September Update

Hi once again my fellow Ofishinadoes

With the continuing inclement weather our trips to sea have been spasmodic to say the least, so in this month’s article I thought I would write about our favorite sports fish, “the wolf of the sea”, the Sailfish.

Apart from the occasional visit by a marauding cousin the Marlin, the Sailfish is the most sought after prize patrolling our local waters and needs all the concentration a fisherman and his crew can muster to catch, as this speedster of the deep can reach 60MPH and turn on a sixpence.  Their color is dark to silver gray but watch closely when you land one, as they change color possibly 3 or 4 times as we hold up our prize, before releasing back to the depths. Growing very quickly, birth to nearly full size in only a year, these potentially 3M X 100Kg fish give the angler the best photo opportunity he or she will ever get as the Sailfish when hooked, is a notoriously powerful and acrobatic fighter.

Locally, feeding mostly on our ever diminishing stocks of squid, to view them in action against a “bait ball” of small fish is something to behold. The  “Sails” circle the bait ball, compressing it and forcing it to the surface at which time they take it in turn to attack the swarm with their bills, stunning the little fish then turning 180 degrees, in their own length, at high speed, to pick up the injured remnants of the ball. The water is boiling with jumping Sails, shoals of the bait jumping for their lives and all the time Frigate birds are streaking past you, often at arm’s length, to picking off the jumping fry. It’s like watching orchestrated mayhem and a site to behold.  On days like this I realize what fishing’s all about, yes catching is the basic principal but when it comes down to it, seeing sites as I have witnessed, a 500+ strong pods of Dolphins, a Killer Whale and many other magical moments – That’s why we call it fishing and “not” catching.

This month’s pirate joke, and they’re getting worse.

What’s a pirate’s favorite letter?

You’d think it’d be the RRR… But they love the C.

And finally, Exotic Fishing Thailand is holding the charity event I told you about last month on November the 25^th 8am till 6pm. The entry fee for the event will be 5500 Baht (5000 Baht to charity). Anyone entering the event is invited to fish at EFT the day before at a reduced price of 4000 Baht fishing 8am to 7pm. This will give competitors a good opportunity to work on some strategies for the event or just enjoy EFT at a reduced rate.

Trophies and prizes will be awarded.

There will be a pre-competition meeting at 7.30am before the main event “Nov 25^th” and a free BBQ after the competition with prizes awarded at this time.

The tournament will be in support of the Make-A- Wish Foundation and EFT will donate 5000 Baht off the main event entry fee to this worthy cause and guarantee a minimum donation of 60,000 Baht.

If any of our readers are interested in participating in this worthwhile venture please contact Mike at Exotic Fishing Thailand.

Tight lines

Jimmy