Let’s talk about fishing parks!
Fishing parks are for those people that want to be able to guarantee themselves a catch that will put up a fight. These privately owned and stocked lakes contain extremely big (damn near prehistoric) fish. If you have never experienced the forearm burn that comes from fighting one of these monsters, you need to do it at least once in your life, even if it is only for the Facebook and Instagram credit.
There are a number of fishing parks to choose from in Pattaya. Each of them offers a similar yet different experience. Some lakes stock predatory fish while others do not. Ultimately it all comes down to which parks and prices you are comfortable paying. Here is a brief guide to a few of the most popular fishing parks in Pattaya:
Amazon Giant Fishing Park is a lake that is on an abandoned rock quarry. The water is filled from an underground spring and does not suffer from any algae or aeration issues. They have pristinely clean “western” style toilets and a restaurant and bar for your enjoyment. According to their website, the lake is stocked with a wide variety of predator fish to include arapaima, redtail catfish, Mekong catfish, alligator gar, paku, Siamese carp and barramundi. The fish range in sizes from 15kg to 90+kg. Fishing in this park will run you 3500 baht per visit. If you decide that you would like to have your own personal guide it will be an additional charge of 1000 baht.
Betong Fishing Park is one of the larger and more popular parks in the area. Like the other parks that we will mention, Betong also has their fair share of giant monster fish. Outside baits are not permitted for use in the park. Some days the fish can be a little slow but once you find the right spot, you are in for a good long day of fishing and fighting. You can provide your own rod set up and use their bait, however. For bait and fishing, the cost is 300 baht and if you need to rent a rod, there is an additional 500 baht fee. All food and drinks must be purchased at the park’s restaurant and are available after 2 pm.
Castaway Fishing Park is full of predatory and scavenger fish. This park hosts competition fishing matches regularly and even has rooms for accommodation if you want to stay right at the lake. The fishing “swims” come with 2 chairs, an umbrella, pole stands and a net to make sure you don’t lose the catch you have hooked. 1500 baht gets you a rod and plenty of bait for the day.
Freddie’s Fishing Park boasts more than 45 different species of monster fish. Here you are permitted to use outside baits, but they must be inspected by the park staff prior to starting to fish. No outside food and drinks are allowed, but there are plenty of drinks and snacks to be had right at the park. Cost of fishing is 500 baht, rod and reel setups are an extra 150 baht.
Jomtien Fishing Park is almost exclusively stocked with different types of catfish. Bait flavouring is recommended for your rig here as it is commonly used by the staff and guides. This is the most convenient park for those people staying on the Jomtien side. Upon the last visit, the prices were 300 baht to fish, 150 baht to rent the rod and 100 baht for bait.
Paifon Fishing Park is a very good park to go to if you would like to catch a bunch of fish in a short amount of time. While they do not have as many larger species of fish like the other fishing parks, they certainly make up for it with non-stop action. Food and drinks can be purchased on-site. Fishing at Paifon will run you about 200 baht and that even comes with 1kg of tilapia to take home with you!
Pattaya Fishing Park stocks the largest Mekong catfish out of all of the fishing parks. They claim to have more than 3000 fish in the lake. Prices have gone up over the past few years and are now 2500 baht for fishing (includes a rod) and 50 baht per kg of bait. The park says you should estimate that you will use 1kg in 1 hour of fishing.
Wasana Fishing Park is located just outside of Pattaya. They are not a very big lake, but they do stock some healthy monster fish from arapaima to Siamese carp and Amazon red-tailed catfish to name a few. 2500 baht gets you one carp rod and one predator rod and includes a pack of bait for predatory fish and a pack for non-predatory fish. Rod sharing is not allowed, but there is no charge for non-fishing guests.
While there are a few other fishing parks out there that we did not mention, these are the most popular ones that you will hear about in your visit to Pattaya.
Now that we have given you the knowledge you need to fish pretty much anywhere in Pattaya, what say you grab that rod and reel and bring it with you on your next vacation? Or, just pick one up when you get here. The fish are waiting!
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