Yesterday I went fishing at my local Snakehead hole in Thailand. We have been getting a lot of rain lately so the lakes are high and the rivers are ripping. The fishing was tough because of the high water uless you fish with a net like the locals.
High water means good fishing to the locals
The classic Lift-net is very popular here.
The Thais love to eat small fish.
Because fishing was poor for us anglers we went looking for another spot. We got a tip from someone about a paypond nearby so we gave that a try.
For $1 / pole I set all 3 poles that I had with me out.
Nile Tilapia was the most common catch so after a few of them I started to experiment with different baits.
Worms produced another new species of Walking Catfish for me.
I was told there were several species represented including Pacu which are an introduced species from South America. After watching one get caught I really wanted to catch one. The person that caught it was using pineapple for bait. So now we’re dealing with a fruit eater. This was new to me since I have never fished with fruit for bait before.
I didn’t have any pineapple with me but my buddy brought a bunch of “Lum Nyai” (I don’t know the name in English) with him which is a delicious Thai fruit that is currently in season. I thought I would give that a try. If them Pacu like pineapple I reasoned, they must like the sweet flesh of the Lum Nyai.
It didn’t take long to prove my theory that Lum Nyai catches Pacu. The Pacu is in the Pirrahna family and likes to eat fruit and nuts. Their mouth is built like a vise grips for cracking fruits, nuts, and seeds.
I ended up catching 3 Pacu in the few hours I was there and they put up a magnificent fight on a pole.
The Lum Nyai are very cheap and abundant while in season. They are one of my favorites to eat too.
Pacu must have a sweet tooth because the flesh of the Lum Nyai is very sweet. There is a hard seed at the core of the fruit.
It’s about time for some new lifelisters.
I wouldn’t put your finger near those teeth. The teeth are similar in shape to human teeth.
