Newsletter September 2018

Welcome to our latest newsletter where you’ll find what’s been happening at Jurassic in September!

Welcome to Jurassic Mountain Resort. Fishing in Thailand

Climbing out of your taxi in the car park this is your first glimpse of the Jurassic Mountain Resort. Beautiful blooms grow either side of the wooden gates hiding the fishing paradise from the world whilst the carved fish on the brickwork gives you an idea of what lies beyond. Press the intercom and our staff will quickly be with you to guide you through the tropical gardens to reception. There you’ll see the lake for the first time and maybe an arapaima coming up to breathe or a carp rolling on the surface. Time to relax – your holiday has begun!

For a truly memorable fishing holiday contact us on enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com

Catch report and weather
In September our Siamese carp were the most caught fish in the lake with the Amazon redtail following closely behind. The wily arapaima comes in third, closely followed by the Asian redtail and tambaqui. The alligator gar have been most obliging as well and one of our guests was over the moon at catching a giant snakehead. The average weight of fish caught has been over 40lbs!

The weather has been warm, highs in the early 30s with lows of 25, giving an average of around 29 degrees for the month. There has been some rain as well, particularly at the beginning of the month when a few afternoons saw some spectacular lightning storms in the distance over Cha Am. However the rainy season is nearing its end, and the weather, unsurprisingly, hasn’t stopped our anglers from going out on the lake catching personal best fish and making some great memories, either on their own or with family and friends, to last a lifetime.

An insight into life at Jurassic

Wietse van der Schee from Holland visited Asia on a backpacking tour and stayed with us for a few days fishing. He was very keen to document his trip with live footage of his fishing sessions and we were more than happy to help him with this.

Follow the link below to see his finished short film which, for those of you who have never visited us, will give you a great insight into the fishing on offer as well as the beauty of the resort itself.

https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/453838858437812/

A look back over the month

September has seen plenty of action of the lake – featured below are just some of our guests who have visited this month.

Apologies if we haven’t mentioned you but please feel free to send us a write up on your holiday (enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com) that we can feature in a future newsletter.

Cliff had planned a special fishing trip to celebrate his son Oscar’s 18th birthday and they arrived at Jurassic with 6 days fishing ahead of them. Well between them they certainly managed to land a variety of different species; Oscar landed a very angry alligator gar which simply wouldn’t settle and only by sheer luck did we manage to photograph it. Realising quite quickly that whilst there were plenty of opportunities to hook different species landing them could sometimes be a whole different ball game as a number of fish managed to shake their hook! Persistance interspersed with some optimism was the name of the game and it certainly paid off for Cliff – late one afternoon he tempted a giant snakehead on a dead bait in the margins.

Jason’s last visit to Jurassic saw him land 2 arapaima so for this trip he decided to target the alligator gar and one of the giant Siamese carp.

One take saw him suspecting an arapaima until a red fin broke the surface and he landed his largest Amazon redtail to date.

Hopefully he managed to record the entire fight on his Go Pro!

Jeoffrey from Holland joined us for a three day session with his main aim being to land an arapaima. Fishing from The Point (swim 6) saw him catch a very nice carp which turned out to be his 2nd largest of the trip.

Avid carp angler Andreas had been looking forward to his trip to Jurassic as he was keen to experience a different style of angling to what he was used to at home. Initially staying in Hua Hin he spent 3 days fishing with us primarily spending time in The Point (swim 6) and Sam’s Sala (12). His tally over 3 days was 28 fish; 6 different species including alligator gar and arapaima and he most definitely experienced different angling to what he’s used to at home.

Andrew Harman has fished in Thailand on a number of occasions and in fact likes to do nothing better in his spare time than going on fishing holidays around the world. Whilst with us he was targeting the predators but he was still surprised when a Chao Phraya fell to a pellet on the drop from The Point! The take was indeed powerful and kept him guessing for a while as to whether he’d caught an arapaima or the catfish! A great battle ensued and once in the net it was time for a few good photos before resting the fish on oxygen prior to its release.

Alan Coleman joined us for a relaxing 3 day visit with just one day of fishing booked. Heading to Lazy Man’s (swim 1) he was preparing his rods when he noticed an arapaima patrolling the left margin so he cast a bait in the area adding a few free offerings. Before he could position the pellet rod however a screaming take ensued and battle commenced. A great way to open his account and Alan ended his day’s fishing with 3 different species.

Mohammed and his friend Pash from South Africa arrived from Pattaya with two days fishing ahead of them and to say they were keen to get started was an understatement! They have travelled to and fished in exotic locations before and have landed species such as the tiger fish. During the couple of days they spent with us they caught over 20 fish; 5 different species including Siamese carp to over 100lb and a colourful tambaqui from The Bay (swim 4).

Animal technologist Richard from South London left his work with zebra fish behind and joined his brother for a 12 day stay at Jurassic with 7 days fishing. A few wagers were made and Richard seemed to be ahead when he landed a chunky tambaqui from Sam’s Sala (swim 12).

Andy had watched the other anglers land some substantial fish during the non-fishing part of his holiday and was very keen to wet a line. Fishing in Sam’s Sala (no 12) he didn’t have any fixed plan of attack apart from to keep things simple and see what happened. So with both rods out no further than 15 yards from the bank he baited up by hand and waited. The rod ripped off and he was taken by surprise at the sheer power of the fish – it was a world away from what he was used to carp fishing in France. A great start to a day that saw him finish on 12 fish at close of play.

Newlyweds Kelly and Jason came to Jurassic for 7 days as part of their honeymoon. It was their first time fishing in Thailand and deciding on a honeymoon which included angling must have raised some eyebrows with their family and friends. They started off their trip fishing together in swim 12 (some of our swims are big enough to cater for 2 anglers) and less than an hour into the session Kelly lifted into their first fish – a Siamese carp. Fishing on the left hand side of the swim she was on top form, landing 6 fish.

Things were a bit slower for her new husband on the right hand side so they swapped positions and Jason became busy. When he hooked into fish number 11 however he felt that he’d maybe caught something special. A lively fish which didn’t want to come to the net easily saw Jason take to the water to gain a better angle on it and after a good fight the gillie eventually slipped his net under one of the lake’s largest residents. Kelly and Jason were both blown away by the sheer size of it!

Not to be outdone however Kelly landed their second Siamese carp over 100lb on their third day and followed it up in the afternoon with a spotted sorubim catfish . Jason and Kelly had a great trip and it really was a pleasure to meet them and host part of their honeymoon – everyone here at Jurassic wishes them all the best for their married life together.

Eddie Singleton has been a visitor to Jurassic since its inception and normally visits several times a year. September’s visit consisted of four days fishing with two of them spent on The Point (no 6). The first day saw him land 13 fish so returning for his second day had Eddie hoping for one of the larger Siamese carp. Whilst thinking of changing to the pellet waggler his rod ripped off and his prayers were answered with a very nice 100lb carp.

James from Bristol and his partner Jodie holidayed with us for 10 days on their first trip to Thailand. One of James’ friends visited Jurassic last year and regaled him with stories of huge fish so eventually it was time to see if those tales were true. James and Jodie mixed the fishing with non-fishing days which allowed them to spend time visiting local attractions. On the lake James managed to get a dual arapaima hook up within 20 minutes on his first days fishing. Unfortunately both were lost but he more than made up for it over the course of his stay with us landing 5 across the 4 days he fished and 3 of them were on his last day. Great fishing in Thailand!

Craig caught a carp of 100lb+ but it was none too happy with being caught while regular visitor Simon obviously has a calming influence on the Niger Ripsaws!

Photo of the month or perhaps the year!

Eye to eye with an alligator gar… Martin was over the moon when he landed this alligator gar from The Point (swim 6). As he was getting into position for a photograph the fish had other ideas and made a break for freedom. The resulting photo is one of the most unique shots we’ve had and credit has to go to not only Martin for catching the fish in the first place, but also our gillie who took the shot just at the right time.

Visiting Jurassic for a special occasion?
If you are visiting Jurassic and have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate or would like to arrange something special for your other half let us know. We are more than happy to organise birthday cakes, or flower and prosecco for your room for that special someone.

Alligator Gar
Alligator Gar are sometimes referred to as living fossils as their remains have been dated back to over 100 million years ago. This would mean that they have been around since the Cretaceous period, which is defined as being between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago. Interesting it’s the last period of the Mesozoic Era; the first being the Triassic and the second, appropriately, the Jurassic period.

The alligator gar’s long term survival has been attributed to several factors; the first is that they have a highly vascularised swim bladder connected to their pharynx by a pneumatic duct, which gives them the ability to breathe in conditions of low dissolved oxygen levels. Secondly after spawning they produce green eggs with a large yolk sack, something that is toxic to any potential predators but seriously increases their chance of survival.

The gar and arapaima in the pond situated in the centre of the tropical gardens are constantly growing and gives our guests the chance to see both the species up close. If, whilst staying with us, you are interested in feeding them just speak to a member of the fishery team and they would be more than happy to arrange it for you.

Swim Focus
The Big Fan and Lover’s Retreat, swims 7 and 9 respectively, are both corner swims situated at the furthest points from the clubhouse. Standing on the verandah with your back to reception the former can be seen on the left hand side of the lake and the latter on the right.

They share a big water hyacinth bed, which is situated in front of swim 8 and offers both shade and marginal habitat to various species. There are also two water inlets between swim 8 and the Big Fan and fish are frequently spotted here.

Lover’s Retreat is renowned for the infamous paddles that lie to the left of the swim, this is an emergency aeration system that forms a long feature in the left margin. Our team of gillies are always on hand to advise and explain how to tackle the swim effectively prior to fishing it, however there are a large number of anglers who could tell tales of hooked fish heading for the fans and having to take to the water after them!

Arapaima can be found residing in the paddles especially later in the afternoon, just be prepared for a potentially long battle which could go on into darkness!

In the past these two swims were regarded as predator only however in recent months some of the lake’s largest resident carp, over 100lb, have been landed from them.

September’s Video Round-Up

Jarek – alligator gar https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/885450048317898/

Jochen pacu pellet waggler https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/310967086333569/

Alan – arapaima https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/316634052220565/

The Nayang Bat Cave https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/484203705428602/

Eddie – arapaima https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark/videos/270536616909042/

If you would like to submit an article for inclusion in a future newsletter please send it to enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com

TIGHT LINES, SEE YOU ALL ON HERE NEXT MONTH.

Jurassic Mountain Fishing Resort
43/6 Moo Baan Kokesehti Tambon Na Yang, Na Yang, Cha-am District
Phetchaburi 76120 Thailand

For all enquiries/bookings contact: enquiries@wordpress-1242400-4445492.cloudwaysapps.com

If you don’t already, like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JurassicMountainResortFishingPark