If you enjoy fishing, there is no reason you can’t enjoy fishing in Pattaya even more than you do back home. Back home when it comes to fishing the first thing you have to do is find out what the rules are in your area and what license(s) you have to possess before you even worry about the equipment. In Thailand, it is legal to go freshwater fishing in the random public ponds, lakes and tributaries in the area unless it is specifically posted to not fish there or if there are people there who tell you that you can’t. For the little fishing holes that I will show you in part 2 of Fishing in Pattaya, nobody will bother you at all unless it is another friendly fisherman checking out your rig.
Aside from freshwater fishing, Thailand is literally on a gulf named after itself. I’m not telling you to run out on any public beach and wet a line, but there are some favourite spots for fishing saltwater that I will show you as well.
First things first, if you didn’t bring your own, you are going to need the proper equipment. Thankfully there are few surefire places to get a 300-500 baht rod and reel. Pattaya has a number of fishing supply stores. Here are the ones of note that are in or near the city centre:
Sun Fishing Tackle
Sun Fishing Tackle is located on Pattaya Tai Soi 15. The shop carries everything you need from weighted line nets and casting nets to deep-sea rods and reels. The only thing that you won’t find here is bait for ocean fishing. Everything else they keep on hand and at reasonable prices. The staff are very knowledgeable about fishing in the Pattaya area and if you tell them where you will be going they will suggest the best baits to use and can advise about the types of fish you can catch at locations around the city. They do offer some freshwater “power bait” style baits and plenty of salt and freshwater lures. Their hours of operation are from 7:30 am until 8 pm every day except Sunday and Monday when they are open from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm.
Rigger
Rigger fishing shop is located at 301/83 Thepprasit Road. The selection of equipment is decent and the prices are slightly higher than Sun Fishing based on various purchased things from both places but if you are in the Jomtien area of town Rigger is right there with pretty much all you need on a day out on the lake or gulf.
Another Place To Score a Rod and Reel (with limited tackle):
As you wander around the “soi”s and become more familiar with the streets here you will start to see little lean-to style markets that have everything that you could possibly need for home repairs and more. Most of these little Thai style hardware stores have a small fishing section where you can grab up a 300-500 baht rod and reel combo and some hooks and weights.
What About the Bait?
For most freshwater fishing done in Pattaya to include the fishing parks (which we will discuss later) use their own specially formulated bread baits that are then attached to a bait cage with hooks. For saltwater baits, you can go to any of the Thai fresh food markets and they typically sell live shrimp and or fish for cut bait. You should be able to find a cast net from any of the stores above and catch your own live bait as well with just a few casts in the right places. Not sure how to throw a cast net? This informative YouTube video by Captain Mike over at Reel Reports will help:
This concludes Part 1 of Fishing in Pattaya. Now that you know where to get the required equipment, be sure and stay tuned for Part 2: Saltwater Fishing Holes Around Pattaya
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