Phuket Fishing January 2017

Ahoy me Hearties,

The main topic of conversation at the beginning of the month remained to be the weather, as the “winter” continued to encroach on what should be “summer” leaving much of the South of Thailand under water and conditions at sea – sure flushed the scuppers.

It’s quite common for the local fishermen to be asked “What’s in season?” Which at one time was quite a reasonable question but now with the massive changes in the weather, whether it be El Niño, global warming or a natural cycle no one has told the fish which quite frankly, are not too bright, in my case, with the odd exception. The one that got away!

For posterity, in case things never change back to normal, “bill fish” Marlin and Sailfish are usually here in the first and last 2/3 months of the year along with most of the other “prise” fish such as Wahoo and King Mackerel who tend to arrive and depart about a month or two behind their pointy nosed pals. While Tuna, long and short fin, (Albacore and Skip Jack) are here intermittently all the year round with their larger cousins, (Yellow Fin. Big Eye and Dog tooth) popping up on occasion, just to confuse the issue.

So my advice, right now, is get out there, for the “weird” weather, in relation to local fishing, has never been better, proving the point that “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.”

Still with the unusual consequences of climate change, the Fish of the Month prize goes to Ian of Thai 2 On who landed a Yellow Fin Tuna the first that’s been heard of in these waters for as long as I can remember. This makes a change from congratulating Fish Eagle on their long run of Sailfish targeting which didn’t slow down any, after they ran away with the trophies on the P.I.S.T. competition. And while we’re on about the Phuket International Sports-fishing Tournament , (Sponsored by the Phuket News) it has just been announced that the our next chance to compete will be the 22nd to the 25th November, As I assume it will be a 3 day affair as usual I would also assume the 22nd is the registration date. For further information please contact Michael Hochgeladen on 081 719 5766.

I was glad to see an end to 2016 but now I would like to add January 17 to that list as the weather and Thailand’s internal affairs continued to unsettle small businesses, as the “quality” tourist market continues to shrink despite all the “positive” propaganda issued by the relevant authorities. The “powers that be” just can’t hide the fact that their advertising attracted the wrong type of clientele meaning that little or nothing was done for the bread and butter businesses of Phuket while their counterparts in the roads department continued to dig holes in our little corner of paradise.

Tight lines to all.