ANOTHER WHOPPER!

One of Bahrain’s leading anglers has snagged his finest catch yet as he landed a 108lb giant on a summer trip to Thailand, accomplishing a feat 35 years in the making.

Chris Woodrow, who earlier this year released One Step Beyond, a 400-page, 32-chapter tome packed with glossy colour pictures and written descriptions of his favourite adventures, as featured in GulfWeekly, visited the Far East Asian country in July with his friend, Keith Rawlingson, with the aim of catching one of the mighty monsters.

Woodrow explained: “In recent years, big Siamese carp have come into focus, with pictures of huge elusive beasts gracing the pages of magazines and websites. I wanted to catch one of these, but specifically I wanted to catch one over the magical 100lb mark … not an easy challenge in anyone’s book, especially given the costs involved in travelling and limited time available with family and work commitments.

“I got the opportunity a couple of years ago to visit Krabi in Thailand and fish for them there. It was just a week’s trip, but we struggled and I only managed to catch one Siamese carp of around 40lb. But the seed was sown, and I vowed to get back to Thailand at some date in the future to try my luck once again.”

Fast-forward to 2017, and the pair were determined to make their second try a success. Their destination, around a two-and-a-half hour drive from Bangkok, was a freshwater lake set in the foothills of an area known as Jurassic Mountain, situated amongst vibrant rice paddies shadowed by a panorama of dramatic limestone mountains. 

The process of picking a spot to fish is far more complicated than just turning up at the riverbank or lakeside and casting a rod. In fact, it’s a delicate and crucial process.

Woodrow, chairman of the British Club of Bahrain, said: “I spent a lot of time on my first day just looking, before deciding where to fish. Location is absolutely the most critical path to targeting big fish, followed by bait and then presentation, and definitely in that order. This has proved itself time and time again, ever since I started fishing as a small boy on the ponds and lakes in my home county of Essex.

“In the close margins, there appeared to be quite a lot of activity from predatory fish, including some big Arapaima, which made me feel the Siamese carp would most likely try to keep away from these ferocious predators. So I made my way to the furthest part of the lake, to have a look there and put in a few handfuls of pellets in likely-looking areas.”

The bait Woodrow used was a very oily, highly-digestible fishmeal pellet, 25mm diameter, which lasts around 30 minutes each cast, before dissolving in the warm water.

Then, using a lead and float, Woodrow ascertained that there was a marginal shelf, in around four feet of water that extended into the lake and then dropped away a rod-length out into more than 10 feet of water. It was at the base of this marginal slope that he presented his baits, as he felt the fish would definitely feed here, as it would be a natural collection point for food and debris.

Siamese carp are incredibly powerful, even the smaller ones, so with trying to catch a giant, it was imperative that the fishing gear was up to the task. Woodrow used a 65lb Power Pro braided mainline, with an 80lb hook-link connected to a size 13 Gamakatsu Iseama hook, which is both dangerously sharp and extremely strong.

The rig was set up in line style, with a 3oz lead, some rig tubing to sink the last two feet of braided main line and also to protect the flank of any fish he would catch.

Through a gap in the heavy reeds, Woodrow flicked out two rods, one to his far right, around two rod lengths out at the base of the marginal shelf, and the second rod to his left, around three rod lengths out. Finally, he catapulted a few handfuls of pellets around the hook baits, and then crept back behind the reeds to await action.

Meanwhile, Rawlingson had opted to fish half way down the lake offering a good vantage point, with his plan of attack slightly different to Woodrow’s by casting to any showing fish. Rawlingson’s tactics paid off. Within a few hours he landed a 65lb Siamese carp, a battle that lasted more than 20 minutes.

Woodrow said: “Pound-for-pound, these Siamese carp fight incredibly hard, but they were no match for our powerful gear and we landed a number of carp in the 40-65lb bracket.

“Then, in the late afternoon, I received a strong take on my left-hand rod, the fish felt instantly better, with long powerful runs and not the usual tapping of the head from the smaller fish. It rolled on the surface after around 15 minutes of arm-aching battle, and we could see it was a much bigger fish. We finally slipped the net under a Siamese of 95lb. I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d almost achieved my target on the very first day, so it was clear that our tactics were bang on.”

Despite early successes, bigger fish proved to be elusive, and it wasn’t until the final day that Woodrow finally landed his prize catch.

Woodrow explained: “We started fishing at 7am, as we were leaving in mid-afternoon to get to Bangkok in plenty of time to enjoy a night in the fantastic city. To be honest, I was still buzzing with enthusiasm, but I really thought that the 95lb fish I’d caught on the first afternoon would be my biggest. But, how wrong was I …

“At around 11am, I had a fast take on the right hand rod. I pulled into an absolute steam train, and I just couldn’t stop the fish. It must have gone 80-90 yards on its very first run. I had the clutch on the reel set very tight, and after maybe five minutes, I managed to turn the fish and at this point it broke surface and we could see a massive black tail. It was clear this was a whacker and could well be my target achieved.

“A couple of the guys had come around to assist me, and after 20 minutes, we thought that it was close to being netted. But we were wrong. As soon as the fish saw the net, it steamed off maybe 40 yards towards some overhanging bank-side foliage and sanctuary. I applied as much pressure as I dared, as I didn’t want the hook to pull out or bend under such immense pressure.

“10 minutes of more furious fishing later, and it was mission accomplished! A huge Siamese carp, which turned out to be 108lb, was in the net. We let out a cry of relief; with just a few hours of fishing time left, I had caught an absolutely stunning triple-digit beast!”

After a brief stopover in Bangkok, the triumphant duo returned to Bahrain, with Woodrow having the perfect tale to kick off the first chapter of his second book …

For more fantastic fishing fables, check out Woodrow’s book, One Step Beyond, which is available for BD15 and signed copies can be ordered directly from the ace angler by calling 39657443.