I'm in a faraway land and got to mark one off of my Bucket List today. We went fishing for Mekong Catfish. Bungsamran is a pay lake in the city limits of Bangkok. You've probably seen it on TV … Jeremy Wade of "River Monsters" has been here (although he didn't tell you it's a pay lake). You sort of feel like you're at Lake Winnepesauka except it's Mekong Cats swimming around rather than carp. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. <br /><br />And it is still "fishing," waiting & hoping for the "big bite," even if you are fishing from your own private bungalow. And it REALLY feels like fishing when you hook one of these beasts… and then try to muscle him hard enough to keep from running under a dock.<br /><br />For you catmen who know the difference between the power of a big blue and the power of big channel cat… take a Tennessee River channel cat that weighs 40 or 50 pounds… and put him on steroids! That is a Mekong Catfish fight. Catch 2 or 3 and you are ready to say "Uncle."<br /><br />It was a grand experience. I was fishing with Eddy Mounce of Fish Thailand. http://www.fishthailand.co.uk/ He's a great guy and runs a great operation.<br /><br />Just FYI, the first photo is their "high dollar" strike indicator (I said sarcastically). It worked like a charm every time. The last photo is a fish our Russian neighbors caught. They don't weigh fish here… treat with great care and it's all catch and release. But their fish was well over 100 pounds. emoEek After catching the ones we did catch, we were actually glad we didn't hook one that big. emoBigsmile <br />