Here's my poor attempt at panorama: My little paradise.
This lake stretches nearly 12km end to end but the widest part is just a little over 1km. So this means one should be able to kayak across to the other side quite easily but would be too taxing from end to end. And with that in mind I bought myself a cheapo inflatable about 18 months ago and talk about buyer's remorse! I soon found out the damn kayak need lots of muscle power to propel and god help you when faced with a gentle breeze coming head-on. What to do now? Obvious answer-get an engine! Yup that's what I did, but what sort of motor should it be? With absolutely zero knowledge on such matters I trawled the net and found many people have converted weed-whackers and that was the path I took. So here it is-the yellow banana boat outfitted with a weed-whacker:
The other extras I added were a fish finder which mounts onto the black bracket shown at the middle left side and right up the front is a Vee-sail (shown stowed here) which is good when the wind's up. I used this set up for about a year until I got sick of the weed-whacker being grossly under-powered and 'up-graded' to a 6hp 4-stroke Honda GX200 complete with long tail shaft and prop. I still can't fly but I get up to 12kmh (measured by GPS) which is sufficient to access the furthest reaches of the lake.
This is the bigger motor:
The biggest advantage of the entire rig? Portability! I simply chuck the boat onto the back of my pickup and I am ready to go. Boat alone is about 20kg so manageable solo. I keep it inflated at all times for better storage and ease of drying after use.
And the downside? It's too small-although rated for 2 persons I am cramped in once I load it up with fishing gear and birding camera, bins and other ancillaries like extra fuel, tackle box, rods and reels ..you know the stuff you want along even though you might not use them...just-in-case stuff!
What have I caught for fish so far?
My primary target is the Jungle perch or hampala barb or krasoob (in thai) or sebarau (in malay). This fish is known for its tough fighting spirit and would give a thrilling challenge on light tackle.
I have lost a few on 10lb braid and have now gone up to 30lb braid to reduce chances of break offs if a Giant snakehead should hit my lure; it does happen ocassonally.
Catching jungle perch is not easy, the lake is a very large body of water and only certain areas hold fish. Most times trial and error methods are used to locate fish. The general rule would be to look for snaggy areas with drowned vegetation or rocky outcrops. I got the sonar to help but I won't rely on it too much. I use it to check water depth to help decide to drop anchor or not if a spot looks promising. A productive spot one day might be totally barren the next. I don't have an explanation for this. At times one can literally see the fish 'breaking the surface' but won't respond to lures-you can try all sorts of lures-poppers, deep divers, spoons, spinners, fast or slow retrieves etc etc but they won't bite. Most frustrating! But it adds to the satisfaction when you do finally hook one.
Catch from 15Nov13:
From 24 Nov:
From 27 Nov:
I don't have lots of experience fishing but have done enough through both the dry and wet seasons Thailand experiences every year and I can tell you the dry season fishes better. I can only conclude during the dry season the lake shrinks and fish are confined to a smaller area. Conversely the wet season sees the shoreline expand as the flood waters inundate the bank side plains and fish have more room to move and disperse. Their spawning season coincides with the wet season too and might have a bearing on the difficulty in catching them. Who knows.
Over the last couple of months (Sept/Oct-rainy season) I came back empty handed most outings-not that it mattered as when the fish stop biting I go birding-until I started trolling lures.
Tired of tossing lures with no results or catching only tiny throw back juveniles I resorted to trolling and once again I caught decent sized fish of up to around the 2kg mark. I have yet to catch any above 2.5kg but have heard stories of folks bagging fish up to 4kg. Hard to believe till I see one with my own eyes; you know how fishermen and their stories are.
Trolling has its hazards in this lake-nets and long lines. Lots of gill netters and a few long-liners are active here. With gill nets one can steer the boat clear of a row of plastic drink bottles on the surface but for long-lines it comes down to luck-you just can't know which direction the line runs and how deep or close to the surface it is.
Dinner lost to 2 giant snakeheads:
This was from awhile back. Knowing the particular spot fished is free from snags, I took my time playing this fish but was taken aback when I felt an almighty tug with the rod bent completely U-shaped and followed by the reel screaming for several seconds and then go limp. Thought I had lost it but when I reeled it back I saw two dark shadows following the mutilated fish. They turned out to be two adult Giant snakeheads. Well, win some lose some.
The Birds:
Some days, no matter what one employs the fish just won't bite and I know I am beaten for that day and turn instead to birding. Recall most of the lake is fringed by secondary growth but the diversity of birdlife remains a big unknown and a few unexpected species have been noted. A recent sighting of a Chestnut-winged cuckoo was a welcome addition to specie count. I try to document my sightings with photos whenever possible but unlike other forms of photography, birds are rather uncooperative as subjects. They won't sit still nor strike a nice pose. Merely getting a photo to allow identification is quite satisfactory. And over 90% of the time photos are taken while in the boat and hand-holding a non-IS 400EFL; F5.6 lens so quality shots are next to impossible.
The winter visitor: possibly from the Himalayas?
Dinner lost to 2 giant snakeheads:
This was from awhile back. Knowing the particular spot fished is free from snags, I took my time playing this fish but was taken aback when I felt an almighty tug with the rod bent completely U-shaped and followed by the reel screaming for several seconds and then go limp. Thought I had lost it but when I reeled it back I saw two dark shadows following the mutilated fish. They turned out to be two adult Giant snakeheads. Well, win some lose some.
The Birds:
Some days, no matter what one employs the fish just won't bite and I know I am beaten for that day and turn instead to birding. Recall most of the lake is fringed by secondary growth but the diversity of birdlife remains a big unknown and a few unexpected species have been noted. A recent sighting of a Chestnut-winged cuckoo was a welcome addition to specie count. I try to document my sightings with photos whenever possible but unlike other forms of photography, birds are rather uncooperative as subjects. They won't sit still nor strike a nice pose. Merely getting a photo to allow identification is quite satisfactory. And over 90% of the time photos are taken while in the boat and hand-holding a non-IS 400EFL; F5.6 lens so quality shots are next to impossible.
The winter visitor: possibly from the Himalayas?
Birds confirmed by sighting but without photos include Black-naped monarch and Asian paradise flycatcher (the brown ones), I am pleased to have sighted Blue-bearded bee-eater twice and Eurasian wryneck once which probably was a passage migrant.
Other birds which are commonly seen here-Asian openbill (flock size up to a hundred easily), Red-wattled lapwing, Black-winged stilt, Black-collared starling, Streak-eared bulbul, Whiskered bulbul, Black-crested bulbul, Olive-backed and Brown-throated sunbird, Plain prinia, Red-collared dove, Emerald dove and Blue rock thrush during northern winter. A pair of resident Oriental darters once often seen has vanished with no sightings for over 2 months. And a large flock of Whistling ducks also seem to have abandoned the lake.
Harder to see are some flycatchers like Hainan-blue and Tickell's blue. They respond well to playback and can usually be lured into view but good views are nigh impossible with very dense undergrowth and thick shrubs. But they are here for sure.
Racket-tailed drongos are very common as well and a pair of White-rumped shamas was seen several months back.
Hainan-blue:
Tickell's blue:
Black-winged stilt:
Other birds which are commonly seen here-Asian openbill (flock size up to a hundred easily), Red-wattled lapwing, Black-winged stilt, Black-collared starling, Streak-eared bulbul, Whiskered bulbul, Black-crested bulbul, Olive-backed and Brown-throated sunbird, Plain prinia, Red-collared dove, Emerald dove and Blue rock thrush during northern winter. A pair of resident Oriental darters once often seen has vanished with no sightings for over 2 months. And a large flock of Whistling ducks also seem to have abandoned the lake.
Harder to see are some flycatchers like Hainan-blue and Tickell's blue. They respond well to playback and can usually be lured into view but good views are nigh impossible with very dense undergrowth and thick shrubs. But they are here for sure.
Racket-tailed drongos are very common as well and a pair of White-rumped shamas was seen several months back.
Hainan-blue:
Tickell's blue:
Black-winged stilt:
Black-winged stilt eggs:
These eggs were laid in the open and I stumbled upon them while taking a stroll along the shore. I got mobbed by the parents so made a quick exit after the picture. Never did find out if incubation was successful. Also wonder if predators like snakes would make an easy meal from this.
More elusive species include Large-scimitar babbler; often heard calling but yet to have a positive sighting. And then there is this all black and white stocky woodpecker almost tailess which I have seen about 3 or 4 times now but every time in flight. I am quite confident it is Heart-spotted but until I get visual confirmation or better still a photo I cannot tick this.
For raptors, there is a pair of Osprey and can often be seen doing circuits around the lake. Sparrowhawks are fairly common but most times they are too high in the sky and I find trying to ID them too tough for me. Less often, Oriental Honey buzzard is around the lake too.
Oriental-honey buzzard:
Osprey:
More elusive species include Large-scimitar babbler; often heard calling but yet to have a positive sighting. And then there is this all black and white stocky woodpecker almost tailess which I have seen about 3 or 4 times now but every time in flight. I am quite confident it is Heart-spotted but until I get visual confirmation or better still a photo I cannot tick this.
For raptors, there is a pair of Osprey and can often be seen doing circuits around the lake. Sparrowhawks are fairly common but most times they are too high in the sky and I find trying to ID them too tough for me. Less often, Oriental Honey buzzard is around the lake too.
Oriental-honey buzzard:
Osprey:
Got this today 30Nov13.
White-crested Laughing thrush:
White-crested Laughing thrush:
This one is very common around the lake, their presence is announced through their raucous calls. Flock size can number up to 20 individuals. I think it rivals the Asian koel in terms of sound volume.
I welcome comments and suggestions. Please share your views be it about fishing or birding. Would be great if fellow Isaan residents would link up to compare or discuss their findings.
I welcome comments and suggestions. Please share your views be it about fishing or birding. Would be great if fellow Isaan residents would link up to compare or discuss their findings.
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