2010 Northen Thailand Hampala Barb (Sebarau) Trip - The Preparation I

Hampala macrolepidota, Hampala Barb, or Sebarau as local call it (photos from fishbase)

Probably I heard too many stories about mama Sebarau that make an angler ecstatic, and I am making a trip to experience them on line.

There are considerable number of dam waters in Malaysia that you can find Sebarau; Temenggor, Bersia, Kenyir and so on. But all these areas share a similarity; an above 2kg specimen on rod and line is absolutely rare nowadays. I thought if getting them in Malaysia is difficult, then I shall move to where they present in abundance, or at least I think they are.

So where shall the quest of Sebarau heading?

I was informed that there are good spots for Sebarau in Kalimantan, Thailand and Vietnam. I set a target size of 4kg-ish Sebarau, or jungle perch as Thai called it, and start sending inquiries to fishing charters in Thailand and Indonesia. I consistently make my intention very clear; I want to get a 4kg-ish Sebarau on lure, even at the expense of longer travelling.

About a week later I got response from fishing charters from Thailand and Indonesia and it seems that a Sebarau at size of 4kg is not too illusive to pursue!

I went through the location and evaluate the logistic required for Indonesia and Thailand, and decided to make it to Northern Thailand.

So what is there in Thailand huh?

When I was checking the actual location of fishing spots in Thailand, I Google Earth them and along the process doing that, I was impressed with the potential of freshwater fishing in Thailand. There are considerable number of dam in Thailand with fishing charters offer great fishing trips, including a Hampala Barb trip.

Fishing spots primarily are dam waters, few of them are like;

Bhumipol Dam (since 1964), in Sam Ngao District, Tak Province

Tak Province, Thailand

Sirikit Dam (since 1973), Uttradit Province

Uttradit Province

Khao Laem Dam (in West Thailand)

Srinakarin Dam, Kanchanaburi Province, West Thailand

Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand

Cheow Lan Lake (or Chiao Lan) at South Thailand, came after Ratchaprapha Dam in 1986.

From photos and tourist writeup, Chiao Lan lake is very scenic spot, the not-to-be-missed tourist area.

What the Thai Charter got to say about chance of catching a 4kg-ish Sebarau on rod and line?

From the response of fishing charters, I came to understand that most sebarau catches in Northern Thailand are in the range of 1 to 3kg-ish, and a 4kg specimen is "inconsistent to come by". Nevertheless, one of the charters said this "we have spot for your target fish" and the other charter proposed to extend my fishing trip to 5 days, covering bigger area and fish for longer duration.

I got limitation on the logistic of reaching these fishing spots. The low cost carrier company in Malaysia namely AirAsia provides route to Chiangmai, and practically the fishing spots have to somehow reachable within few hours on the road from Chiangmai.

Location of Chiangmai, the landing point of AirAsia in Northern Thailand

Charters that promised to come back to me with a customized trip itinerary are yet to revert to me and I shall see how the program been worked out.