# Barramundi



## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

Never caught one, but want a wild one in a bad way. I already love snook, and these guys are very similar, but without the black line.

That said, I'll be spending the last half of April and the first half of May in Thailand, where I hope to investigate the barramundi fishing there. I'm not talking about the pay-to-play compounds that are all catch and release. I'll never fish in one of those, possibly with the exception of catching an arapaima (sp?) and just to say I caught one. I'm not overly impressed with their fighting ability, considering their size.

However, barras have been stocked in some of Thailand's larger lakes and impoundments and should eventually reach WR size. Thailand also has several rivers with sea-run populations, although these fish are generally much smaller, just like in Australia. I also don't think the Aussies are allowed to net them, but I could be wrong on that. Salt water barras in Australia average 7-12 lbs. and are fly rod targets. Thailand's river fish are smaller, because there, netting is allowed. (although the mesh size must be regulated)

In any event, I'll let y'all know if anything interesting develops. I love Thailand anyway.....it's a beautiful country with equally beautiful warm and friendly people.


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## fy0834 (Jan 18, 2011)

Just like LM bass fishing... Careful with the gills,they are razor sharp.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Looking forward to your report.

I agree with you on the pay-to-play. I started looking into going there to fish but pay-to-play just doesn't appeal to me. 

Do they have any Trevally in the salt there? 

Really looking forward to your report.


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## southpaw (Feb 25, 2009)

Sounds like you got a pretty sweet trip planned. Haven't been to Thailand in quite some time but it is a very special place. Looking forward to your report



Meadowlark said:


> Do they have any Trevally in the salt there?


Phuket is supposed to have some awesome offshore fishing for sails and black marlin. Some of the other islands in the Andaman Sea are also known to harbor some massive GTs too.

I have family that lives in Singapore and know guys who spearfish all sorts of trevally and even GTs around Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. After hearing all that I have about GTs idk how they don't drown themselves spearing them bc all they do is free dive. Batam also is supposed to have some GTs but last time I visited there you still had to boil all of your water and they serve all of their food there extra spicy. Don't get me wrong I love a little kick in my food but having to wash it down with hot water when it's hot and muggy outside isn't favorable and the beer isn't all that great there. Anyways, looks like that whole SE Asia may be a place to look for your next GT adventure.


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## Txflyrod (Nov 11, 2016)

Permit rat,
There is a 2cool member on this website who used to live in Texas and then returned to Thailand. He now has a guide fishing service there. I would do a search on the website and look him up.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

Txflyrod said:


> Permit rat,
> There is a 2cool member on this website who used to live in Texas and then returned to Thailand. He now has a guide fishing service there. I would do a search on the website and look him up.


You're right and I tried to make contact, now several years ago. If it's the same guy, he was also a member of the Florida Sportsman Forum and that's where I got his name. Alas, all my e-mail attempts went unanswered. BTW, he fished a river quite close to Bangkok. I wish he had returned my contact attempts....I would have gladly booked him for a day or so, both coming and going!


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## SurfRunners (Oct 3, 2016)

I make frequent trips to Thailand and fish often. I was unaware that you can catch barramundi in the wild there. I had BKKGUY John take me to a barramundi farm and fish. It was like shooting fish in a barrel but it was still fun. I caught about 15 barramundi up to 12 - 13 lbs. Nothing less than 9 lbs. I would have caught more but I went to fishing a popper for a little more of a challenge and action. I had rather catch fish from the wild but at the time I knew nothing about Thailand fishing and wanted to catch a barramundi.

Here is a video of me catching the barramundi.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

I found and have been in contact with John (BKKGUY) and he was not a wealth of information. He also said he did not have any "wild" barra spots....in other words, he did not know about the fish in the nearby rivers. Dang, I wish I had been able to make contact with that other guy. But he must have given up the game.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Keep trying...and if worse came to worse, you are certainly capable of DIY on those. I'd sure love to hear a report.


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## SurfRunners (Oct 3, 2016)

I really don't think they are in the wild there. BKK John fishes those rivers and should know. I make frequent trips there and have never heard of them being in the wild. But, I may be wrong.


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## Permit Rat (May 13, 2014)

SurfRunners said:


> I really don't think they are in the wild there. BKK John fishes those rivers and should know. I make frequent trips there and have never heard of them being in the wild. But, I may be wrong.


I would guess that you're probably right. But this other guy (who I can't locate anymore) had a photo of one allegedly taken from a river "near Bangkok". I think it is not the Chaophraya River, that runs up through the city. If I had to guess, I'd say it was the Bang Pakong, that is a little east of the city. However ALL 3 rivers are filthy and I don't know if I could bring myself to fish in one.

That said, I have also heard that there are barras in some of the rivers of the west coast, north of Phuket, such as Kho Phra Thong. These areas are all still very remote and I imagine not too safe, seeing as they are very close to Myanmar. I dunno.....time will tell. It may all be a bust.


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