Question:
Do you provide electronic bite alarms.
Answer:
Yes we do; however ours get a lot of abuse hence we only buy the cheapest alarms available, if you have your own alarms we would recommend to bring them. This also applies to indicators, we use fox swingers but again they are abused, if you have your own we recommend bringing them.
Question:
Can I bring my own bait to Gillhams.
Answer:
We used to allow outside baits from recognized bait companies, however recently jealousy between rival fisheries has resulted in threats to poison fish with poisoned bait and on top of that a new trend of adding hormones to glugs etc has made us have a strict no outside baits rule. In view of this we have taken the precaution of banning all outside bait other than pop ups. To be honest the amount of our bait the fish see it was always a problem to switch them onto another bait, however good it was claimed to be.
Question:
Can I bring popups and additives, what size flavor and color popups.
Answer:
We allow Popups 14mm work best in white or yellow, fruit flavors work better than fish flavors. These must be in a factory sealed container and be from a recognised bait company.
Question:
Do you allow junior anglers; if so what are the age limits.
Answer:
We do get plenty of experienced children here, from 12 years of age upwards most are OK with the big fish we have here especially with a parent to help them. Our rules for under 16 year olds fishing are, they must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Children must be supervised at all times by their parents or guardians, who must accept full responsibility for children in their care.
A lot of parents take advantage of a system we allow for fishing with their children, our standard set up is two rods per angler with the option to use a third rod. For parents with children we allow rod sharing, so they use three rods and share with their child. This also saves money as you don’t have to pay for two anglers, if a child wishes to fish with two rods they are charged adult price.
Question:
Do you allow night fishing.
Answer:
Sorry with the size of our fish most are impossible to land on your own, plus they need specialist care. Our fishing times are longer than most other fisheries 07-00 am start with 19-00pm finish. Our guides start work at 06-30am and finish at 20-00pm making it a very long day for them. Also as the sun goes down the oxygen levels start to drop, after 19-00pm the fishing is slowing down.
Question:
Will I have any problems with customs bringing bait and additives to Thailand.
Answer:
Regarding customs; all additives and baits can be a problem as you should be carrying a full break down of every ingredient and the amount, you should also have a certificate to prove the product is fit for human consumption. Most times you will get away with bringing things through, but should you be checked the penalties could be severe. We do not get involved with obtaining you permission as it is a nightmare, we have enough problems importing our own things.
Question:
How many fish will I catch per day.
Answer:
A poor day here is 1 fish, an average day is 3 to 5 fish and a good day is 8 or more fish. Fishing being fishing a bad day would be no fish and it can happen! Please bear in mind Gillhams is not a venue were fish get caught in vast numbers, here you have the opportunity to catch 51 species of fish to huge sizes. To enable our fish to attain the sizes they do, our stocking density is lower than some other fisheries were they sacrifice size for quantity. What you will get here is fishing in stunning surroundings with the chance to catch the fish of a lifetime.
Question:
How do you allocate swims, do you work on a daily draw.
Answer:
Our rules regarding swims are; upon arrival the customer can choose any vacant swim, or our guides will help them to pick a swim if they ask. Anglers are welcome to move at any time to any vacant swim. Once an angler is in a swim they can keep the swim for as long as they wish as long as they are fishing consecutive days.
A lot of fisheries are new with naïve fish, here at Gillhams the fish respond to bait being introduced on a little and often basis. It is the same as fishing in your home country, you build a swim up and over a day or two the fish respond and visit the swim more often.
We feel that making a draw for swims is grossly unfair. Imagine you have taken the guides advice; you have worked hard and baited up properly and the fish are responding, while someone in another swim casts out in the morning does nothing all day and winds in suffering a blank. The next day because of a draw system you are moved from the swim you built up and have to start all over again, while the angler from the other swim does the same in your swim from yesterday and wastes an opportunity.
We do not allow pre-booking of fishing areas, we work on any swim that is vacant on arrival is yours until you choose to move, it would be unfair to pre-book swims as an angler could have been in a place for a few days fed the swim and got the fish feeding only to be asked to move for a pre-booking.
Question:
How much bait will I need, will I need to purchase extra bait.
Answer:
We recommend using bait on a little and often basis; the free bait provided is enough for this way of fishing. 50% of the fish here are shoal fish, they permanently move around the lake seeking food, when they come across anglers bait it is gone in minutes, they then move off looking for more but always return to where they fed before. When the fish are feeding heavily and an angler is catching well, expect to spend a maximum extra of 1,000 baht per day. Anglers will be limited to NO more than five kilo of extra bait per day, this is for the safety of the fish and control water quality which in return keeps the fish healthy, fighting hard and of course a steady and healthy growth. No matter how much bait people put out, the fish will clear it up move on and return later looking for more. We have seen anglers in the past spending over 6,000 baht per day, with no increase in catch rate over the guy feeding little and often.
Question:
What end tackle do you recommend me to bring.
Answer:
You do not need to bring any of the tackle below as we do supply everything, unless you wish to make your own rigs, all the rigs we use incorporate the items below and are made up by our guides. Please don’t feel you need any of the stuff below it is just a list covering every question we get asked. Should you wish to purchase your own tackle please take a look at www.fishontackle.co.uk and check out there specially designed page for Gillhams Fishing Resorts. Fish On Tackle owner Ricci Conolly is a frequent visitor here at Gillhams Fishing Resorts and has dedicated a page on his website to all things Gillhams, Ricci also has a very reliable and fast online delivery service so no matter where you’re based in the UK you can purchase everything you need on line and have it sent direct to your door step.
You will see we recommend mainly Korda rig componants, the reason is we honestly believe that their stuff is the best.
Hooks barbless or de-barbed.; for pellets and boilies Korda Wide Gape XX and Krank X in sizes 4 down to 6. For deadbaits Korda Wide Gape XX and Krank X size’s 1 & 2 work well or if you prefer something slightly bigger than any size 2/0 hooks will be ok.
Hooklinks for carp etc; Korda Kamo coated hooklink 65lb or Korda’s 50lb Arma cord. Also Catmaster Dyneema hooklink braid in 50kg.
Hooklinks for arapaima etc; Catmaster Dyneema hooklink braid in 70kg.
We don’t use tubing; instead we use Korda Durakord 65lb, with this product you need Korda sinkers to weigh it down, plus the Korda super Strong Splicing Needle (Orange Handle).
Leads: all leads must be coated; we recommend the Korda range, we use 3 ½/ 4 oz inline leads, if you are tying your own rigs you need your own leads.
We recommend bringing back leads; this enables you to leave your rods out while other anglers are playing a fish, we recommend retainer back leads, also flying backleads can be useful.
Rig bits; Korda size 8 swivels, Korda sinkers, tail rubbers, hair stops, power gum, boilie needle, braid scissors, stringer needle, marker float and knobbly feature finding lead, pike style floats with weights to suit.
Plastic corn/ pellet is worth bringing. We do not allow any plastic baits over 6mm.
Catapult and spomb.
We do sell PVA bags here, however with import duty they do work out expensive, I would recommend you bringing Goodman slow melt PVA bags.
As I say we do provide all tackle but having your own does help, and allows you to make up your own rigs.
We recommend all anglers to bring a light rain jacket and head torch.
Question:
I will be fishing your small lake for the smaller fish, is their any tackle you recommend to bring.
Answer:
FOR THE SMALL LAKE ONLY:
We provide one fishing rod and reel landing net rod rest and unhooking mat, plus end tackle, we provide a 3lb tc carp rod, baitrunner reel, with inline lead set up, we do not supply any other rods or set ups.
You need to bring your own unhooking aid i.e forceps or long nose thin pliers. The standard set up provided is for ledgering, float fishing works well but you need to bring tackle for this. We recommend a 4ssg waggler float split shot and size 6 or 8 hooks. Fishing times on the small lake are between 9-00am and 6pm, we do not provide guides on this lake. The cost is 400 baht per angler per hour. If you are booked on the main lake to fish there is no charge to fish the small lake during your fishing days.
Customers can bring own gear. 1 ¾ lb tc barbel rods are perfect, 6 to 8wt fly rods, any lure rod that suits the customer.
Float fishing 1 ¾ tc barbel rod 10ft+, we use 3lb tc 12ft carp rods with baitrunner and 60lb braid.
Plastic corn/ pellet is worth bringing. We do not allow any plastic baits over 6mm.
For lure fishing any light drop shot rod, drop shotting with perch type lures and tackle works well. All lures must be soft rubber and single hook, for casting ¼ to ¾ oz rod small reel 30lb braid. Lures soft rubber small lures single hook, you are trying to imitate fry. We allow wire up to 35lb tc for lure fishing on the small lake only.
Fly fishing any trout patterns work, especially weighted nymphs, tadpoles and fry imitations. Maximum hook size is size 4.
Question:
What species of fish do you have in the small lake.
Answer:
The small lake has 26 species in sizes ranging from 1lb to 50lb.
Species available are; arawana, Amazon and Asian red tail, brycon, peacock bass, tarpon, golden dorado, snake head giant striped and cobra, Thai maser, wallago attu, giant and spotted feather back, pacu, Hovens carp, miagal, Julian’s golden prize, bambooza, Siamese carp, Mekong catfish, striped catfish, tiger catfish, tilapia, java barb, and giant gourami.
Question:
Can I use my own fishing equipment.
Answer:
Yes; however rods must be above 6lb tc (20lb line class), main line braid has to be 80lb or above or monofilament above 35lb bs, all reels must hold a minimum of 280 meters. Single hooks only with crushed barbs or barbless, no hooks over 4/0. Hook links nothing under 50lb bs and must be flat braid hooklinks. No wire traces, no lure fishing on the main lake.
All tackle is checked on arrival and our decision on its use is final, all anglers have to read our rules and sign agreement of them prior to fishing.
Question:
Do you allow fly and lure fishing.
We allow fly and lure fishing on our small lake. We dot allow this type of fishing on the main lake, the main lake is bait fishing only.
Question:
What are the best fishing months, and how does the seasonal weather work in Krabi.
Answer:
Below is how our weather should work, however weather patterns world wide seem to be all mixed up lately so it is only a rough guide.
The best fishing months are May through to mid December; best sunbathing months are January through to April. Don’t get me wrong the fishing is consistent all year, but during these months the fish feed for longer periods due to lower temperatures. Below is a rough guide to our weather patterns but as we are sub-tropical it can rain at any time, this also affects the guide below.
Mid-April through to the end of September we get light showers in the evenings with sunny days and temperatures ranging from 21c -70f to 32c -90f.
October we get prolonged heavy rain again mainly at night, with overcast days and temperatures between 18c-65f to 26c-80f.
November to the end of December we get some light showers in the evenings with sunny days and temperatures ranging from 23c -75f to 35c -95f.
January through to mid-February dry and sunny with temperatures ranging from 29c -85f to 37c -100f.
Mid-February through to end of March dry and sunny with temperatures ranging from 32c -90f to 48c -120f, the fishing is still good but early morning late afternoon as opposed to all day. By the end of March we get some heavy rain at night which lowers the temperatures back down to what they are mid April.
