An Isaan Pond

[DrWilly]

Can you not afford a bucket for the fish catch? I'm sure LoyToy can spring you for one?

[Reg Dingle]

Are your toilets broken or he didn't want to take his shoes off to go in the house.

Looks the kind of place where you wipe your feet on the way out

[Stumpy]

Looks the kind of place where you wipe your feet on the way out

Well there is that option. In my opinion Mendy should wear something on his feet in the house, preferably something to cover them. . Hopefully he sleeps with socks on in bed but maybe we don't want too know.

[DrWilly]

Anna doesn’t like him wearing socks in bed.

[Mendip]

^ Yeah, it's 'au naterel' these days.


I'm well used to horrors in our kitchen, but found this bowl of what looked like cockroach nymphs today on the living room coffee table. Can you believe that the wife munches on these, Caesar style, while horizontal in front of the TV?

Well, she ain't getting a goodnight kiss tonight.



But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so while the missus was distracted by spitting out larvae legs, I took a handful down to the pond to try my chances. That bug in the front is one of the usual treats... these trilobites are something else.0



Who, or what could resist? This is a decent sized meal for a fish... that's a size 8 hook.



As tempting as they look, these bugs were useless fishing bait. They have a hard carapace and are half full of air, so are buoyant and despite the weights on the line, kept floating to the surface. When I tried to squeeze out the air to reduce the buoyancy, a load of white gunk came out... I mean FFS, I'm amazed the wife will stick these in her gob. How can anyone possibly eat this?



The fish weren't interested so I decided to give the chickens a treat...



And that escalated quickly... the chickens went mental!
⁰


The chickens satiated, I headed back to the pond... uh oh...

The sneak thief Anna had done it again... she'd nailed the last of my bread bait. FFS, she should know better.



Suitably chastised, Anne stayed with me after I found another bread crust back in the house to continue fishing... but something just didn't feel right. If you raise your voice, Anna just naturally looks guilty so I started to wonder... and checked the cctv...


⁹
Sorry, Anna!

[DrWilly]

Literally seconds.… hahaha. He wasted no time.


How many camp shorts do you have again?

[Mendip]

I couldn't be bothered to try an get the landing net

PPPPP - another decade or two and you'll have these wrinkles ironed out

It's a good job I'm a quick learner, Mike.

Tonight I hooked, and landed, the biggest ever pla nin I have ever caught from the pond.

It was just over 1kg, or just over 2.2lb in real money.



What a beauty!



This is big enough for a meal for the three of us and I'm thinking of trying to live off the pond's fish and chicken's eggs for a while until I get confirmed work lined up for this year.



I shouldn't have teased Anna, to be honest. She just loves her fish.

[malmomike77]

It's a good job I'm a quick learner, Mike.

well Trig, might i suggest a permanently situated keeping net by the side of your fishing pier?

[DrWilly]

This is big enough for a meal for the three of us

Three? It's not that fuking big.

Have you been taking Eddy's teasing about your portion sizes to heart?

[Mendip]

^^ I've had that landing net for 17 years. I've only had to change the pole four times and the net twice.

[Mendip]

Three? It's not that fuking big.

OK, two then... but the wife won't thank you.

But that is a pretty big pla nin... organic, with no added anti-biotics or hormones mind you.

You won't find these down the market!

[DrWilly]

Ok ok, Fair enough, I agree it's a big one.


(I'm sure you hear that often enough on your weekly passport runs)

[Mendip]

^ Not as often as I'd like, to be honest.

But I get by.

[Mendip]

Another day, another fine fish from the pond.

Tonight it was a lovely catfish (pla duuk) of 1.2kg... or well over 2lb 8oz in real money.

The picture may look a bit brutal but if I keep fish I like to kill it quickly and you really have to give these catfish a whack which will split the head carapace. I've seen some pretty horrific things in the markets around here with fish gutted alive and then slit down their sides while still squirming. Maybe I'm just soft, but I like to kill them as swiftly as possible.



To be honest, if this WW3 I keep hearing about happens, I think I could survive it in Isaan and eat a fish a day from the pond. Maybe add an egg now and again from the chickens.



I have some spare time this week and am thinking of cooking this up Cajun style for a change. I've heard that they eat a lot of catfish in Louisiana and the likes but I don't know any recipes... Stumpy? AO?... you guys are from down that way, how should I cook it?

[hallelujah]

Good work, Mendy!

There's nothing like the feeling of seeing that float disappear under the surface (a slight exaggeration, but you get the picture).

Chitty's probably got a fish recipe or two, I'd imagine.

[Topper]

Stumpy? AO?... you guys are from down that way, how should I cook it?

Fried catfish is delish....it's about the only way it's eaten in the south.

[Mendip]

^ Great, I'll fry it.

How can I make it 'Cajun style'?

[Topper]

How can I make it 'Cajun style'?

Add a bunch of powdered cayenne to the batter mix. That's about the only difference I can taste. Make a fillet using your regular batter and then add some "cajun" seasoning (cayenne) and do the other fillet.

[helge]

Search Seafood Gumbo Recipe or such

[DrWilly]

I'd BBQ that with a load of salt.


or Pecel Lele: Deep Fried Catfish with Sambal and Salad - Cook Me Indonesian

[Topper]

Or do "blackened" catfish. I've never done it with catfish though, usually with grouper or sea bass.

[Mendip]

I stuck the catfish in the freezer tonight because I'm busy for a few evenings and don't want to waste it. Next week I'll check these recipes out and hopefully have a Cajun evening..


Tonight I went fishing for a change and didn't get a bite, but that's the way things go.

While I was leaning on the end of the jetty, watching my float, I was distracted by a pied fan tail in the mango tree on the far bank... and then to my amazement I noticed this (centre-top)...



Yes, a couple of weeks ago I snagged my tackle in a reed bed, and as I yanked it out, the line broke and the float shot off, never to be seen again...

Until tonight. There it was in the mango tree.



There is of course another use for a landing net, and by standing on tip-toe all was made good.

Life in Isaan is a constant battle, so I take these small victories with joy.



After I gave up fishing I threw in a tin of pellets and it really is amazing that I caught nothing... the pond is crammed full with fish.



If you're bored enough to watch the video to the end, two things you may notice. Anna finally loses patience with Tommy who keeps hassling her while she is having this pseudo-season, and then the daughter in the background saying, '100 Baht'!

When I fish, I have an ongoing bet with the daughter that if she can touch the sala table before I spot her, she gets 100 Baht. This of course to get her off her screens and outside the house to join me... and usually a safe bet as the dogs always alert me well before she gets anywhere near the pond.

But the little sod sneaked down tonight while I was feeding he fish and making my video, and we were all distracted.

Bloody kids.

[Mendip]

Another Friday night, another meal provided by the pond.

The evening started awkwardly with Yogi and Tommy still vying for Anna's attention while her pseudo-season persists.



Despite the distractions I fished on and was eventually rewarded... one bite, one fish. It don't get better than that.

I normally like to use a foot for scale, but due to so many pretty nasty comments I used a bottle of Leo tonight.

And yes, as hard to believe as it is, that's a Leo yai! This was a 1kg fish.



Anna really likes Yogi but as soon as there's a fish on the table, all bets are off. Yogi started to lick the watery fish slime from the paving stones and Anna looked at him daggers and just snarled.



Anna saw off all comers, she absolutely loves her fish. I think that I'll give her a whole pla nin to munch on for her Birthday.

But she didn't get this one!

[baldrick]

I was reading in that wagar mutiny book the the indigenous Indians of southern Chile had trained their dogs to swim and dive to herd fish into their nets

[Mendip]

^ I'm on it Baldrick.

Something like that may give my Youtube channel the boost it desperately needs.