Fish we catch in the waters around Phuket

Hi once again my ofishinado friends.

This month I thought I would start off with some advice, nothing to do with fishing. ”Don’t ever buy an android “smart” phone, they make you realize how “stupid” you are”.

As the weather has been very unseasonal, with a cool eastern wind persisting all month, the only truly happy folks on the water were the wind surfers, who had a whale of a time. So, with not much news, I had the notion to write about little known facts relating to the fish we catch in local waters, for example:-

Did you know a Marlin can travel around 500 miles in a day? The females can spawn 4 times in a season and drop as many as 4 million eggs at a time. Also known as the fisherman’s elusive “hole-in-one”, it is possibly the most hunted of the “big game” fish, sought after by such famous names as Ernest Hemmingway, Lee Marvin and Myself. J These monsters of the deep follow the warm water currents and regularly appear thousands of miles from their last sighting “tagging” in just a few months.

How about our local Sailfish, the “fastest fish” in the sea, this speedster of the oceans can travel in excess of 100 KPH and it uses its sail to herd bait fish into a “bait ball” prior to attacking with its bill, stunning the fish and eating them as they drop dazed out of the confusion of the ball. Very few people also know sails can change colour in the blink of an eye

The Dorado, Is a short lived but also the “fastest growing” fish in the sea, which can develop from a 1.1/2 lb juvenile to a 40lb adult in just 18 months as part of their 4 year life span. Dorado, Mahi-hahi or Dolphin Fish as they are also known, are magnificent fighters, and as they make great eating are one of the few predators that you don’t mind trolling around garbage at sea for, as these clever chappies shelter under flotsam from the sun’s rays and in so doing stay unseen from their unwitting prey below.

The Queen Fish, which to novice fisher-folks look a bit like a small, thinner tuna is often handled like tuna. This results in extremely sore hands, for on its dorsal there are a series of vey sharp retractable spines. Queenies are also a really good eating fish.

In conclusion, the sad saga of the Chalong Pier continues with yet another boat sunk. Anyway guys and gals on a brighter note, send in your stories, jokes and anecdotes plus any great snaps as we should now be moving into another top fishing month with fingers crossed for the fisheroos on the RBFC Classic Fishing Comp. at the end of Feb. This month’s photo is from Geoff Williams an RBFC member from Durban, reminding us what fishing here used to be like, before commercial over-fishing.

Tight lines to all.

Jimmy