29/09/2026
Battle of the Bars, September 2026.
With September being our quietest month, we organized an impromptu competition.
With Mai Mai in athletics training, there was no French Kiss team, which leaves Coco Beach Bar as the only ever-presents. This time we had Danny fishing with his wife Sue under the name The Alpacas, named after the animals that basically keep his grass cut at home (see pic)
The day was hot and humid, with Samui somehow immune to all the rain that is falling all over Thailand at the moment.
As usual, after the draw, the teams of two could choose their attack—four teams went for two boilie rods and two chose one boilie rod and one bait rod.
The Olive Bar got the same peg as last time (Heavens Point) and started like a house on fire, landing 4 carp and a Mekong Cat in the first half hour. Add to that a non-counting, foul-hooked Mekong and you could see why Izzy said he wanted a rest, but this allowed the rest of the field to catch up.
Earlier this year, we introduced a 10-point bonus for carp over 75lb. Three carp over that weight were caught today, which is impressive for a 4-hour match?
Last month's winners, Samui Sea Fishing (Ondrej and Graham), were on Deep Water and were all out on the carp, landing 6 with the biggest at 83lb. They ran out easy winners and took home the 4,000 Baht first prize.
In second place were The Alpacas, who landed two fish from Redtail Haven in the last 10 minutes that accrued 26 points—a spectacular Dragon Arapaima and a stonking Tambaqui which Sue landed in the final minute. This also gave them the species bonus tied with Coco Beach Bar at 3 species each.
The Summer House came 3rd with another carp weight from Deep Water. As usual, their captain, Courtney, ran out of bait attempting to catch a Mekong catfish. These boys were conspicuous by their absence, as only two came out all day.
Results:
- 1st: Samui Sea Fishing – 38 Points
- 2nd: The Alpacas – 29 Points
- 3rd: The Summer House – 22 Points
- 4th: The Olive Bar – 20 Points
- 5th: Coco Beach Bar – 17 Points
- 6th: Marvel Construction – 3 Points
All in all, a great day with some good fun had along the way and no blanks!
