BlueWater's recent visit to steamy Phuket and the nearby Similan Islands revealed that there's a lot more to a great liveaboard fishing trip than great fishing. David Granville has the story.

When John Pearce invited BlueWater to fish Phuket and the nearby Similan Islands in Thailand, he made a statement that stuck in my mind: "It's not the best fishing in the world, but it's the best place in the world to go fishing."

At the time I didn't quite know what he meant, but having just returned from this exotic destination, I now know exactly what he was talking about.

Pearce runs the Reel Hooker - a 44ft Riviera that has just undergone a major refit and is well suited to liveaboard gamefishing. Reel Hooker is considered one of, if not the, most successful gameboats in Thailand.

Our journey began in Brisbane where we boarded a Thai Airways International MD11 to Bangkok. This flight departs Brisbane late in the evening, so if you're a good plane sleeper it's not a bad flight to catch. From Bangkok to Phuket it's just a one-hour flight aboard a Thai Airways International A300.

Thai Airways International now flies direct from Melbourne to Phuket. This obviously saves the transit in Bangkok, which will appeal to Aussie travellers

TOUCHDOWN
On arrival in Phuket we were met by Mr Dej Kantibur of World Travel Services, who would be our guide while in Phuket. Having a guide, a driver and a nice air-conditioned car certainly makes commuting around the island more enjoyable, as well as allowing you to learn a lot about the locals and their culture.

Dej is a mountain of knowledge, and he also knows where all the good shopping spots are. World Travel Services is a local travel agency, but it also specialises in guided transportation.

While in Phuket we stayed at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa, which is just a 15-minute drive from the airport. The Marriott overlooks the Andaman Sea and occupies 27 acres of tropical gardens and swimming pools. It features a 500m frontage of Phuket's unspoilt Mai Khao Beach, which is on the far north-western corner of the island. Indeed, it's about as far away from the hustle and bustle of Phuket town and Patong Beach as you can get. The Marriott is also adjacent to Sirinath National Park, which incorporates a protected nesting area for the leatherback turtle.

The BlueWater team has stayed in some nice hotels over the years, but this is without doubt the most spectacular. If you're looking for total relaxation in beautiful surroundings and really want to spoil your partner, this is the place in which to do it

BOYS & THEIR TOYS
John Pearce had chartered Reel Hooker to two Pommie expats - Dave Irving, who works in Taiwan, and Rob Simmons from Singapore. The two young Englishmen charter Reel Hooker each year for a four-day liveaboard to the Similan Islands - and on this occasion, they were gracious enough to let BlueWater tag along.

John invited us to Patong Beach for dinner to meet Dave and Rob before we went to sea. We dined at a restaurant called Toys R Us, which is run by Nick Jackson of Blackfin Boats fame. The food was out of this world and the entertainment was interesting to say the least. While we ate dinner, a group of very attractive girls (at least I thought they were girls) performed a small cabaret show. As we clapped in appreciation of their first performance, John informed me that all the ‘girls' on stage were in fact Katoys (men who had had a sex change). I couldn't believe it - but I wasn't about to try and find out! As we left the restaurant it dawned on me why it was called Toys R Us.

As I contemplated the sheltered life I've lived, we wandered down a street that was lined on both sides by bar after bar after bar. Every one was brimming with young girls begging us to come in for a drink.

We did stop for a few drinks and to take in the sights (it was indeed an eye-opener), but commonsense soon prevailed - we had an early start the next morning.

TOP O' THE MOORING
It was a 45-minute drive from the Marriott to Chalong Bay where John moors Reel Hooker. Dej delivered us to the wharf in time to grab some breakfast before boarding the boat.

John has two crew on the Reel Hooker - Kiet, a Thai skipper who knows the waters of Phuket and the Similans like the back of his hand; and Ali, who is the deckhand and chef. These guys really know how to look after their clients and they never stop smiling.

Not long after departing Chalong Bay, the lures were set and we pointed the bow for the Similan Islands. The group of islands is numbered one to nine from south to north, with Number One Island (Ko Huyong) around 60nm from Chalong Bay.

At troll speed it took most of Day One to get there - and apart from the odd skipjack and barracuda, the passage to the islands was relatively uneventful. Not that Dave and Rob were complaining, as they had a chance to enjoy the tranquillity of the air-conditioned cabin to sleep off the previous night's festivities.

We arrived at a reef to the east of Number One Island called Hin Pare with just enough light for a bit of popper fishing. The GTs were in attendance and it didn't take Dave and Rob long to reduce the boat's popper stocks. The GTs definitely won that round.

As the light faded we tied up to a mooring on the southeast corner of Number One Island. Before the rope came tight, John had fired a 65gm Raider lure towards the rocks and hooked up immediately to a solid bluefin trevally. We all picked up a spin rod and enjoyed a hot little session as day turned into night. The bluefin trevally were all around the 6kg mark and gave a great account of themselves on light-tackle spin gear.

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE
After a nice hot shower we sat down to a meal of authentic Thai cuisine, expertly prepared by Ali. Beware though - if you don't like your Thai food super hot, then you'd better let Ali know before he starts his magic in the galley!

We woke to an oily-calm sea and, after a hearty breakfast, pointed the Reel Hooker towards the Ton Mai seamount - approximately 12nm west of Number One Island.
When the first strike came, we knew what it was before the rod loaded up. A wahoo had launched itself clear of the water before crashing the lure. The Tiagra howled from the wahoo's first run, then Rob did the honours of winching him to the boat.

While there were plenty of wahoo on the seamount, this is not what we were targeting - we were there to catch marlin. Black marlin in fact, as this seamount has been the most productive marlin ground for the Reel Hooker crew.

According to John, most of the black marlin off Phuket are generally between 50 and 200kg. Although bigger fish have been hooked, the Reel Hooker uses mainly 30 and 50lb Shimano outfits to maximise the fight of the mid-range blacks.

Apart from and endless supply of wahoo and a nice mahi mahi, the seamount was quiet - so we decided to head back to the islands for a late try at a sailfish.

We were back near Hin Pare reef as John made a comment about catching 21 sailfish in this very spot one day. Just as he'd finished, three rods buckled under protest and three sailfish came gyrating out of the water.

One jumped off but the other two stayed connected, and both Rob and Dave released their first billfish for the trip. They were only little sails, but they performed some of the most erratic and unique jumps I have ever seen.

With a couple of sailfish under the belt, we decided to have a popper fish on the reef in the fading light. This time Dave managed to drag a nice little GT out of the bommies as a couple of free-jumping sailfish frolicked beside the boat as the sun set.

Back on the mooring at Number One, there was just enough time to extract a couple more bluefin trevally before dinner. John certainly provides his clients with value-for-money fishing time - after dinner he anchored the boat on a patch of reef so Dave and Rob could do a bit of bottom fishing. The reef-dwellers were scarce, but the boys did manage to spin up a couple of thumper bigeye trevally in the lights.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
The next morning it was back to the seamount, and the wahoo were really on the chew. The current was pushing hard and there were plenty of tuna schools working the surface. It looked very fishy and we were all convinced it was only a matter of time before we got a marlin strike.

Kiet worked the edge of the seamount with purpose, and although the rods stayed bent from wahoo and small yellowfin tuna, the marlin bite never came. It was disappointing for Rob and Dave, as both of them really wanted to catch their first marlin.

You can't catch them if they're not biting though - so we headed back to the islands for another try at a sailfish. The baits weren't in the water long when an erect sail appeared behind the long bait. This sailfish obviously wasn't too hungry though, and he gave a halfhearted swipe at the bait before disappearing into the depths.

In the last half an hour before dark we had another two sailfish bites, but missed them both and saw another tailer. There is obviously no shortage of sails around the Similans.

Our last night on the mooring was relatively uneventful, although the bluefin trevally were again cooperative. John managed to drag out a real nice one about 7kg on his 4kg spin outfit. It was a great fight that could easily have gone either way.

When we woke the next morning, it was hard to believe it was already time to go home. The days had gone so quickly - it felt like we had so much more fishing to do.
After breakfast the lures were set for the troll home and the bow was pointed towards Chalong Bay. We had only been trolling a couple of minutes when two sailfish appeared in the pattern. Both fish hooked up momentarily - but as they do so well, they managed to throw the hooks. According to John, most of the sailfish bites in the Similans come in the afternoon - obviously these two fish hadn't read the rulebook.

Still hopeful of a marlin, we continued the troll for home - but after a few hours without a bite we decided it wasn't going to happen this trip. The marlin had eluded Dave and Rob on this occasion, but they are already talking about coming back next year for another try.

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE
John was right - it isn't the best fishing in the world, but when you take into consideration the beautiful surroundings, calm seas, friendly people, great food, easy access, excellent accommodation and of course the nightlife, Phuket and its surrounding islands certainly has a lot going for it.

Although it wasn't the priority of this trip, BlueWater would love to spend more time fishing for sailfish around the Similans. It obviously has huge potential.

In the two hours we actually fished for sails, we raised eight and caught two. John's best day is 21 sailfish releases in just four hours. Indeed, these numbers compare with the best sailfisheries in the world.

If we had've caught a bunch of marlin on the seamount, which they normally do, we may have had a different outlook - but based on this trip, our recommendation would be to forget about the seamount.

Maximise your fishing time around the islands and take advantage of the great light-tackle fishing. Break out the 6kg and 8kg outfits and have a ball on the sails and wahoo.

Not to mention all the fun you can have chucking lures around the rocks for trevally.

Contacts:

Reel Hooker - Tel: (66) 7628 3270
Email: reelhooker@hotmail.com
Web: www.reelhooker-phuket.com

Wahoo Big Game Fishing Co Ltd - Tel: (66) 7628 1510
Web: www.wahoo.ws

JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa Tel: (66) 7633 8000
Email: jwmarriott.phuket@marriotthotels.com
Web: www.marriott.com

Thai Airways International - Contact Thai Airways International Reservations
Tel: 1300 651 960 or visit your local travel agent

World Travel Services - Tel: (66) 7622 2346
Fax: (66) 7622 2357