RICKTHAILAND

Happy Birthday Anglers Net. Keep up the good work chaps on what is the UK's best angling website. Fishing in Thailand.

All Giant freshwater stingray captured by the fishsiam.com team are treated with the utmost care and respect.All fish are allowed a short period of recuperation after these epic battles and then released back to the river. We have developed methods for the safe handling of these mighty creatures with the barb being wrapped/bound with cloth temporarily disabling the beasts dangerous barb. Large fish are retained for short periods of time stringer fashion at the riverside before being released back to the turbulent flow of these massive tidal rivers. Large specimens are never lifted or brought out of the water at any time.We have not previously attempted to weigh one of these monsters for this reason. We are currently devising a safe and humane method to weigh one of these prehistoric predators. We have recently been visited by an enviromental reporter and have been engaged in research with National Geographic explorer Dr.Zeb Hogan from www.megafishes.org. All aspects of the capture and release of Giant Freshwater Stingray can be seen in next weeks Anglers Mail article by Ian Welch who recently joined us on the Ban Pakong and Maeklong Rivers. In addition we are waiting for official approval for a proposed tagging program to radio tag these creatures in order to gain a greater understanding of the movements of GFS aswell as carrying out population density studies and collecting other scientific data.

I have posted a 'natural world first' video on youtube. The footage shows a large female Giant freshwater stingray (130kg)which whilst being handled after capture gave birth to a live newborn measuring 34cm. In addition I have posted various footage of all aspects of the capture and release of these prehistoric predators.The footage shows fish to an estimated 200kg caught by the fishsiam.com team and can be seen at youtube.com 'fishinginthailand'. I will be posting higher quality footage on our site in the coming weeks.

I have been informed by my friend Dr.Zeb Hogan that there are two places left on an expedition to Mongolia.The trip is scheduled for early September and will combine research on this giant species in addition to the filming of a documentary for the National geographic channel.Interested anglers should contact me at fishsiam@fishsiam.com for a PDF detailing the trip.

Youtube Video ->Original Video name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>"> name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> Hello Budgie, Ive just put another better quality clip onto youtube showing a Giant freshwater stingray estimated 120kg+. We are currently editing various footage which will be appearing in our video pages in the coming weeks. I will be back on the Ban Pakong River in the next few weeks and will keep you posted on any further developments.

We have finally managed to get some Giant freshwater stingray footage onto youtube. The footage is of an extremely poor quality and shows the release of a large GFS at the Ban Pakong River. The fish was estimated to weigh 180-200kg(2.2m) and was beaten after an epic six hour battle which required fifteen anglers to tame the mighty beast. Look at the size of the barb on the thing!!This was the second fish of the day with the fishsiam team catching a smaller specimen estimated 120-130kg.We are currently editing much better high definition footage which will be appearing on our site shortly.Our recent captures are also featured on www.nationalgeographic.com in addition to www.wildlifeextra.com.

Hello Rich,no permits are required for beach fishing in Thailand.What part of Thailand will you be travelling to.The Andaman Sea is by far the best sea angling to be found in Thailand.

This week the fishsiam team was joined by emminent fish biologist Dr.Zeb Hogan(mega fishes project) and Nat Geo news writer Stefan Lovgren on the Ban Pakong River.The trip was a great success with four individual specimens captured up to an estimated 130-140kg.A very large female specimen was landed measuring 1.75m estimated to weigh 130-140kg which was observed to be pregnant after capture.Whilst being handled in the margins of the massive tidal river the Giant freshwater stingray gave birth to a live new born measuring a mere 34 cm.The fish was promptly returned to the river with the newborn after a short examination by Dr.Hogan and photography.The entire events were captured on video which we will be releasing in the coming weeks.We believe this is the only Giant freshwater stingray birth ever recorded in its wild and natural enviroment and is a truly encouraging sign for this understudied and obscure species.I feel this reinforces my belief that there is a much larger breeding population present in several of Thailands wild and unexplored river systems than previously stated and that the Ban Pakong has the potential to produce fish of mythical proportions.Further expeditions have been planned for the coming months in which we will continue to collect scientific data on these prehistoric predatory giants.

Weve been catching consistently for the last nine months.They seem to be present in both rivers all year round.We have found the time running up to full moon particularily productive with bigger fish being caught.

This is all good stuff mate.Id like to get you and Davy over here to have a proper go at this place.

Youre not wrong there mate!!Any chance of some close ups of the commons?Is there a season for the Skate I wouldnt mind having a bash myself.Ill be on the Ban Pakong in a few more days in search of yet more monsters.We could do with a few big strong lads like you and Budgie over here these captures are a real team effort.

Cheers Davy, I have not encountered Int 50 reels.I must admit to being a carp angler in the UK and that my knowledge of sea angling is very limited.This style of fishing is pretty much pioneering stuff and we are still on a learning curve with regards to rigs and tackle.Our terminal arrangment currently consists of a 2m 200-250lb wire trace with 2 mustad 8/0 circle hooks mounted 2 inch apart and firmly crimped with sleeves.This is in turn attached to a 10m length of 150lb flourocarbon and then 100lb power pro. We have not experienced any damage to the fish using this setup the wire traces are extremely thick guaged and are unlike the wire traces that I have seen at home which have an extremely thin diameter and seem more prone to the cutting of fish. With regards to the gaffing of fish we find this not to be necessary and prefer to overpower the fish with sheer man power. After securing the fishs tail we secure the fish to the boat through the spiracle/nasal passage with a strong soft chord.This enables us to transport the fish to shallower water for photography and release.Do Skate have spiracle?I have attached a picture of the method we use for retaining Giant freshwater stingray.

Nice article mate Ive been meaning to get over there myself.

With the heavily snagged margins weve found that its a lot easier to play them out in open water.The wire definitely is up for the job.We have found the thick diameter of the wire doesnt harm the fish whatsoever and is perfect to haul these things off the bottom.The stingrays characteristic clamping on the bottom during the long protracted battles requires us to get on top of the fish to apply maximum pressure.In addition the use of a boat requires us to use short strong rods. Ive had a few probs getting the video translated to a broadcastable format. A Thai national newscrew caught my last biggun on film and we are currently waiting for a copy. As for baits weve been using large 250g deadbaits on the Ban Pakong in addition to small snakehead livebaits.On the Maeklong weve been using small livebaits called 'Pla duk' which have been productive.Our captures on the Maeklong have been of a smaller size,maybe we should try some big deads next time. I will look into the kevlar bow string and will be consulting with my partner about your suggestions with regards to weighing.Im back on the Ban Pakong at the weekend for another session Ill keep you informed of our results.

We fish the Ban Pakong River from the bank and boat out 500g weights to hold bottom in the powerful flow.When a fish is hooked we use a boat to get out into midriver to play them out.The margins are notoriously snaggy with lumps of concrete submerged near the edge. We can cover a lot of water using this approach. Weve been doing well on the Maeklong River fishing from a boat at various areas of the river with fish upto an estimated 75/80kg. Fishing from the boat requires spot on location with the baits all being fished in one area beneath the boat. With regards to tackle I had a Giant freshwater stingray on at the Maeklong for two hours using a Shimano fixed spool reel.Even with the drag tightened to its absoloute limit braid was being ripped off the reel.We were using a 60lb class Jigging rod which was literally bent in half!Its definitely sea gear required mate. Even with the sea gear the lads took 6 hours the other day to extract the larger specimen and that was with a 100lb custom built rod and shimano tld 30 2 speed.The tails on these things are highly abrasive and 120lb fluoro has let us down in the past.We have now changed to 200-250lb wire traces and have now eliminated cutoffs.