February Fishing in Phuket, 2016

Hi once again my fellow fisheroos

And blistering barnacles what a month February was, more wind than a fishing club committee meeting, but that said, between gusts the fishing continued to be the best in years with most of the boats reporting Sails in abundance.

Staying on the subject of boats, I thought this month I would share the sign, which has pride of place in Jimmy’s Drift Inn, Rawai, which reads:-

We offer three kinds of service

GOOD – CHEAP – FAST 

YOU CAN PICK ANY TWO.

Good service Cheap won’t be Fast.

Good service Fast won’t be Cheap.

Fast service Cheap won’t be Good.

This sign summarizes the fishing boat business/industry perfectly, as basically there are three types of fishing charter boat here in Phuket.

Firstly there is Good & Cheap, the single engine “day” boat or “budget” boat capable of not much more than ten knots, which has its lines in the water the moment it’s out of National Park (Chalong Bay) waters. These boats are ideal for day trips for armature and enthusiast alike and here in Thailand offer probably the cheapest big game fishing on the planet. Trolling 6 lines these boats compete favourably with anything afloat and make sports fishing, one of the most expensive participant sports,  affordable to just about everyone, about half the price to the next step up.

Next is the twin engine “overnight” boat, which are also regularly used for “day” fishing by those who want a bit more space and comfort, but are specifically designed for “overnighting” for 5/6 passengers. These boats would also come under the Good & Cheap category as like the “day” boats they are not fast but having two engines (safety reasons) can take you to places the single engine boats only go in groups for competitions etc. the Similan Islands and Kho Ha / Koh Roc, Hin Dang. These boats are around twice the price of “day boats” but still great value for money and often cheaper than some hotels. These boats are regularly less than half or a third of the price of the “Gin Palace” Hi speed sports boats.

Lastly there are the “Sports Fishers” these boats although trolling the same amount of lines and carrying similar gear are the top end of the business, taking you where you want to go at speeds up to 30 knots or more with all the comforts of home including TV etc. With twin 350 or 500 turbo diesel engines these guys guzzle the juice and are priced accordingly. If you get one of these Cheap it won’t be Good. From a fishing point of view the single engine “budget” boats, in competitions, compete remarkably well at a fraction of the costs, but don’t go looking for steaks, caviar and champers. Really “rich” people tend to carter these boats, but to my mind “you can’t be rich if you have to hurry your fishing”.

This month’s amusing anecdote:-

At the local market I bought a Kilo of good size “bait” squid. I thought the bin was a bit steep at 300 Baht, until I thought “That was 6 Quid for six squid”.

Tight lines all, especially the boys of the PGFC who’s annual competition will be in full swing, around the Similan Islands, as the ink dries on this copy of the Phuket News. One of their generous sponsors.

Hope the wind calms down,

Jimmy