hook pulled and then late on, I hooked something under the hyacinths on chicken heart which didn’t feel massive and was probably a catfish of some type but as the guide arrived and got the net ready, the hook pulled out and I was gutted to record another blank. As I headed back to my room, Allan in peg 1 was playing a big arapaima and also had several redtails on the board so it looked like I’d definitely made the wrong choice.

Larry came to see how I was getting on!
For my penultimate day’s fishing, I decided to just hair-rig two or three grains of corn on both rods with soaked stick mix, micro pellets and corn around the lead. I was expecting to catch quite a few of the various carp species but hopefully a bony lipped might slip up along the way. It turned out to be a busy day kicking off with a stunning black shark minnow around 11lb*, regular runs throughout the day saw a procession of fish added to my tally, another black shark, a 10lb* grass carp, my second soldier river barb of the trip, a common carp around 8lb*, four roho to 8lb* and even a little golden koi carp but still no bony lipped barb! Photo credit – Jurassic Mountain**

The black shark minnows are a striking looking fish and photos don’t really do them justice**

Another one, this one estimated at 10lb*

Fish juggling!

Little koi carp
I was now well into the afternoon session and resigned to it not happening again this year (but I’d still had a cracking days fishing) when the rod screamed off and I struck into a fish that wasn’t fighting very hard. I’d said to Danny (one of the guides) several times when I’d hooked fish that it was going to be my target species only to be proved wrong but it came to the top and I’m sure I glimpsed the distinctive mottled scale pattern of a bony lipped and my heart was in my mouth as I played the fish very carefully. Danny was up netting a fish for the anglers in the next swim and when my fish came to the surface it was the one I wanted, I made a right hash of trying to net it myself and was sure I was going to knock it off but just as Danny arrived, it went in the net and I was over the moon!

Bony lipped barb, well chuffed to add that one to my list
At around 5lb* it’s not the biggest fish in the world, it didn’t put up a great scrap and some would say they’re not the best looking species but I love them and ever since I’d seen a post about them being stocked before my previous years holiday, I’ve wanted to catch one. They have gorgeous orange/red eyes (very like a roach), a proud dorsal fin and a weird, funny little mouth which I wish I’d got a photo of.
That wasn’t the last of the action either, I had two more lovely black shark minnows and we weighed the last one which was probably the smallest of the day and it went a tad under 12lb. Danny reckoned catching four double figure black shark minnows in a day is a rare occurrence.

Another big black shark minnow

Black shark minnow number four of the day was weighed at a tad under 12lb
And then just like that, it was my last days fishing and another two weeks in paradise was nearly over, in the bar the night before I had choice number 3 in the draw and when I saw peg 1 was still available, I wasn’t turning it down again. I fished chicken hearts on both rods, one down in the corner and the other cast towards the middle of the hyacinths and got off to good start with my first Amazon redtail of the trip around 50lb*, one of my favourite fish, I think they’re beautiful and in all my visits to different fisheries in Thailand, I’ve never not had one, so although I left it late, it was a relief to finally get one this year.

Love these, 50lb* Amazon redtail catfish
I did lose a fish that went right under the hyacinths and was possibly another redtail, the fishery manager Tom came round and suggested I swap to a boilie rig on the that rod and I started firing them over both swims on a regular basis. Not long after, the rod screamed off and I was into a decent fish, I sounded the horn and one of the Thai guides arrived and readied the net, I saw a black tail and thought it might be a siamese, the guide suggested tambaqui which I’d have been well happy with but it wasn’t fast enough for that and then it surfaced and was one of the species I’ve wanted to catch for a couple of of years, a Chinese black carp, a good one too and the legs started to go a bit but thankfully it went into the net with no problems.

A fantastic fish to end the trip, a 42lb* Chinese black carp**
The guide got on the radio and Tom arrived with the camera and got some great shots, he estimated it at 42lb* and said there were only four of them in the lake, so a great fish and once again Jurassic delivered on the last day! I hooked two more fish during the day and got both out into open water only for the hooks to pull, neither felt particularly big and I’d have loved to have known what they were. Going into the last hour, it was time to switch to predator rigs and move the rod pods away from the waters edge with the chicken hearts literally as close to the bank as possible. With the light beginning to fade, the arapaima and redtails venture out from the safety of the hyacinths and you can see swirls and tail patterns right over your feed, it’s exciting stuff when you see the line moving and you’re just waiting for the alarms to scream before engaging the bait runner and all hell breaks loose! It didn’t happen for me this time although the chap on my left had a big angry ‘arry just before the end.
I can’t finish without just recounting my near fatal brush with death at the hands (or legs) of a terrifying creature, in my bathroom at the resort, there was a bin by the toilet and one day I’ve popped back to my room and noticed that housekeeping had moved the bin when they’d made up my room and underneath there was a metal grid in the floor with a round hole in it. To be honest I didn’t really pay that much attention to it, anyway that evening, after another lovely meal in the bar and a few beers I headed back to my room. I woke up in the middle of the night needing a wee so went into the bathroom, turning the light on I was going about my business when I noticed something out the corner of my eye.
Looking down there was a huge black spider and I cacked my pants, I’ve grabbed the bin and vaguely prodded at this hairy monstrosity, the speed it moved frightened the life out of me, thankfully it went round in a circle before disappearing back down the hole, if it had come at me, I’d have had a heart attack on the spot! I put the bin over the hole, locked the bathroom door (as I’m quite sure it was capable of opening it!) and then put a towel along the bottom of the door. Needless to say I didn’t sleep a wink for the last three nights as I kept an ear open for any sounds of that bin being moved or the door handle being rattled!
To be fair, I told housekeeping the following day and I think they went and put some poison down the hole and neither them or any of the guides sounded particularly concerned when I told them about the Thai Killer Death Spider and said it wouldn’t have been anything to worry about.
So another amazing trip to the Land of Smiles and even though the fishing had been tricky on the Main lake, Jurassic always seems to deliver, while I was there many dreams were made with multiple siamese carp coming out to over 100lb including Scarface which I was lucky enough to catch two years ago at 180lb*, Mekong catfish and arapaima to over 200lb and many other weird and wonderful species. Personally I had 34 fish of 14 different species with three new ones to add to my list and a new pb.
As always, the resort staff and guides (Tom, Ollie, George and Danny) are fantastic and nothing is too much trouble as they want you to have an amazing time and catch that fish of your dreams.
To be honest, over all my visits to some of the best fisheries in Thailand I’d had lots of big fish (arapaima to 260lb, Mekong catfish to 180lb, siamese carp to 180lb and Amazon redtails to 90lb) and while there are bigger to be caught and I’d love to up my pb’s one day (okay maybe not the Mekong!) and maybe add some other species over the 100lb mark, I get just as much of a buzz catching new species. Holidays and memories are also made by the places you go and the people you meet and for me Thailand delivers every time.
Check out the website – Jurassic Mountain, Thailand.
There’s still a great offer running if you fancy treating yourself to some new fishing gear, use the exclusive discount code AgainstMenandFish10 to get 10% off when you shop online at Somerset Angling
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Next up – Todber Manor
Coming soon – Lots more match reports
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