Fishing In Udon Thani

One of the best times I had while visiting Sang's home near Udon Thani for Songkran was on one hot afternoon her father announced we were going fishing. This was really the only time Neung seemed interesting in doing something other than playing video games in some remote part of the house. It was disappointing that many interesting opportunities were missed because Neung and Sang seemed so lethargic.

Here is a picture of Sang's house where her father, mother older brother, younger sister and brother stay.





For fishing, I was handed a big umbrella and off across the fields the men went. We arrived at a pond that had been machine dug. It was about 20 meters by 10 meters and contained the ugliest water I had seen in a long time. I was very skeptical that anything edible could dwell within.





I was shown a shady spot to sit with my umbrella to watch while the guys stripped down to their boxers. Into the water they went to prepare the pond for the nets. Considerable time was spent clearing the pond of any debris that may foul the nets.


Then they went around the edge of the pond to roll back the overhang where, I suspect, the fish hid during the heat of the day. I could see that several small injuries were inflicted during this process.Being an artifical pond, I asked where the fish had come from and was told, "They just come".





Then the nets were thrown which require great skill to gain the greatest spread. The nets were weighted around the edges so they sank to the bottom trapping the fish. Then the guys would walk on the submerged nets using their feet to feel for the fish. Once a fish was found the boy would dunk under to retrieve it.





This process went on for two hours of hard work. Every so often they would come out of the pond to remove the leeches and rest a bit.





After the first hour the ladies came a long with some snacks and the Sangsom I had bought. I was amazed at the amount of fish they caught from the small pond. I asked how many times a month they would fish and they said they could fish here about 8 times a month but they had other ponds.





The catch was taken back to the house where mama (the family slave) prepared the fish.








The larger fish were selected, cleaned somewhat, and stuffed with herbs, lemongrass and fruit then barbecued. After the fish were cooked the family gathered to eat except for Neung and Sang who operated on their own schedule.





To say the fish were tasty and delicious would be an understatement. I was blown away. It was incredible. With sticky rice, greens and fruit all eaten with fingers only and washed down with glasses of beer in ice, this was one of the most enjoyable feasts I ever had.

A big thank you goes out to papa who was the one who seemed to really want to entertain me and show me what Issan life was all about.