A Thailand Fishing Holiday in May

Date: 1st to 3rd May 2009
Location: A Stream of Gold
The Team: Nat, Jon, Ben, Bobby
The Mission:
1- Provide Nat with some opportunities to get some great stream fishing photos
2 – Catch some Mahseer
Weather: Hot! Threat of thunderstorms – never quite got any direct rain during the day, but an overnight shower on Saturday cooled the air and water a little.

After an early? (9am) start from Chiang Mai, and despite a lunch break en route, we were geared up and on the stream by early afernoon. It was brutaly hot… not ideal fishing conditions by any means! The surface water layer was extremely warm – very noticeable when wading thigh-deep!

Difficult conditions – the light far too bright for decent photography, and hard to muster enthusiasm from both anglers and fish! Still, we toughed it out – wet through, sweat dripping off our shirt tails, but persistence almost always pays dividends… drifting a dry and nymph combo through the shadows of the overhanging trees, Mahseer were coaxed into action from time to time.

Nat was the man of the moment – with two very good fish to his credit!

After having commented on how lethargic the fish were, he found one full of vim and vigor! The fish was into the backing in a heartbeat, and to Bobby’s yells of “Run, Run!!” Nat struggles to hold the rod high, scramble waist deep across slippery boulders to prevent the fish spooling him!

Bobby was confronted by a puzzled cow – an eyeball to eyeball confrontation to see who was going to back off…

Catching the Connection – Nat’s caught the “take” in this photo!