28 April

Probably one of the best days I'll remember. We were picked up by Stuart at 07h30 in front of our guesthouse and drove to Au Nang where his little oasis was located. Stuart had bought a piece of land between the limestone cliffs in one of the most scenic parts we have seen and constructed a lake of 500m long and 200m wide, 8m maximum depth.

He had filled the lake with species such as Mekong Catfish growing 120 kg, Arapama, Red tail catfish, Siamese Carp and many more that I don't even know of. The main attraction for me was the Arapama which one can only catch in South America in the wild, there are other places in South America and Thailand where one can also catch them but there they are farmed commercially and sold to the Japanese for $60/kg and they are not as large.

Stuart breeds these fish for recreational fishing purposes and has the only such farm in Asia let alone the largest of many of the abovementioned species in the world. Some of the species that they have exceed world records but they are not willing to weigh the fish as many of them die in the process.

After reading the rules and signing the acceptance book, I was introduced to my guide who must accompany me at all times, think of him as a golf caddy and you'll get the idea. I opted to make more use of my guide as I was relatively inexperienced when it came to fishing for such species. He would make the bait and cast into a preselected spot, yes I know its lame but take into consideration I'm paying for him if I use him or not and I'm not a Carp fisherman! After watching him a few times I decided to do it myself and get my hands dirty with the fish bait and maize mix, hmm.

The rods are placed on an electronic rod holder which beeps once a fish takes to attract your attention, leaving you time to drink your 3 times more expensive beer or water in a beautifully crafted personal reed hut overlooking the lake with fish jumping out, Wow. 20 minutes, Beeeep and Rrrrrrr, the first Siamese Carp takes me for a spin, stronger than you would think for a 12kg fish. Unfortunately I could not get in the water with the fish and Shaun the owner's son holds the fish while I take a photo, still don't know why I didn't just jump into the water but then again that was the second smallest fish I caught so it really doesn't matter. I watch again as my guide traces up and casts in feeling very amateur, another 30 minutes goes by and again the heavenly sound echoes, Beeeep and Rrrrrrr, this one appears not to be to interested in a fight and after 10 minutes it comes to the side, my first Arapama…no, it's a spotted featherback weighing in at 5kg (Quite a big size as they usually only get to about 2kg), a forgivable mistake for the inexperienced observer, hey I've only seen them on TV! The day continues and before 12h00 I've caught 3 more Siamese Carp weighing 13, 20 and 25kg respectively, the last one reminded me of a Bronzy, solid power, leaving my arms strained and in pain! From 12h00 to 14h00 nothing, I still see fish jumping around but they are definitely not interested in my bait. At least Leanne and I had Stuart to talk to during the time, we spoke for almost 2 hours, about his travels around the world for sports fishing, his projects in Thailand and the fishing industry which has been completely destroyed after Thailand sold fishing rights to the Japanese. Stuart heads off again, but offers his son's assistance if I had not landed an Arapama by the end of the day.

14h00 strikes and the sound echo's again, I hook it, playing it for 10 seconds only to have the hook pull out, that was a big one! I put the rod down, frustrated with the loss, I had hardly put it down and the other rod screams, that's the one with the live bait for the Arapama! I grab the rod, leaving the fish to run for a few seconds before striking! I've got him, another 30 seconds passes as the fish runs, nooooo, the hook pulled out again!

14h00 to 15h00 another fish is hooked brought to the side after 15 minutes of play and manages to get loose just before I bring it to the net! Okay that's bad luck but a necessary evil considering what was yet to happen. From 15h00 to 17h00 nothing, Shaun comes by and offers to help me land an Arapama, we follow him around as he casts for the fish. While we wait two inquisitive catfish come to play at our feet, one 10 and the other about 15kg. We hold the bait up, but apparently they're to smart, they only hold on to the bottom part knowing there is a hook in and try to dislodge the fish from the hook. There goes an Arapama, Stuart casts and it takes it, the fight is on, not as strong as I imagined a 50kg fish but at least I got one - or not - it's a 10kg red tailed catfish. Take into account that minutes earlier I mentioned to Stuart that I had never caught a catfish and you'll see the irony. We continue for the Arapama but they are incredibly sly. Arapama due to their size and environment are required to surface to take in a gulp of air. They can grow to enormous sizes and in the amazon when the rainy season stops and the tributories dry up the fish are often caught in small ponds not able to escape to the rivers, the air is quickly used up by all the fish after which they start to die. The Arapama then feeds off the fish remaining in the pond, but surfaces to breathe while waiting for the rains to come allowing it to escape to the river. Unfortunately due to the excessive demand the Japanese place on these fish they have become an endangered species and classified on the red list. The native Indians often shoot the fish with a bow and arrow with a rope attached and then sell the fish to be exported to Japan. They pay about $60/kg for a fish often larger than 100kg so that Indian will be able to support his family for more than a year! I guess that's good enough incentive for them…

A few more casts and the sun starts to set, tension sets in as the reality seeps through that my unrealistic dream of catching an Arapama may not be realized. Stuart comes down and calls us to enfringe on their sanctuary for the arapaima - a portion of the lake that may not be fished. One cast and the fish takes, the power is amazing, it breezes through the water from one side of the lake to the other and in a matter of seconds the fish breaches the surface and both Stuart and Shaun estimate it at over 100lb, larger than 50kg! The fish starts to tire and swims slower, I'm playing it as softly as possible to ensure I don't loose this one. Then suddenly there's a jault and the line breaks, I don't know what happened but according to them another fish swam into the line, this apparently happens often! Reality sets in again as the sky becomes darker. A few more casts and another one takes the bait, this one not offering nearly the same stamina nor speed of it's predecessor. After 30 minutes the fish approaches the side, the scales are enormous and the length unnatural. A cage is dropped in to the water to catch the fish, they cannot merely be picked up unsupported as the vein in their backbone breaks and the fish bleeds to death over a 5 week period. The fish is calmed in the cage to ensure it doesn't stress to much causing it to have a heart attack, before being picked up by 3 people at the count of 3 to ensure full support is given, take into account a 50kg fish is worth $3 000 to a Japanese buyer. The fish is estimated over 35kg, not nearly as big as the one I lost but at least I had the big battle to remember.

We collected out things and Stuart drove us back to Krabi town after giving us a 30% discount on our food and drink purchases - very nice guy. Once home we headed to the local market to grab something for dinner, chicken with Thai noodle and Vegetable with Thai noodle and an Ice coffee, two 1 ½ L bottles of water were finished before we went to bed the evening! Jip its hot even at 23h00 at night.