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Fishing trip

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Fresh fish, 5.30am at Kuraburi market

Every night, when the sun sets in front of the clubhouse, the black night horizon is illuminated by the distant bright green lights of squid trawlers. In the early morning, if you sail out at sunrise, you will encounter small fishing boats by Ko Ra and all along the way to Kuraburi, manned by sleepy-eyed locals who start the day’s work under the night’s stars. Fishing is the life of the islands and coastal towns, and Ko Phra Thong is no exception to this. At the resort, we are lucky to have fish, prawns, squid or octopus on the menu every day, and the nearby Kuraburi market boasts a particularly impressive array of freshly caught seafood: parrotfish, blue crabs, small skates, huge mackerel, amongst many others.

Guests at the resort can experience a relaxed, traditional fishing trip with our nature guide Brennan and a local village fisherman called Noi. Recently, a young boy and his father went on the first such fishing trip of the season. Setting out after a leisurely breakfast on a bright, clear day, the party of four sailed out on a longtail boat from the bay, turning the corner around Hornbill Hill and sailing ahead for forty minutes.

Noi navigates

Fishing is such a major part of the island’s economy and culture that most fishermen begin learning their craft from a young age. By the time they are men, they know the sea’s pathways and temper better than most people know the geography of their hometown. Without GPS, compass or any navigation system whatsoever, Noi located the first fishing spot: just above a Thai navy wreck which also serves as a diving site for those gaining their deep-water qualifications.

 

The traditional method of fishing involves using a handline about thirty metres long, secured to a styrofoam block in case a particularly large fish bites the bait and pulls the line out of the fisherman’s hands. Chopped squid tentacles were the bait of choice, tempting the red snapper lookalikes and one parrotfish from the impenetrably blue depths.

At first, Brennan and the guests struggled to catch any fish, despite all having experience of fishing at home. “You felt a lot of nibbles, but it was hard to set the hook until you got used to it,” explained Brennan afterwards. Noi had no such problems: he pulled out fish after fish as nonchalantly as a magician pulls rabbits from his top hat. “Noi, my man!” exclaimed the father. “The fish! Way to go! How do you do it?” It was a secret that could only be learnt through experience, though the guests and the nature guide did their best to catch up over the course of the trip.

Part of the morning's catch

After a while, Noi declared that it was time to move to another fishing site, where he continued to fill up the boat with his catch. This time, the others were a little luckier: Brennan caught two fish, and the guests caught one apiece. A few more spot movements and many more disbelieving exclamations at Noi’s fishing skills later, the team returned with vivid impressions and a bag of 23 small fish to present to our chef Pabi, who cooked them for the staff’s dinner.

 


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