My 2010 started like most years regarding my fishing, uneventful. Be it work, life or the weather stopping me, i still have not managed a trip.

However, all is about to change. After my 25th Birthday way back in September 2004 my anlging partner and myself decided it would be good to do something different and treat ourselves to a fishing holiday to top all fishing holidays for our 30th birthdays. Knowing this was gonna be a complete blow-out we gave ourselves 5 years to organise and save for a holiday of a lifetime.

We deliberated over the next 18months on a destination. We started with India and a trip to try and catch one Indias beauty's - The Mahseer. However we decided this was not a good idea after consultation with the powers that be (the other halves in other words!!!!) they deemed it not a good idea as the food etc can be a little moody and being days away from help should the worst happen. S back to the drawing board we went. Europe as well as some of the island colony's we decided wasn't exclusive enough for what we wanted to do. Maybe Canada on the St. Lawrence or Florida Keys big game fishing, but Alan had done Canada and i'd been to the Keys, so thats out.

Another few months past and still were no further on destination, but the excitement and drive for this was overwhelming. My friend Alan had booked a trip to Spain wih Colin Bunns Catmaster Tours with his Father-in-Law, and so off he went. Then out of the blue he rang me and said "bruv tiz all sorted", "Whats sorted" I replied. "Our 30th's, Colin has mentioned he goes to Thailand from time to time and comes highly recommended".

So that was it, we're going to Thailand I announced to the family. The next few months we spent hours and hours scouring .com for somewhere to enjoy ourselves. We settled on the 2, Topcats or Stuart Gillhams Resort.

Over the next few years we saved as hard as we could, and did some serious digging around on both resorts and still no further forward on finally chosing. When in the beginning of 2009 Alan bumps into Colin at a Carp Show and subsequently invite us both with him and his crew from Spain on a trip he has booked at Stuart Gillhams Resort in February 2010. And that as they say was that, now all sorted, We have a dstination and a resort and now Booked, all we needed to do now was decide how long to go for and book the fights. Another month or 2 past and we're going to stuarts for a total of 14 days fishing and 4 days in Bangkok over 3 weeks of total holiday time.

So now brings me on to today 08-02-10, everything done and dusted and we're off on Friday 12-2-10. 5 Years of saving and deliberation and now i have just 2 days left at work 1 day to get the last few bits sorted and finalise the suitcase contentgs and we're off.

So my year is gonna start fishing for things i have only ever dreamed of let alone actually seen in the flesh!!

Can't wait, I have my little blue book with me so i shall be making some notes whilst out there and hopefully have some amzing hings to report when i get back!!

Tight Lines Guys

Wingnut



TBC.......

Look forward to it mate. Have a great time.

I think you'll enjoy yourselves there, from all reports I've heard, its first class...
Have fun.

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New water, new plans, all adding up to some good blanks...

i enjoyed the read i think its great you have stuck to your plans together i hope you have a blinding time ,and bag some big old lumps ,fishing that is ,lol

Rods, reels, bait, hooks, lines and sinkers all packed, clothes, mmmm well they're still drying. Still, only 2 more sleeps, the excitement is now getting to much to bear. I just wanna be out there with factor 50 on learning new things for my reportoire and catching some of South Americas and Thailands Goliaths.

Wingnut

See you all in 3 weeks

Tight lines

Wingnut

Have fun fella...

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New water, new plans, all adding up to some good blanks...

You will have a great time, Thailand is awesome, have fun in the Sun!

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You will never be in my swim!

Ace, exotic angling!

Can't wait for the write up and photos, have fun

_________________
ECHO Use your loaf!
Angling Trust Its for you!

Chris Frankish (in the real world)

Couldn't resist posting a quick reply, I will update blog in full when back in UK with photos and the likes, but had to let you guys know i had an 280lb Arapaima out last night, let me tell you what a gorgous fish it was really red along flangs and down to tail, had it in the evening though so pictures are good but colours aen't as vivid as i'd have hoped as my external flash as given up ghost - bastard thing.

Cheers for you wishes though guys will give full update when back to the big freeze!!!! (over 40 degrees here right now - don't wanna make you guys jealous though!!! lmao)

Wingnut

3" of snow overnight here mate.

Your taking the pi$$ fella - first fish of the year is 280lb

Well done, ,looking forward to the pics.

Really made up for you Steve , poor Suzy had to take the dogs for a walk he snow You'll pay for that m8

Excellent! 280lb

Get stuck in for some more fella

Snow report here is 3" and deepening

_________________
ECHO Use your loaf!
Angling Trust Its for you!

Chris Frankish (in the real world)

Good to hear your hauling fella. We'll have to see what we can do with the pics for ya on photoshop. Really looking forward to your write up and seeing your captures...

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New water, new plans, all adding up to some good blanks...

280lb

Nice 1 wingnut look forward to the pics, goodluck

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My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch

Back home now with 1300 photos and 20 odd pages of notes to write up so will be a while before i get a full update on my blog so please accept apologies on that one, but for your delectations for the while here is my catch report break down

Day 1 + 2 - were a blank

day 3 - Tambuqui 30lb, Pacu 10lb, 30lb siamese carp (foul hooked - great fight though! didn't count in fish total)

day 4 - arapaima 140lb, siamese carp 40lb

day 5 - tigercat 15lb, siamese 20lb, Arapaima 160lb (dropped 2 - they ate method ball and not hook bait)

day 6 - mekong 75lb, arapaima 180lb

day 7 - arapaima 95lb, mekong 80lb

day 8 - arapaima 50lb 280lb

day 9 - mekong 85lb, siamese 25lb, rohu 6lb

day 10 - siamese 22lb, arapaima 85lb 120lb

day 11 - sorabim 10lb, julians prized carp 28lb

day 12 - arapaima 130lb 150lb 200lb, sorabim 22lb, julians 12lb, amazon redtail 16lb 18lb, siamese 30lb

day 13 - blank (lost 3 - what a tosser, fished like a real noddy that day!!)

day 14 - siamese 22lb, redtail 38lb (lost 1)

day 15 - mekong 110lb 100lb 70lb (apprentely i equalled mekong capture record of 3 in a day however bettered the total weight value, so was well chuffed with that - however we get 13 hours fishing and used up 3 hours just plying these fish!!! lol my body ached), siamese 18lb 24lb


TOTAL SPECIES - 10

TOTAL FISH - 36 (lost 4 total - inc a real donkey of a mekong, i was informed it would have been weighed - was it the IGFA WR, it needed to be 192lb 2oz to count, oh well we'll never know)

TOTAL WEIGHT - 2520LB

AVERAGE WEIGHT PER FISH - 70LB

(my mate stats)

TOTAL SPECIES - 7

TOTAL FISH - 50 (inc 1 repeat capture)(lost 14 - he kept fishing with clutch too tight or too lose - noddy!! )

TOTAL WEIGHT - 2264LB

AVERAGE WEIGHT PER FISH - 45LB



Over the next few days i'll sort photos out and upload them for you all to see - what an awesome place though and a real good bunch of guys fishing although very difficult was exceptional (wasn't there for an easy ride so worked real hard and reaped the rewards!!!)

Tight lines

Wingnut

Sounds like the trip lived up to the years of expectation/planning. Well done mate, bet you won't forget that session in a hurry

Nah mate not ever i don't think - lol

gonna be going back at my next earliest convenience, will probably be end 2011 all being if not be end of 2012

Wingnut

Looks like the fishing trip of a lifetime to me, lots and lots of mahoosive fish

Can't wait to see the pics

_________________
ECHO Use your loaf!
Angling Trust Its for you!

Chris Frankish (in the real world)

Gonna by-pass my writing up the Thailand trip for a short period, don't worry though i will still be writing it up, to today 10-03-10 I am finally getting a weekend down the lake.

I could't believe my ears on Saturday, bearing in mind I've only been back in the country 2 days from a long fishing holiday, whn the missus says to me "you fishing next weekend?" Well, I thought, I wasn't planning on it but now you said that "Yeah if you don't mind" - you can't look a gift horse in the mouth can you??

So now all packed, short of a few essentials, so once work finishes tomorrow it'll be a mad dash home at break neck speed to get loaded fly by Tesco for some tasty nom then down the lake til sunday.

Had a bit of a change of thought for this years dangling, rather than the 6ft of leadcore either chod or heli, I'm now going down the running lead for margin/medium to inlines for medium/range fishing on the rig marole tubing which so far i'm very impressed with however only seen it in action and never used it so we'll see on that one, and when I get my arse and money into gear changing my line to this Tiger line fluoro carbon and some braid of some description on my other spools with a fluoro tip.

I feel this yer that i have my A gme head on this season and have a really good feeling about this year, so fingers crossed and i'll keep you posted


Wingnut

Just returned from my first carping trip of 2010 albeit very un eventful, mind you though most of my fishing seems to follow the title of this blog to the letter.

Firstly On Friday i never actually made it out of work at a reseaonable time as normal, the bastards hate you having a social life, so never actually got home til 6, eat, wash, change and load the car and we're off dog and all for the 30min drive to the 75acre lake. I can thankfully drive most of the way round to lugging the gear and the dog round won't take too long. However by the time I got my bivvy up it started to rain and I was sooo bloody tired I just hit the hay and woke up to my 7am go walk the dog alarm Saturday morning. Wiping the sleep from my eyes and rolling from my warm pit I stepped outside to a brisk morning, on closer inspection my rods still resting on the pod hair still not tied on to the rings swingers still in the bag, looking round the winter skin just thrown at bivvy, my god this is unlike me i didn't even cast the rods out, oh well too late to worry about it now, so I got the dog out fro the bed too begrudgingly and took her for a walk round the lake doing a rota as i went and to my amazement there were 4 other anglers on as mad as we were.

Returning about 2 hours later to cast my rods out sling a little bait in, although the guls had most of that, and have breakfast which was very kindly cooked for me, a sandwhich with lincolnshire sausage, bacon and egg very tasty indeed.

The wind seemed to be a little unsettled most of the day but it finally settled into blowing hoolie right into my face, despite that I did felt a strange confidence about this trip, but alas Saturday came and went with out any action not even from mr and missus tufty, which were in abundence in the area, despite that I made it through the night to a really bitter north westerly, so cold was this wind I had to warm my socks and boots over the stove before putting them on!! I satyed put in the M3 til middya after watching Fight Club on the pSP just to warm up then sadly it was time to go it is mothers day after all.

As I'm writing up my holiday blog the newsletter from Gillhams has been published and is online right now or in the next issue of Big Carp

Cheers for your patients guys while i write this up but i'm not much of a novelist and i'm trying to make it as interesting a read as i can

Wingnut

Here are the long awaited pictures of my fish from Gillhams I shall post scenery later not gonna post all up now, as haven't got long this morning will post more when back from work

TAMBUQUI 30lb


PACU 10lb


ARAPAIMA 140lb


SIAMESE 40lb


TIGER CAT 15lb


SIAMESE 20lb


ARAPAIMA 160lb


MEKONG 75lb


ARAPAIMA 180lb


ARAPAIMA 95lb


MEKONG 80lb




Ok so so i will upload the rest later with scenery and bangkok to follow but these are the most important ones surely??!! lol


Hope you enjoyed

Wingnut

Awesome results I hope you are not spoiled by this fantastic fishing over there and i hope to save some money to go there one day, too.

Good angling.

With honest jealousy,

Tilman

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"nil illigitimar carborundum"

Just started geting myself sorted for our social next weekend, although i'm only going for a night, the same preperation is required as for a long session, interms of tackle.

I have with thanks to LJ got rid of Adrenaline finally and changed over to braid and a different mono.

But in terms of tactics for thorney, i'm going for all my eggs in one basket approach to this water, although using 3 different bottom end rigs as never used wriggly's before so trying something different on each rod but the bait and baiting up will be all the same.

However we have had some sad news over the last few days and it has transpired that we are going to have to sell of all our furry friends as the missus has got a chronic allergy to everything fluffy, so i shall be bringing the dog as it will be one her last lake trips.

The weather is going to be with rain and WNW winds in moderation with daytime temps of 11deg, so warm clothes and plenty of coffee packed in the bag!!


Wingnut

Oh Steve what a sesion of a life time the colours on some of those Arapaima. Also that Tiger Cat is something else got to go there , thats one for the must visit list.

We should do a forum social over there in a couple of years, give everybody enough time to save.

What you reckon?

Wingnut

Great result there Wingnut!

Thailand is AWESOME! Ask Spillige what he caught

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You will never be in my swim!