Fishing Koh Samui - its not a fishing holiday!

[spill]

Has anybody got any experience of fishing in Koh Samui. I will be staying on the North East coast in September for a couple of weeks.

Shore, boat or freshwater - I don't mind.

This is not a fishing holiday (its a honeymoon) and I don't think I would gain many brownie points by turning up with my seat-box, beach-shelter and rod holdall, with a pair of trunks and some sun-tan lotion thrown in for good measure. With this in mind - I would like an idea of what sort of fishing gear to be prepared with i.e. travel spinning rod or travel beachcaster etc. in case a fishing opportunity should arise.

Thanks in advance.

[PanamaJack]

Hi Spill
At least you're being honest. Alright that phase WILL pass, don't worry! And you'll end up as devious as the rest of us - hiding latest aquisitions, rods and reels that always cost 'seven and six' - and ultimately braving 'requests' for a 'few days' fishing away with the boys. You'll find the latter costs big time - new cars, etc - but it's all part of the game - the quid pro quo.

I can't find any of our members who've fished that part of Thailand.

But there do appear to be a number of freshwater commercial fisheries in the area. Here's one such - http://samui.sawadee.com/tours/safari.html#Topcats_Fresh. They're stocked with a range of interesting exotics.

The sea fishing looks.....um, indifferent. There seems to be a lot of local commercial activity and the boats that take tourists out - from pictures - seem only to catch emaciated Barracuda and Kingfish. But there is occasional mention of Sailfish and Sharks. Just a quick bit of googling did show up this operation - http://www.kosamui.com/game-fishing/index.html - which may offer something slightly different. Fishing though is only one part of their operation, on other days they seem to take out up to 120 tourists!

One way or another most operations seem to rent fishing gear, although the quality might be suspect.
Dave

[spill]

I am learning! I have already booked a day at Bungsamran, Bangkok, as we are there for a few days beforehand. I have fished this place before, and its unbelievable Mekong Catfish fishing.

Thanks for the freshwater link for Koh Samui. Hopefully there will be a shopping complex nearby.

I have got to admit, I wasn't expecting much from the sea. I have fished the beaches of the Gulf of Thailand before from Cha am (near Hua Hin) and only had some small, colourful fish (still fun, though).

I think there is a strong possiblility of my 20lb class travel spinning rod falling into my suitcase before I leave (and a fixed spool loaded with braid), as this will do the job of fishing from the shore, the boat and even land those big Mekongs.