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Fishing Strategies

How to Catch More Trout Than you Ever Imagined Possible!

The simplest way to catch more trout than you ever imagined is to do the opposite of what most other anglers do. I realize that this might sound like advice that comes directly out of an episode of Seinfeld, but it’s true. Most anglers are like sheep and do whatever it is that the crowd does. If that means using the same rod and reel for all of your fishing, so be it. If that means not walking any farther than the worn trail goes, so be it.

If you’re going to be successful as a trout angler, you need to have a trout rod and reel. That rod and reel should be light action (at the biggest). I personally prefer ultra light action rods and reels for trout, but light action will work. The rod should be no longer than six feet. For trout fishing rods, I prefer five footers but it’s not necessary for the rod to be longer than six feet. An ultra light reel that matches the rod will work fine, just nothing too big. This reel should be spooled with line no heavier than six pound test line. Six pound is the maximum. Again, I prefer four pound test line, but nothing larger than six pound, certainly not for good fly fishing anyway.

Now that we’ve covered the size of our gear and the size of our line, the next important aspect of catching trout, is the size of your hooks. Most anglers use hooks that are entirely too large for trout fishing. I’m of course speaking of regular fishing here, not ‘flea flicking’. ‘Flea Flickers’ aren’t afraid to use small hooks, hell they have to fleas aren’t very big. I’m speaking to all of the normal anglers out there and most of you use hooks that are entirely too large. I personally use size 10 hooks, and in order to catch more trout than you ever imagined, don’t use a hook larger than a size 8. I suggest using a set of gang hooks (which is simply two hooks tied in tandem). If you truly want to catch more trout than you ever imagined, I suggest using the good old earth worm for bait. A worm baited on a set of #10 gang hooks is deadly. You see the small hooks eliminate the dreaded “worm ball”. The “worm ball” is whren an angler uses a single hook that’s too large and threads the worm on to said hook, thus creating a “worm ball”. There is nothing natural about presenting a worm like this, and the amount of trout caught is directly affected.

If you begin to employ the tips outlined in this article (rod and reel size, line size, hook size, and type of bait) you will catch more trout than you ever imagined. Never forget what Steven Wright said, “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”

Stevie James is an experienced fisherman who has set up a Free Fishing Information website to offer free tips, techniques and tutorials that will really help you on the way to more successful and more enjoyable fishing!

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What Is a Success Story and How To Write It

What Is a Success Story and How To Write It

Just imagine that your site is one of the most successful in the on-line classifieds industry, but no one knows about this fact. The both sides – you and your prospect clients – suffer. You are not properly rewarded for your efforts because nobody knows about your excellence and your clients don’t know what good services are available for them to use and how they can be benefitted.

You should do something to make the public to get to know about your accomplishments. How?

We’ve got the answer! Write a success story! Success story, case study, customer testimonial – whatever you call them they are a valuable sales and marketing tool, as their main goal is to impact public and make them visit your site and use your products or services. Almost everybody loves to read about success stories. They are always about a challenge, new experience and looking for solutions.

What Is a Success Story?

In general, success story is an example of a successful practice when a company has achieved documented successful results. Success stories can be as short as 3-4 paragraphs or as long as 20 pages. It can be distributed in print, as PDFs, in the company newsletter, it also can be posted on the Web site, distributed at conferences, packaged and tailored to particular audiences for customer meetings, and sent in direct mail packages.

Why to write success stories?

To give your readers an example of real successful project. Examples will help to understand difficult concepts and complex business issues. And solutions that can solve the issues. To generate empathy to enable readers to empathize with the challenge that you faced in the success story, in case your readers face a similar problem. The goal is make readers to closely identify with the author of the relevant success story. To add credibility. People believe success stories because such case studies usually relate a factual situations, besides they are full of real facts. A good success story full with facts and figures can also demonstrate ROI (if the documentation of a return on investment is possible). To share your ideas and to learn what works and what doesn’t work. To let the public know that you do good work that positively impacts the lives of people

Anyway writing a success story about your business can not only provide the competitive advantage that your business need, but give you additional reason to be proud of yourself which is also important for a successful businessman like you.

How to write a good success story: CARP – Model

We live in the world where people are mostly skeptical and need a good reason to listen to you, or choose your product or use your services. Previously we discussed the reasons for writing success stories and today we will learn how to write a success story that makes people believe.

There are a lot of ways to write an interesting and persuasive story and you can easily google them. Today we offer you the CARP-model for wring success stories, the model which is easy to understand and follow and flexible enough to be changed giving you much space for self-expression. Finally it’s quite effective.

The structure consists of four parts:

Challenge Action Result Perspective

We call this structure CARP-model. it’s easy to remember even if you are not a fishing lover, isn’t it?

So the CARP-model provides you with the structure for your success story. Let’s dive deeper into the details.

Challenge

The main purpose is to make readers identify with the challenge.

Who had the challenge? Who cares?

What problem, issue or concern needed addressing?

Why was it important?

What was the cost of addressing or not addressing it

Action

The main purpose is to demonstrate how you responded to the challenge and how product and services can impact the business challenge.

What did you do to address your challenge?

How big was the project? Include inputs (staff, funding, volunteers, research, expertise) and outputs – activities (teaching, facilitation, product development and people (number of people and demographics).

Which product or services did you use?

How did our products and services help?

Why do you choose this product?

Result

The main purpose is to show that the benefits are real, quantifiable and compelling

What resulted? Use quantitative and qualitative data to describe important outcomes (changes and benefits) achieved as a result of the actions described earlier.

Who benefited and how? Help the reader understand the meaning behind the change.

Describe the benefits you achieved (including benefits like increased customer satisfaction or reduced stuff turnover) in most-important-to-least-important order.

Perspective

The main purpose is to show that achieved excellent results are the part of continuous growth and you are full of plans and perspectives.

What is the perspective for the future?

Is there a next stage that you now plan to implement?

How do you plan to change your business in future?

What are your goals and intentions?

You just need to follow the CARP-model and it will keep you from becoming confused while writing your success story. Answer all questions and you will get well-structured and clear success story. And some more tips: 

Don’t forget about the appealing lead to the story Use attractive pictures Proofread the text Use active vs. passive voice Read it aloud before submitting somewhere If the story seems too long, delete one or more of the least important facts from the story . Try to follow the classic structure for writing a success story: Problem and Solution, Before and After, Then and Now. Focus on the reader’s interest (usually in terms of how clients benefit).

Good fishing!

http://www.worksforweb.com/
WorksForWeb is a software development company specialized in Web-based applications with focus on PHP classifieds scripts. WorksForWeb offers three multi-language SEO-optimized platforms: iRealty real estate classifieds script, iLister multi-purpose classifieds software and iAuto vehicle classifieds script.

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    Krabi newsletter January 2009

    Krabi newsletter January 2009

    Please check out our web site … http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.

    Hi everyone and welcome to 2009. Let’s all hope this recession ends soon – it’s really crippling us, as the first thing people do in troubled times is not take an exotic holiday. Don’t forget to cheer yourselves up and come and see me at the Carpin’ On show 2009 at Five Lakes near Maldon in Essex – see the link on our website. We are on Stand 10A, and if you book and pay on the day you receive a 10% discount. If you bring a Big Carp Magazine and show me, we will give you a further 5% discount, so that’s a massive 15% off the best fishing holiday on the planet. If you buy your tickets in advance for the show you automatically go into the free draw for a week for two with flights, fishing and accommodation at Gillhams Krabi. Just click on the link above.

    The first few days of January saw the end of a holiday for a few people who spent Christmas with us. It’s always a sad moment, as people who came as clients and leave as friends depart, but most rebook so we all meet again. As I write this report the heatwave continues; we are having the hottest January on record, the sun is relentless, and every day is over 100 degrees. We haven’t had a drop of rain in five weeks; the lake has dropped a foot as we water the gardens twice a day from the lake. The gardens are struggling in the heat in the jungle around us; the trees are going brown so I just hope there isn’t a fire! The intense heat and flat calm conditions are making the fishing very hard, especially for the arapaima; they are just not feeding hard at all, just taking the odd snack. The Mekong catfish have started to feed in earnest again though, and it seems the stingray like the hot weather also. Talking of stingray, I was landing one for angler Eric Keogh, and stingrays are hard to net – it takes two or three of us to manhandle them into the net. As I was shoving the fish into the net, it swished its tail, impaling its sting into my foot, and I have never in my life experienced pain like it! Within seconds my whole leg was on fire; it was like someone pushing a red-hot poker up my leg, and all my muscles started to seize up as I went into shock.

    The lads on the lake bundled me into our car and drove like lunatics to the local hospital, where they had been pre-warned of our arrival. The hospital had staff waiting, and I was rushed into emergency. By now the pain was excruciating, and my shirt was soaked with sweat. Immediately two doctors appeared and started injecting my foot with anesthetics and an anti-venom type substance. Next, the doctor cut open the wound and removed the sting and a black skin that covers the sting. The wound was then packed out with antibiotics and cotton wool. I had to go to hospital every day for over a week for more injections, and to have the wound opened and cleaned. All our stingrays in the lake had their stings removed, but we did not realize that every so often a stingray has two stings. This one had been overlooked and had two; the sting folds flat to the tail and we had missed this one. The 110lb fish had its sting removed this time. We have stingray to over 200lb in the lake, and in future we will no longer net them in this way until we are sure the sting is absent. Fishing at the lake is perfectly safe as stingrays stay away from people. They are like any creature – if cornered and panicked they lash out. The only time they will sting is when you start annoying them. It was my own fault for being blas? about these beautiful fish. I will have more respect for them next time, and for our customer’s safety no angler is allowed in the lake until any fish has been contained and made safe. This ensures that our customers are 100% safe at all times. For the record freshwater stingray are believed to reach 1,000lbs with 5m wingspans, so this fish was a baby really at 110lb. Mind you, can you imagine a 110lb hornet? We have five different species of fish in Gillhams over 100lb, and landing these huge fish is dangerous. We are professionals but we still get hurt; a moment’s lapse in concentration is all it takes. I will repeat our customers are safe as long as they take our advice and do not enter the water ‘til we say it is 100% safe to do so.

    We are still getting the odd person, with the emphasis on odd, who come here, get a huge fish, and feel let down because they wanted one bigger. One guy this month had a 60lb Chao Phraya catfish, which is only 4lb off the world record, but he did not want a photo because in his words he will wait for a big fish. He even admitted it was the biggest fish he had ever caught! Mind you the same guy had his biggest carp, but waited for a bigger one, then when he had an arapaima and a big red tail catfish in a day, he was also disappointed because he had to wait a whole seven hours between fish! Oh where do they come from? Luckily the real nice guys who appreciate catching fish outweigh these so-called fishermen. Some people just want a trophy shot, and do not wish to put in any effort. We even get some that are gutted they don’t get several 100lb fish a day with a couple of 300lb-plus fish thrown in. We are thinking of starting a new service for these people where people can order their fish online; we will enhance their mug behind a fish and send them the picture of their prize without them even having to take the trouble to come here, and I bet we would have some takers! The other annoying people who come here who really wind us up are the litter louts. Last week we had a prat come here who actually called his self Gayland (I kid you not) with his two boyfriends, who I presume were called Ben Dover and Phil McCavity! Now he (it) was the typical berk who only wanted a trophy shot. On arrival they commented how beautiful the place is, only to throw rubbish all around their swim! Luckily I was out all day and just missed them leaving, because their swim was an absolute tip with rubbish strewn everywhere. It took the boys ten minutes to clear the mess of food wrappers, fag ends and general crap! If I had been there I would have donned the rubber gloves and dragged them by their blouses to clear up the mess themselves! We supply rubbish bags and have sand pots in the swims for faggot ends, so please use them. I personally get really angry about cigarette ends thrown on the ground or tossed in the lake. It makes me wonder what these people’s houses are like. That’s it – monthly whinge over!

    Back to a bit of humor – my manager Watt, bless him, is very gullible and Sean got him a treat this month. Watt wanted to know how he could increase the size of his manhood, so Sean informed him of a cream called 3-in-1 that triples the size of your tackle, and poor young Watt fell for it. My daughter Becca bought some Immac hair remover over at Christmas, so we put it in a plain bottle and presented it to Watt. He went off with our security man the local policeman; they smeared the cream around their parts, and sat around for an hour talking of what they were going to do with their new king size weapons! After an hour they washed the cream off, along with all their forest. They came to see me in a state of horror and shock, but were very relieved when I told them it is the first stage of growth and to repeat it next month. Oh what a horrid person I am! Roll on next month!

    The top method this month looks alien to European anglers, but lots of Siamese carp are coming out to a method feeder fished 3ft below a float with a golf ball sized fishmeal boilie suspended under it. Now I just wonder, would this method work in European waters? The first of the new arrivals were our dear friends Wil and Betty from Holland, who came last year for a few days and stayed a few weeks before setting off on an epic motorcycle journey from India back to Holland. This time their trip was tame, coming straight to Thailand and back by plane. We are planning a trip together now for June when we are going into the jungle fishing for Thai mahseer, that’s if the troubles in the Congo don’t end, because the minute they do we are all planning to race to catch a Goliath tiger fish. Last year Wil and Betty came as clients, and this year, as with many of our guests, they returned as friends. They planned a five-day trip here, and once again stayed longer – as Wil got into the fishing, the trip grew to ten days. We were dreading another group that came to us, as there were 30 people. We had to arrange a speedboat to collect them from an Island 50 miles away, and minibuses to transport them from the beach to here, but they were an absolute joy to host. The whole day went smoothly, and we even managed to accommodate them for the night when they didn’t wish to leave. There was not one person in the group who was the slightest problem, but the fish kept their nuts down though, as there had never been so many lines in the lake at once. Paul and Lorraine, it was a pleasure hosting you all, and we are looking forward to you all returning this year for a holiday. As for Lorraine, she deserved a medal organizing the whole holiday for 30.

    We also had a visit from two brothers who we nicknamed The Wurzels, a really nice pair of lads who lived on a farm in the country, and decided to have an adventure. They had never been out of their county, let alone the country, and they had never heard of a place called Oxford where our guide Kevin hails from. Imagine the boys’ surprise when they landed in Thailand! Apparently at home they don’t go out drinking, “We’ze don’ts goes out dranking, we’ze stays in wiz a noice cup orf tea.” We asked one brother if he saw the guy opposite land the big Mekong catfish. He replied, “Nooooooo, I warz wachin’ der arnts – oi loike arnts, they is fazinating indzects.” Yes they were proper characters, really nice lads on an adventure, and imagine their return home to the farm explaining all the things they had seen to their family, “Duz yoo nowz in that Thailand theyz eats frags snakez an bugz, and even der gals haz got willies, not likes our sis aat all, yer nowz!” I must stop, but they kept us amused and were real nice guys.

    So now enough of my twaddle and onto the fishing. This month has seen 45 day tickets (30 in one group) and 38 guests on Thailand fishing holidays, fishing in Thailand from a few days to a couple of weeks. Between them they landed 465 fish of 15 species, made up as follows… 25 arapaima to 400lbs, 12 Mekong catfish to 180lbs, 255 Siamese carp to 120lbs, 72 red tail catfish to 80lbs, five alligator gar to 15lbs, four Asian red tail catfish to 30lbs, 13 black pacu to 30lbs, seven Chao Phraya catfish to 65lbs, 19 spotted sorubim to 35lbs, four Julian’s golden prize carp to 25lbs, eight spotted featherback to 10lbs, 17 rohu carp to 16lbs, 18 striped snakehead to 4lbs, five giant stingray to 120lbs, and one wallago attu of 24lb.

    As mentioned earlier Wil, with his much better half Betty, from Holland were the first new guests in after Christmas. The fishing this year was slower than last, but as Wil targets big fish it suited him and his style of fishing. Wil’s target this year was to fish Siam carp. Betty once again was chief photographer, reporter, general gopher, and live bait catcher. Betty loves float fishing for our lesser species, but Wil made strict rules – no float fishing before 9am so as not to spook the fish! Wil ended his session with five arapaima to 200lb, 13 Siamese carp to 110lb, and three Mekong catfish to 130lb. That’s three species in one trip exceeding 100lb! Plus he had five red tail catfish to 45lb, and some rohu and pacu.

    The next new arrivals who came to us via Siam fishing tours, were totally laid back Mark with his non-fishing wife Carol. I have never in my life met someone as chilled out as Mark, a lovely guy who just got taken in by the peace and tranquility of Gillhams. We actually had to pick up Mark and all his equipment and move him to a different spot, as for four days Mark sat gazing in awe at the beauty of our resort, failing to cast at showing fish or sometimes for that matter even failing to cast. Poor Mark ended the trip with just one fish (mind you that was one more than Siam fishing tours managed to get him). He has vowed to return with his fishing head on next time, but mind you, Mark showed that you do not need to catch fish to enjoy a trip here. Day-ticket visitor pearl necklace Terry came for a day on the busiest day of the month when we had the group of 30 in, but he saw enough to fit a four-hour session in the next morning before leaving Krabi, and his keenness paid off with a 55lb Chao Phraya catfish and three Siamese carp to 40lb. Ian Norris, an ex-pat living in Australia did the usual, a 24-hour trip, and left it ‘til the last hour to catch, but it was worth the wait when first he landed a rare wallago attu at 24lb, followed by the ever-friendly Siamese carp, Black Spot, at 70lb.

    Steve Cox made a return visit for a three-day trip with his mate Colin and two Thai friends, Kuan and Jay, who are regulars at Bungsamlan Lake in Bangkok. The Thai lads gave the two Brits a proper lesson in fishing with their knowledge of Thai species, landing 25 fish to the Britt’s 11 fish! Whenever Coxie leaves Gillhams, a big Siamese carp comes out, and this trip was no exception because as he left Wil had a 110lb carp. Another 48-hour visitor was builder Steve Holberry from Manchester with his mate Mark. They landed 12 fish between them, with the icing on the cake going to Steve in the shape of a 90lb Siamese carp. The cobblers from Manchester, Ross and Slim John, made the short drive from Phuket for a 1? day trip. Slim John only made part of the first day, and retired knackered after landing seven carp in a short flurry of action, deciding to stop while ahead, and work his way through our restaurant menu! Ross meanwhile gave his all, fishing ‘til the final whistle for a haul of six Siamese carp to 60lb, one 50lb red tail catfish, and a 150lb Mekong catfish. This fish took him all over the lake while Slim sat eating a box of pies. Judging by the amount consumed by Slim, we estimated the fight took one hour, or 10 pies, 11 cakes, a bucket of ice cream, and 20 fags!

    Then came the incredible hulk brothers Ricky and Terry Clark. These two giants were spot-on sound guys who came and enjoyed every moment of their stay. They came hoping for an arapaima, but whatever they caught was a bonus – just the attitude needed to fish here. Now the first day Ricky, who is about 10ft tall with a physique that makes Arnie look a wimp, caught a nice Mekong catfish. He plucked it from the landing net as if it was a minnow, “How big,” he asked? Well judging by the ease with which he had just lifted, it I would have said 5lb, but went for 120lb instead so as not to offend him! “No,” he stated, “I reckon 180lb,” and who was I to argue? But to humour him, I went to lift it, and amidst laughter from all around, I nearly followed through, and for sure it was easily 180lb. Ricky went on to take three Mekong, 17 Siamese carp, two red tail catfish, one pacu, and his target species, a nice 200lb arapaima. Terry, who is the same size as Ricky, with arms like hams, caught ten fish including two 100lb-plus arapaima. I am very glad the brothers were here when they were, as during this time I had the mishap with the stingray, and the lads plucked me from the lake like a feather and ran with me to the waiting car. Thanks you two, I owe you one. The hot weather was certainly bringing the stingrays on the feed, as two days later Keith from Liverpool landed another one, minus a sting! This fish weighed in at 120lb, and compensated for a lost arapaima.

    Another laid back Mr. Nice Guy, Ken Weeks, booked in for a week. Ken came to chill out and hopefully catch a few fish. He was great fun to be with, and thoroughly enjoyed his stay here. The first few days Ken just chilled in the wrong swim, but was not bothered. Later in the week he moved to the other end of the lake, landing 31 fish for the week. He got into a shoal of Siamese carp, and took 18 to 50lb. At the same time my dear friends Jamie and Carol Mclean arrived just for a quiet break to see us. Jamie did manage a couple of short sessions between the swimming pool and sightseeing, while Carol divulged her secret steak and kidney pudding and bacon pudding recopies to Steve. Oh mate, these are to die for, and are now on the menu here at Gillhams – I have already put on another 20lbs! Jamie’s best fish from five was a red tail of 65lb. I had an enquiry before Christmas from a guy by the name of Jerker who wished to visit for a 48-hour trip. I thought it was a wind-up from a mate, but actually it turns out to be a popular name in Scandinavian countries – apparently there are lots of Jerkers over there! I suppose when they leave they say Jerker’s off! Sorry couldn’t resist that; it’s a bit like the lad called Wayne Kerr. OK back to the story… Jerker was a fishing fanatic; he booked three rods, and was buzzing from the moment he arrived. He had his better half Ida with him, and what a pair! He said that Ida could fish, but he only wanted her to use maize or boilies so as not to catch bigger fish than him. The first day Ida was a machine, taking eight Siamese carp in a short feeding spell, but the next day she properly gave Jerker a spanking with a 150lb Mekong catfish in the morning, followed by three more Siamese carp to 120lb. While all this was happening, poor Jerker in the next swim landed just two fish. The following week Jerker returned for a day’s fishing, and to save face poor Ida was not allowed to fish! He had a better day, probably because Ida was showing him what to do, landing five fish with some small carp, by Ida’s standards, up to 55lb, along with a nice featherback around 12lb.

    Reiner from Dream Lake in Chiang Mai sent his Austrian client Andreas to us. By the time he arrived we were in the middle of a heatwave and the fishing was slow, but in a week he still managed 21 fish of five species. His target featherback eluded him, but on the final day, in the last hour of fishing, Andreas landed a dream fish in the shape of a 400lb arapaima! This was the same fish that rescued Len Gurd’s trip last month, again in the last hour of the last day. This arapaima is just packing on the weight – it was stocked at 300lb and avoided capture for 18 months. We are sure if it avoids capture for the next 18 months, it will reach 500lbs! At the same time as Andreas we had German client Peter in for three days. Peter’s target were predators, and he scored with two arapaima, best 160lb-plus, an 85lb stingray, and also took three red tail catfish. Germany has been making a good appearance here this month, and our final German client for the month was catfish fanatic Michael Zellner, who came for four days, and immediately rebooked for July when the heatwave will be well and truly over, as it will be our rainy season by then. Michael only landed nine fish due to the extreme heat, as we suffered the hottest January on record, but he did land his dream fish, an arapaima of 120lb. Michael’s attitude was what we wish everyone’s would be, enjoy the holiday – one big fish makes the holiday, and he could see enough potential here if the weather is kind to re book.

    A bit of a sad one is the way to describe the next visitors. Here at Gillhams we want everyone to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the lake. We designed a fishery for the specialist angler where patience is rewarded with the biggest fish of your dreams. Most people catch a dream fish in a week, and sometimes two or three. We have never claimed Gillhams as a mackerel fishing location where you catch a fish a chuck from an overcrowded stock pond where all the fish are starving and emaciated. Our fish are the biggest and best-conditioned fish in Asia due to a low stocking density and an abundance of natural food. You should expect around four fish a day with a dream fish as a bonus. Henk and Job from Holland had not done their homework because if you look through our website you will see we are not a single specie overstocked bowl, and we chose the area for its peace, quiet and beauty, not like Bungsamlan in Bangkok where you can sit with crowds of muppets crossing lines amongst skyscrapers and fumes, hauling out vast bags of starved, badly beaten catfish before heading back to your hotel through traffic jams for a night of debauchery in the girlie bars. Unfortunately Gillhams was not for Henk and Job, so after a few days of only fishing part time they landed six fish, with a stingray of 80lb and Siamese carp to 50lb, before they headed back to Bangkok for a wild time in the bars, plus sticking hooks in numerous half starved and tatty Mekong and striped catfish amongst the crowds.

    By contrast to Henk and Job, the next guest had read up on us, and wanted peace, quiet and big fish in beautiful surroundings. The spritely 70-years-young Arthur Hawkins, with his delightful fishing partner and wife Angie, came for a week on their way home from visiting their daughter and grandchildren in Australia. Arthur first noticed Gillhams via the article by Gary Newman in Anglers Mail after the Anglers Mail visit here. Arthur’s target was a big fish of any species, as he wanted to win a Jonny foreigner hat. In a week of chilling out and a second honeymoon, Arthur landed 13 fish of five species, the best being two arapaima to 220lb, and four red tail catfish to 75lb. Not to be outdone, Angie showed just what the women can do; she was a very competent and experienced fisherwoman who is thoroughly enjoying retirement with Arthur, fishing around the world. Angie landed 12 fish of four species, the best being four red tail catfish to 80lb, and six Siamese carp to 45lb. If poor Angie had not lost a couple of big fish, one being an arapaima, she would have upstaged Arthur. The couple both realized that the extreme heat was slowing the fishing, but agreed that Gillhams would still be paradise without the fish – in their words the fish were a bonus. Top couple, top fishing – we will see them both later in the year.

    Gillhams is starting to get noticed in Singapore, so if any of our Singaporean followers are reading this and know the dates of the Singapore fishing show, please email me so we can attend and show just what we have, only a 1? hour flight from Singapore. One guy who made the trip this month was Nick Wheeler, an ex-pat Englishman working and living there, Nick came with his wife and one-year-old daughter for a week’s holiday with three days fishing, and landed ten fish in the three days of six species, with arapaima to 120lb, Chao Phraya catfish to 60lb, a baby Mekong catfish of 65lb, plus red tail catfish to 65lb along with Siamese carp and sorubim, all in all a fair bit of sport for a short trip.

    So that’s me running out of space folks, but don’t forget the Five Lakes show on the 7/8 March. By the time you get next month’s newsletter I will be freezing in the UK, wearing shoes, long trousers and jackets for the first time in a year! If your fishing club want a talk on Thailand fishing holidays or fishing in Thailand, please contact me, as I still have some dates available. Forget the recession, and treat yourself to the fishing trip of a lifetime here at www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com Phone +66861644554. So, ‘til next month, from all of us at Gillhams, bye for now, thanks for your support, and catch a whacker.

    Stuart and the team.

    Please check out our web site … http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.

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    Krabi newsletter March 2009

    Please check out our web site … http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.

    Krabi newsletter March 2009

    Hi to all of you following this fishing in Thailand series. This last month has been hectic to say the least with my trip back to the UK and Holland. For those of you who came to see me at the shows, thank you, and a bigger thank you to all of you who booked your holiday with us. To all my friends who I didn’t make it too see, sorry but time ran out. So I suppose to start this newsletter – on with the shows. Firstly Five Lakes in Essex; this one should have been the showpiece, but to be honest the organizers let me down badly to say the least. When it was first talked about our part of the deal was giving the Carpin’ on show a prize of a week’s holiday for two with flights to the value of around ?3,000, which was for sure the best prize any idiot had ever given them. Their part of the deal, I was told, was that I would get a monthly slot on Carp-Talk online (not a lot considering 50% of the pages are repeats), mentions in all Angling Publications comics, and mentions both days throughout the show, the client base for all entries to the competition. Put all this with a free stand, accommodation and meals at the show, and it was a reasonable deal for us, and a blinding one for them.

    So what did I get? The Carp-Talk online articles stopped once I had agreed to the prize, the mentions in their magazines never appeared, there wasn’t a single mention during the show, no client base, and a 2m by 2m stand not giving us enough room to swing a mosquito, let alone display our pictures! I wasn’t even asked to come on stage and draw the winner – in fact I had to go and search for someone to check if the winner had been drawn. To top that off, it took them two weeks to give me the winner’s name even though they managed to put it on Carp-Talk online the next week! And what did I get? A bill from them for a table, chairs, and plug for the rabbit hutch they called a stand, and a promise for a free stand of a decent size next year! But will they keep their word! It was comical at the show watching the organizers walking around, and every time they approached our box, oops, sorry, stand, they turned on their heels and walked back the way they came. Not once did one of them come and see us or thank me for the prize. On top of all that I let Rob Maylin share my room (twin beds, honest!). Now Rob snores louder than a jumbo jet on takeoff, so Saturday night there was no sleep – if he snores like that on his visit to us he will cause a tsunami.

    Another old friend I met up with at the show was my old pike fishing mucker Max Cottis, who I was pleased to see is now twice my size and shops at Chipperfield’s for his keks! Max has started his own company Ace Advanced Carp Equipment, which every one who demands quality should look out for. He presented me with a typical Max idea, the D-Spool Line Stripper, a brilliant bit of kit that fits on your standard electric drill, and is used to unload and dispose of your old line quickly and safely. It includes a slipping clutch in case the line snags, and this handy bit of kit will save us hours, having 70 reels to maintain. Typical Max idea – simple but brilliant. I am sure Max will come up with many ideas, so my advice to you all is check out the Ace range, as anything Max puts his name to is quality. The blast from the past at the show must go to another old mate. An Alf Garnet lookalike appeared, a little old fella in a denim jacket and jeans, and slid alongside me asking, “How you doing, geezer?” I had to whisper to Rob, “Who is this?” “It’s Ritchie McDonald,” was his reply. Christ, I would never have recognized my old mucker Richie – the only clue was the hooter! Nice to see the little bald fella and hopefully he’s coming out to see us soon.

    The most asked question at the show was, “How many fish over 100lb could I catch in a day from your lake?” Oh dear, nothing changes! In comparison the Visma show in Holland was the nuts – obviously set up and run by professionals! I was invited by Leo Burger of Carps Cabin to go on one of their stands, and on arrival I was given a 5m by 4m stand in a prime location – wow, I could swing the cat! All in all Leo and his team treated me like a king, and not a bill in site – top man, top team, and a top show. Thanks to you all, plus a big thank you to our dear friends Wil and Betty who gave up their valid time to help me over the four-day show. Betty, you could sell sand to the Arabs – thanks. Finally, a big thank you to all the people who flocked around the stand to see the fine pictures we had room to display, plus all of you who booked. Lastly, while the shows are on my mind, how about this? While sorting through the archives for some fish pictures for the shows, I came across a picture of Sean stocking a stingray in February 2008. This fish was stocked while I was in England for the 2008 fishing shows, and there right by his hand was a bloody sting! Yes, now the mystery is solved – it was never removed. It didn’t grow, it wasn’t a second sting, it was Sean after his inheritance early – thank god he only stocked the one! Still on the subject of stingrays, apparently it is barbaric to remove their stings. Funny, as they don’t flinch when it’s done, and seem healthy enough, even spawning after it has been done on fish farms. Mind you, some much more barbaric things have been done to these magnificent beasts in the name of glory, records and self-hype, but I won’t comment on this, as others are going to elsewhere, but to the guy who said it – stones and glass houses spring to mind!

    Since last month’s newsletter with our heatwave conditions and no rain, March has been like June here, raining every afternoon much to our gardener’s delight. The lake has had a good flush through and is at its maximum level. Perfect conditions for this month’s visit by National Geographic to film my old mucker Rob Maylin – the spawny git even got a business class ticket thrown in with the deal. Watch out in May as another mate arrives, Keith ‘Made in England’ Jenkins – now that will be a blast. I can’t wait to take Keith to our local nightspot to see the in-house band – we are gonna rock! No visit to England is complete without a visit to my dear friend Bob Baker, aka Richworth baits. Apart from a stock up of 300 method feeders, Uncle Bobbie gave us five litres of the old favorite salmon oil – wow, that’s a flavour from my dark past. I am sure the carp here are gonna love it! The day before I visited Bob I went to the Cemex Horton Church Pool to see my old mates Ladders and Dell, and as I parked the car, lo and behold a guy had a 40lb-plus carp, the first 40lb European carp I have seen in five years since my exile – oh, I want one again now! Another trip I made was to see my old mate Rob Eustace at Gold Label Tackle. The big fat boss, tubby Terry Eustace visited Krabi whilst I was in the UK – a bit of a long way to go to avoid me, I thought! We went out, had a few beers, and the obligatory Indian, only to return to Rob’s for the Chelsea game. Rob’s mate Alan Boon is a Chelsea fanatic, and when Chelsea scored, he was off the sofa dancing like a good’un, and Rob’s Staffordshire terrier seized his foot, bit through his shoe, shaking him like a rat. Obviously the dog ain’t no Chelsea fan!

    Before I left home for the UK we bought 20 arapaima from 150lb to 220lb from a fish farm that went broke, plus two breeding pairs around the 350lb mark, which went to our fish farm to keep new strains coming into our arapaima breeding program. Back to the 20 fish – all our stock ponds are full to capacity, so we netted off the top bay of the main lake and put them in behind the net to settle down. Well, all the other fish in the lake tumbled that a free feast was on offer every day, so when these fish were fed, arapaima and all the catfish species sneaked over the net and cashed in on the feast. So many fish in a small space resulted in some in-house fighting, resulting in a sorubim, tiger catfish and rohu, who thought it would be a cool place to hide, getting themselves killed in the fighting, On my return, the area behind the net was bulging with various freeloaders – all our 300lb-plus arapaima were in there, so no wonder they have been absent this month. Also there were big red tail catfish and Chao Phraya – one red tail was huge, and when he gets caught he will be 100lb-plus for sure. Now the net is out of place and the food has stopped going in, some big fish should be on the cards, and the boost to the arapaima stocks should make for some good fishing over the coming months.

    The plea for a giant weigh sling has been answered by Army Andy, who makes slings, mats etc to order. My dear friend Ruth from Yateley Angling put us onto Andy, as he makes specials to order for them and the Tackle Box. He has made us a stretcher type cradle that will allow us to weigh a record arapaima safely, so once one is caught under the IGFA rules, Gillhams should soon be the home of another world record. I couldn’t bring it back with me, as my bags were full of other goodies, but Rob is bringing it with him next week. Not much controversial gossip this month, as I was away, but Sean had one dick in who claimed to fish at home all year for one big carp. So he had managed to fit in a few hours to come here and get some monsters, but gave up after five hours, disappointed not to have had a fish over the 100lb mark – as Sean said, another twat! So that’s about it on gossip for this month, but watch out for next month as we have some crackers already plus we will have the return of Maylin! So it’s on to the fish reports.

    12 anglers came for fishing holidays in Thailand, and 26 came on day trips. Between them they caught 407 fish of 17 species, made up as follows… 39 arapaima to 220lb, eight alligator gar to 20lb, 55 Amazon red tail catfish to 70lb, six Asian red tail catfish to 30lb, ten black pacu to 35lb, six Chao Phraya catfish to 50lb, three giant featherback to 7lb, one giant snakehead of 4lb, nine Julian’s golden prize carp to 30lb, four Mekong catfish to 120lb, six rohu to 20lb, five spotted featherback to 10lb, 215 Siamese carp to 120lb, four striped snakehead to 4lb, 20 spotted sorubim to 40lb, eight shovel nosed tiger catfish to 20lb, two wallago attu to 20lb, and six wallago leeri to 10lb.

    The first visitor to arrive this month had the unfortunate name of Gordon Brown. Oh if only it had been the Gordon Brown we could have saved Britain from destruction, and put him through the fish mincer and fed him to the arapaima – it’s about all he would be any good for! This Gordon though was an American with the misfortune of sharing the other prat’s name. In a couple of days fishing he landed arapaima to 150lb and Siamese carp to 55lb, plus a small red tail. Next to arrive was a returning client Carsten Brandt with his delightful other half Eva. Now Carsten had to suffer a dramatic temperature change to come here, going from -38 to +35! Carsten comes from Greenland and had vowed last year after coming for a day and a night, to get his dream fish, an arapaima. Well he achieved that in style, landing seven to 200lb in his seven-day stay. In all Carsten landed 42 fish of six species with Siamese carp to 60lb, red tail catfish to 55lb, and a rare Julian’s golden prize carp along with rohu and alligator gar.

    Then along came Neil ‘no tip’ with his much better half Kim. After leaving us last month they had been travelling around Thailand and Vietnam only to miss Steve’s cooking and our beautiful resort. This time around Kim put her foot down on the little wimp and made him take her out on day trips all week. He was allowed to fish on an hourly basis before and after day trips, and still managed a respectful catch of 28 fish of seven species for the week, these being arapaima to 150lb, spotted sorubim to 30lb, red tail catfish to 55lb, Siamese carp to 50lb, tiger catfish of 15lb, a 10lb rohu, and lastly a giant snakehead of 4lb. Now these snakehead were never stocked below 12lb, so it is another baby of a species breeding here in perfect conditions, it makes us wonder what will end up here, as fish keep breeding in the perfect environment we have created. Talking of fish that have bred here, how’s this for a catch of fish for a day ticket? Swedish angler Johan came for a day trip and landed two wallago leeri of 8lb and 10lb (black wallago), again both bred here as we never stocked these fish under 20lb. Actually six of these fish have come out this month, so there has been a very successful spawning of these beautiful rare fish. Johan also had two giant featherback of 5lb and 7lb, another fish that has been spawning away here for the last two years. Again these cracking looking fish were never stocked under 10lb. Johan went on to catch a rare Julian’s golden prize carp of 24lb, an Asian red tail catfish, plus an Amazon red tail catfish and two Siamese carp. That’s six species in a day with three of them being old Poppa Eustace’s target species for his holiday.

    Talking of the old fat git Poppa Terry Eustace, he was the next arrival, taking a nicely planned trip to coincide with my trip to Europe. Terry arrived at his new PB weight of 21 stone 6lb – wow, that’s an awful lot of flab on the old bloodhound lookalike! Terry’s target species this trip were Siamese carp, and he managed ten up to 75lb, but had to suffer the swim next to him turning up one of 120lb. Terry has another passion apart from eating, and that’s catching new species, so imagine the old sod’s face when a day ticket angler opposite him caught all the ones he wanted. Terry was on a roll, and not his usual bacon one! When disaster struck, he wasn’t like the old weeble that used to wobble and not fall down – poor old Poppa took a tumble landing heavily (well he would), and he damaged his ribs, which curtailed his fishing. He had to extend his stay for another week as he was unfit to fly, and he spent the next week unable to fish, but perfectly capable of eating all day! Terry’s tally before the accident was 16 fish with two arapaima to 170lb, and a new species in the shape of an 18lb tiger catfish that the silly sod managed to delete from his camera whilst looking at it!

    Swedish women can certainly fish, as Asa showed her boyfriend Mathias. This couple only came for two days’ fishing and a two-night stay, but in the first hour she landed a 170lb arapaima and a Siamese carp, only to gain a ban from fishing the next day in case she showed Mathias up further. She said her arms ached, but refused a lie detector test. Mathias never achieved the arapaima, but did land six fish of four species. Talking of short stay visitors, expat Warren made the six-hour journey here again this month from his home in Hua Hin. Last month when Warren was here he bought a kilo of the Gillham special boilies. Having used at least 15 of them, he took them home and fished a local lake with them, only to return with at least half a kilo for this trip. At the end of four days he had landed 12 fish, the best a 170lb arapaima, and went home with at least ten boilies for his next trip. Now that must be the best eight quid the fella has ever spent. He runs a restaurant as a living, and Christ, I dread to think what they do with the leftovers. I bet he doesn’t know what a sell by date is either! Another nice fella to arrive with his lovely family was Neil Cobley; he came for a two week family holiday using Gillhams as a base to go sight seeing etc, and fishing odd hours between trips out. Neil had asked a million questions prior to coming, and he brought some spods, making him the first to try them here. Also being a Nutrabaits fan, he made the kids wear the same clothes the entire trip so he could fit in 40kg of his favourite baits. He spodded vast amounts of maize, and fished his beloved boilies over the top when after a few slow days something clicked! He gave maize a try, and the change of tactics paid off when the first day he landed a cracking 120lb Siamese carp, which now adorns his Facebook profile picture. One day trip Neil went on was a day’s training at the local Thai boxing stadium. It cost him more money than a day’s fishing here to get his arse kicked! To be fair to Neil, he treated his family holiday with 100% commitment, but on his odd hours fishing he put in the same effort to prove what a good fisherman can do here if he studies the lake and puts in the work. Neil ended his holiday with more fish than those who don’t try catch while they sit fishing all day every day. He caught 34 fish of nine species, including five arapaima to 180lb, 18 Siamese carp to 120lb, three rare Julian’s golden prize carp, sorubim, pacu, alligator gar, and Asian red tail cats along with a rare tiger catfish and an even rarer wallago attu (silver wallago). Just shows what accurate casting and spodding can do! I wonder what Neil would have achieved if he had fished full days?

    John Cristlas came to try our style of fishing for a day, being a keen fly fisherman at home in the UK. Fishing with static baits on alarms was new to John, and after a couple of hours declared this type of fishing, although relaxing, wasn’t his thing. This all changed 40 minutes later when he latched into a 100lb Siamese carp that took him three quarters of an hour to land. This fish had him shaking with excitement, and when an hour later his fish bait rattled off he was hooked, or rather a bloody great stingray was! After an hour of tugging and pulling the hook hold gave, and poor John was left wondering what might have been. He is now going to take up carping in the UK, thinking 100lb carp are plentiful! Seriously though, he is now another statistic of somebody who is hooked on carping, and he knows to beat his PB he will have to return to swell my bank balance – oh I love the draw of Gillhams.

    Space is running out again but we must mention returning client Graham Jones, who came for a ten-day stay, mainly sightseeing, but with three days fishing. The plan went out the window once Graham started fishing; he ended up fishing all ten days, landing 34 fish with the third 100lb-plus carp this month in the shape of a fine 110lb fish, plus four arapaima to 130lb along with red tail catfish and pacu. Another couple who wished they had booked their whole holiday here instead of five days were Don and Ann Spence. They had stayed at another fishery in the past that was a crap hole, and were dubious about what to expect here. As soon as they arrived they made the usual comment that our website does not do the resort justice. Don had a few fish under his belt, including an arapaima, when he hooked into a turbocharged arapaima that took him the length of the lake then burst through the net holding the new arapaima back. Sean had to swim out with the rod, dive down and swim through the hole in the net, then hand the rod back to Don who duly played and landed the 200lb beast on the sanctuary side of the net. Don ended up with 17 fish for the five days, made up of five species, which included a rare wallago attu. Another day ticket angler was father and son team Hohan and Mattrah Jonsson from Sweden. When father Hohan landed a 150lb arapaima and Mattrah failed to land one, they returned another day when dad wasn’t allowed to fish, as he had spanked Mattrah the first time. Well he got his arapaima this time around, beating dad by 20lb with a fine 170lb fish. They ended their campaign with 17 fish between them of five species. Last but not least our international appeal proved itself again with another country being represented by Denmark angler Preben Klausen coming for a five-day fishing holiday. His plan was to fish Siame carp, and despite catching 11 he failed to get a big one, but made up for it with two arapaima of 150lb and 190lb along with red tail catfish. He ended his holiday pleased, but with plenty of targets to return for.

    That’s me folks, out of space for another month. We sure are becoming known worldwide for our big fish – our visitors this month came from nine different countries, which shows the power of the Internet. Watch out for next month’s news letter to see how Rob performs for National Geographic, and also to see if the Carpin’ on show have had me shot for daring to speak out against them! April has started off with some good fish and loads of gossip, so see you next month for more on the greatest fishing resort on the planet. Until then check out the website www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com or phone us on +66861644554. Forget the recession – that’s what credit cards are for – book that holiday of a lifetime and make your dreams come true. Tight lines, and catch a whacker from Stuart and all the team at Gillhams Fishing Resorts, Krabi, Thailand.

    Please check out our web site … http://www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com for all the latest news and info about fishing in Thailand at Gillhams Fishing Resorts.

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    Stink Bait Recipies – Different Stinkbait Recipies for Catching Catfish

    The catfish is a unique species of fish with prominent barbells that gives them the appearance of whiskers, which is what earned them the name catfish. They also have spines on their dorsal fins which may cause a lot of pain if you are stuck by one, depending on the type of catfish you are catching. Despite this fact, catfish are one of the most sought after species around and anglers will travel for miles to find a good fishing spot in which to catch them.


    There are many different methods available when it comes to fishing for catfish but there’s nothing quite like using the right stink bait recipe to get the perfect catfish. If you’re looking for a stink bait that has those catfish practically jumping into your lap, here are some great ideas.


    Sardine Bait Mix – Sardine bait mix is made with flour, water, sardines in oil, salt, tropical fish food and cream of tartar. Mix up all the ingredients in a pan and simmer until it becomes thick and hard to stir. Next, you need to remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool by spreading it out ontoe the mixture has dissolved spread it out on the aluminum foil and cut into cubes while it is still warm.


    Blood Bait Mix – Blood bait mix is made up of flour, cornmeal, garlic powder, chicken blood, cheese cloth and strawberry jell-o. Combine these ingredients and then roll them up into ops. Combine all the ingredients together with the exception of the coco pops until the mixture is stiff enough to form a ball. When you are ready to use the mixture you need to place the coco pop onto the hook and squish the bait around it into a ball.


    Catfish and Carp Hotdog Bait Mix Catfish and Carp Stink Bait Mix – With this bait you will need nightcrawlers, flour, frozen bread dough, sour cream, beef livers and garlic powder. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and kneed them together.


    There are other recipes available and many anglers have designed their own special concoction that works wonderfully. All stink bait should be kept in an air tight marked container until ready to use. This will keep it fresher so you can get the full benefits from the bait. It’s the strong odor that draws the catfish to your bait. Experienced anglers have learned they can have a lot of success when using stink baits. In fact, many have doubled the number of fish they can reel in during each fishing trip.

    Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best catfish fishing information possible. Get more information on Stink Bait Recipies here:

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