Nothing more than a long stick, a string, a hook and bait. Oz explores Thai pole fishing and proves that it’s still a lot of fun — for non-fishermen too!
Floats and trophies at the New Pay Tai fishing park
Ask someone who doesn’t fish what they think fishing looks like, and they would probably answer that it is nothing more than a long stick, a string, a hook and bait. Sometimes they’d mention a float too. As much as this naivety drives us fishermen to insane, homicidal levels, there is some truth to their assumption. People really did used to fish like that and they still do. With much better gear of course.
The Thai word for pole fishing is qing liu. It’s a Chinese word (hence the unconventional transliteration spelling), and I’m not exactly sure what it means, but it seems like it was brought over to Thailand by Chinese immigrants. Float fishing with the spinning rod and a qing liu set-up is called spiu, or pronounced by the Thais as sah-piu, an obvious portmanteau of ‘spinning’ and ‘qing liu’.
On 28 April 2012, I went to check out the TFTMA 2012 event. After safely burning only about 3,000 baht (a new personal best!) at Thailand’s largest annual tackle show, I left to go check out the nearby New Paytai fishing park, a two-pond venue famous for its pole fishing competitions. It’s a place I had been reading about in fishing magazines for several years now but never got around to doing because of my addiction to lure fishing.
When I did get to the pond, I found out that they sell everything one would need to catch a fish there. Being already in a spendy mood, I pulled out my wallet and bought my first pole fishing set-up, only 1,500 baht in total! I got myself a 3.5 metre pole (the 5.4 was out), some floats, some line and a rod holder. The rest of the gear was lent to me by the park owner’s son. Pretty sweet.
Since it was around 4pm, we didn’t have much time left to fish let alone learn a new fishing method. It was myself, Alex and his friend Robert sharing this one rod. The real fun of pole fishing, as I have discovered, is in reading the float. A little dip means the fish is taking nibbles, sideway swings can mean a change in the wind or the fish taking pecks, and when the float rapidly dips a good inch or two it’s time to lift the rod up to set the hook.
Succeeding at pole fishing requires walking a fine line between serenity and alertness. Be too calm and the fish will steal your bait. Get too alert and you’ll set the hook with nothing on it. Keeping a keen eye on the float while taking long deep breaths are the keys to success. That, and a crap load of practice.
We kept taking turns but in the end, I was the only one who landed anything. This was thanks to my childhood days fishing for tilapia with the spiu method. Using the same type of float from my childhood, I was familiar with reading the fish’s actions and successfully landed two bighead carp. Fighting a fish with nothing but a really long and flexible rod and no reel was a new exciting experience. The rod would bend ridiculously, taking the pressure from the fish while I had to occasionally ease the rod to prevent the eight-pound line from snapping. It was some seriously exciting shit!
Staring at the float paid off.
I really recommend pole fishing. It’s an old school art form that should be a part of every fisherman’s journey to understanding the art of catching fish. If anyone reading this is interested in getting into pole fishing in Thailand, I do suggest checking out New Paytai Fishing park. They are quite stocked with fish as well as equipment, and I have added them to the list of fishing parks featured on this website. If you just want to check out equipment, the Hatthai Fishing shops also stock a very decent supply of qing liu gear.
Till next time,
HOOK ON!
For more on Oz's fishing adventures, visit http://bangkokhooker-fishing.com/.
16/05/2012 - 12:52