rsimms
Well-known member
Belated Report... I actually wrote this 2 days ago. Just now made it to an Internet connection with time to post. Will add a couple of photos here... but for more complete Photo Gallery, go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92160&id=1648373831&l=a935d16a05
FEB. 17
I am steaming back to Chalong Bay on Phuket Island, Thailand. We are aboard the Queen Marlin with Phuket Fishing Tours. It has been an adventure... we swam and snorkeled on Koh Phi Phi (That would be Phi Phi Island), the same place where they filmed the movie, "The Beach" with Leonardo Decaprio. It is the definition of "exotic." In fact everything we've seen is the definition of exotic.
The fishing?
Not up to our hopes. Yesterday was dead except for a few tuna. We steamed out and fished around Koh Ha which is basically five (Ho) massive rocks which jut out of the Andaman Sea. Today we motored about 25 nautical miles to Rasha Yai and Rasha Noi (Big Rasha and Little Rasha). The crystal blue water was incredible... you could see bottom 50 feet down. While the crew cooked lunch, we snorkeled and swam ... it was way cool.
After lunch we set to fishing hard. Bottomline... we did not catch a sailfish. We heard radio chatter of one other boat that hooked up and lost. And we saw sailfish. I had no idea they jumped except when hooked. Wrong! We saw one sailfish clear water... full body... six or eight times. Unfortunately all we saw ignored our baits.
The tuna here were very cooperative. Unfortunately the tackle aboard is all sized for sailfish... reeling in 2 to 5 lb. tuna on sailfish-sized tackle is akin to catching fiddler cats on a 4-foot Ugly Stick loaded with 50 lb. braid....it's a lot more work than fun. After a time I told our crew to get rid of the tuna lures .... which were basically super-sized Sabiki rigs... and rig with only sailfish baits & gear. I just plain got wore out reeling in little tuna on monster gear.
Communicating with the crew is the greatest challenge. Ammot and Deen (sp????) are Thai. Ammot knows maybe ten words of English, Deen, zero. They are able young men... great cooks... and hardcore fishermen. I actually had to tell Ammot to head in to port. He didn't want to stop fishing but my two lady friends (wife and daughter) are ready for dry land.
Sleeping last night was also a challenge. The boat's sleeping quarters do have "air con," as they call it here. But a HUGE wind came up and we were sleeping anchored in 5-6 foot seas. It was "rock-a-bye-baby" to the max. But actually the 18 meter Queen Marlin handled it well. With the exception of last night, most of the trip has been very gentle seas.
That's the highlights. Enjoy the pictures from the other side of the world. Again, a few below, many more here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92160&id=1648373831&l=a935d16a05
I wish one included a sailfish. emoBawl
FEB. 17
I am steaming back to Chalong Bay on Phuket Island, Thailand. We are aboard the Queen Marlin with Phuket Fishing Tours. It has been an adventure... we swam and snorkeled on Koh Phi Phi (That would be Phi Phi Island), the same place where they filmed the movie, "The Beach" with Leonardo Decaprio. It is the definition of "exotic." In fact everything we've seen is the definition of exotic.
The fishing?
Not up to our hopes. Yesterday was dead except for a few tuna. We steamed out and fished around Koh Ha which is basically five (Ho) massive rocks which jut out of the Andaman Sea. Today we motored about 25 nautical miles to Rasha Yai and Rasha Noi (Big Rasha and Little Rasha). The crystal blue water was incredible... you could see bottom 50 feet down. While the crew cooked lunch, we snorkeled and swam ... it was way cool.
After lunch we set to fishing hard. Bottomline... we did not catch a sailfish. We heard radio chatter of one other boat that hooked up and lost. And we saw sailfish. I had no idea they jumped except when hooked. Wrong! We saw one sailfish clear water... full body... six or eight times. Unfortunately all we saw ignored our baits.
The tuna here were very cooperative. Unfortunately the tackle aboard is all sized for sailfish... reeling in 2 to 5 lb. tuna on sailfish-sized tackle is akin to catching fiddler cats on a 4-foot Ugly Stick loaded with 50 lb. braid....it's a lot more work than fun. After a time I told our crew to get rid of the tuna lures .... which were basically super-sized Sabiki rigs... and rig with only sailfish baits & gear. I just plain got wore out reeling in little tuna on monster gear.
Communicating with the crew is the greatest challenge. Ammot and Deen (sp????) are Thai. Ammot knows maybe ten words of English, Deen, zero. They are able young men... great cooks... and hardcore fishermen. I actually had to tell Ammot to head in to port. He didn't want to stop fishing but my two lady friends (wife and daughter) are ready for dry land.
Sleeping last night was also a challenge. The boat's sleeping quarters do have "air con," as they call it here. But a HUGE wind came up and we were sleeping anchored in 5-6 foot seas. It was "rock-a-bye-baby" to the max. But actually the 18 meter Queen Marlin handled it well. With the exception of last night, most of the trip has been very gentle seas.
That's the highlights. Enjoy the pictures from the other side of the world. Again, a few below, many more here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=92160&id=1648373831&l=a935d16a05
I wish one included a sailfish. emoBawl
