2.5 days in Gillhams Paradise

Contrary to belief, running a dedicated fishing holiday company does not mean lots of endless trips abroad fishing around the world. In fact it is very much like any other job, however when it’s your own business its even worse as you never switch off. So even when me and my partner planned a nice break away, fishing and work still ended up being included in the itinerary.

We had decided to have 10 days in Asia taking in areas of Thailand and returning back via Hong Kong, to experience lots of great food and culture. Well that was the plan until a good friend and one of our suppliers the man himself Stuart Gillham, who has been nagging me for ages to come visit his resort for myself got involved. So there it was, a revised itinerary and extended one to take in a couple of days fishing at Gillhams resort. Now this is the part where owning your own business comes in, if we had two days fishing, it would be too big of an opportunity to miss filming at the resort and updating our Thailand fishing DVD wouldn’t it?

The day of arrival came quickly, after a short 1.5 hour flight with Asia Air we touched down in Krabi to be warmly greeted by one of Stuart’s staff. The short 45 min drive to the resort was a real welcome change to all the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. No traffic on the roads and so much greenery. As we drew closer to the resort you start to pass through some amazing rock formations, they just look like huge boulders just dumped by some giant, hundreds of feet high, covered in lush vegetation, even trees trying to hang on for dear life to the shear cliff faces. One thing was for sure they made a fantastic backdrop as we pulled up to the resort.

On arrival it was welcome drinks and a good old chat with Stuart’s daughter Becky, who showed us to our room. For those of you who have not had the benefit of visiting this resort, the accommodation is right on the waters edge, each bungalow has a front bedroom with a double bed and a rear bedroom with two single beds. These stunning rooms look like quaint villas set in royal gardens, so immaculately designed and manicured fit for royalty and not a fishing lake. My partner who was not really sure to what to expect as it was her first ever time accompanying me on a fishing trip (Well after all it was just meant to be a relaxing holiday, but fishing is relaxing isn’t it?) She was so impressed and wondered if this is what fishing holidays were like why she had not been with me before.

6.30am on our first morning and Scott my guide for the next few days was already in our chosen swim, baiting up and preparing all the tackle and wide selection of baits. After some quick introductions and talks on how and what we were going to film, cameras rolling it was time for me and Scott to get the rods in the water. It was only a matter of minutes before the right hand rod bent round and we are in. After a real hard fight from a fish that tried its damn best to reach the cover of the lush vegetation overhanging the waters edge down to my right, the fish was in front of us. At the first deep boil there was the tell tail sign and vivid red colour meaning only one thing a cracking Redtail Catfish. With cameras rolling Scott slipped in to the water to net the fish. It was at this point I started to realise just how much thought and care had gone in not only building this fishery but to ensure the survival of its stunning residents. The fishery rules dictate that no fish are landed on the bank. All captured fish are only netted by the guides, who will take care of the fish while you strip off and slip in to the cooling refreshing water to enable some good photos or in our case some great filming. After making a movie star out of this Redtail it was lowered in to the net while the fish aftercare equipment was taken from the ice bucket. Yes aftercare! Stuart and his team inject all the fish with a solution that helps the fish break down Lactic acid that has built up in the fishes muscles during the fight, the injection point, hook mark plus any other damage areas on the fish are then treated with Iodine to assist in the natural healing. Again we filmed all the process as it was a real pleasure to see people take such good care of the fish and fisheries future.

The idea of filming over the 2 days was to show people what a diverse great fishery this is and to do just that, we wanted to catch as many different species as possible. Not an easy task over such a short period of time, but try we must. The action did not disappoint and for filming was fantastic, however fish can never be called actors and in fact someone had forgot to tell the fish we were looking for different species, run after run and fish after fish came our way on the first day, however the only fish on roll call that day was Redtail Catfish. Now do not get me wrong, the day ended with 13 fish caught all Redtails, ranging from low 20’s to over 60’s several fish around the 40 to 50 range all in all a great days fishing and filming. It does not matter how many of these fish I have caught at various destinations around the world, when in your hands you can only admire their strength, ability and vibrant colours.

Second morning and again everyone was in the swim, me Scott and Tracey with Matt on the cameras. Time to get rolling and get the baits out in to the water, again action was fast, we did not even manage to get three rods out before one of the others was screaming off. (Note in the standard package at Gillhams everyone is provided with 2 rods, reels, buzzers, rigs basically everything you need, however you can hire an additional rod at an additional charge and believe me its well worth the extra) First and second fish was again cracking Redtails both over 30lb. Then it was time for the middle rod to scream off, but this time it was immediately obviously that this was no Redtail the fight was totally different. The fish just powered off in to open water, never interested in trying to get in to any bank foliage. Just up and down in front of us, occasionally creating huge vortexes in the water. Eventually it broke the surface to which we could see one of Stuarts stunning Mekong catfish, not like the ones in other parts of Thailand with tatty mouths and fins, these fish are in perfect top condition just as in the wild. With the usual pictures and filming it was time to watch her gently slip away and start to think about breakfast.

At Gillhams the main restaurant offers a full English menu along with a full Thai menu cooked by a Thai chef. Although breakfast is included in the package evening meals and drinks are extra. One real advantage and nice touch which Tracey my partner just loved was the fact that you can order breakfast from the guides, who telephone your order up to the restaurant, who then delivers it to you right in your swim. With Breakfast on order it was time to do more filming around the lake and facilities, this was going to be tricky as the camera and crew would be wandering off, we would continue to fish, and with any fish taking the bait, they would be called back to catch the action. Yes you guessed it for the rest of the day we had them running around all over the place, all credit to both Tracey and Matt for doing such a great job with the sun beating down upon us all the time. I can not remember how many fish we ended up with on day 2, apart from we caught more than we did on the first day. Did we manage to catch more species, well yes like the stunning Tambaqui, but how many? Well you will just have to wait for the DVD.

All 2 quick our two days filming was over, however we still had the following morning so Stuart suggested we got Tracey who had never fished before to have a couple of hours before we departed to the airport. I have never seen a lady get up so quickly and early in the morning, she was out of bed at 6am still in her pj’s taking photographs of the lake, accommodation etc, then dressed standing in the swim ready to start fishing dead on 7 am. After some quick tuition the rods were cast out, as usual it was only a matter of minutes before she had a take. No surprises what the first fish was of the day, yes a Redtail Catfish. I must say Tracey had obviously paid a lot of attention over the last two days filming as she played the fish and handled it like a pro and what a fish it was for your first fish a cracking 45lb specimen. It just goes to show with all the other amenities at Gillhams and the surrounding area that this resort is a great place if you want to take your partner with you. Apart from the stunning grounds, accommodation infinity swimming pool, very close by there is Krabi resort it self with bars, clubs, markets and beaches, however there’s also Elephant trekking, Kayaking, horse riding, mountain bikes, quad bikes, more than enough to warrant booking an extra couple of days to explore.

To summarize, the whole couple of days was a great pleasure and although I know from customers feedback that everyone in the past has had a great time, it was a pleasant surprise as the whole experience was far greater than I had expected. Just leaves us all to say a huge thank you to Stuart, Becky, Scott, Matt plus all the support staff behind the scenes for making a trip to remember. Will we go back? Defiantly.

Regards Peter Collingsworth

Ps. Yes, definitely! Regards Tracey :) 




So the filming starts at Gillhams Thailand 




Scott getting bait and rigs ready



First cast at Gillhams Thailand



It did not take long to get in to our first fish of the day fishing Thailand



Well bent in fishing at Gillhams Thailand



A nice Retail Catfish from Gillhams to smile for the cameras



Kiss for me fishing in Thailand



Scott putting on all the fish treatments in Thailand



A nice big fat 60lb plus Redtail Catfish from Gillhams fishing resort Thailand



Just look at the width of the fish



Tracey on the camera doing a great job



A big fat Mekong comes in for the cameras, filming in Thailand



Happy days for Tracey, meals on wheels and a nice set of wheels she said...mmmm



These fish are stunning and this one was just uner 50lb



The stunning villas at Gillhams in morning sun



First thing in the morning what a start to the day



Tracey gets her chance and first fish



Tracey with her prize and first fish a stunning 45lb Redtail Catfish


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