Greenfield Valley Fishing Resort

The grounds, restaurant and service are all very good, and the owner and guide were great. The fishing, though, was terrible on both of my visits, six weeks apart. On the first, cold and windy day, about seven or eight groups were fishing and only seven fish came out. As far as I know, none were predators, just carp and catfish, and one group caught four of them. I had one bite in ten hours and lost it; my neighbor got one small carp early on. I understand that fishing varies with the conditions, and the guide and owner said the weather wasn’t good, but at nearly 5,000 baht I expected at least a chance to catch or fight a fish, or a reduced price for another visit. On the second day, there were still very few fish caught, and I again had no bites on the predator rod baited with chicken or fish. They were planning to clear and restock the lake in June, which sounds badly needed. For that amount of action, I’d put a full day with a guide closer to 2,500 baht. Go when it’s warm and there’s little wind, but more fish need to be caught.

The family lake is brilliant, and Liam on the family lake was 10/10 for hospitality. I went four times. But I got food poisoning after eating at the resort on the specimen lake, and the manager and his wife were arrogant and gave no apology. Take your own food. You’ve been warned.

Mountain View is the species lake, and Liam is the person to ask for. His knowledge of the fishery and fishing is the best I’ve come across, and he’s just as happy talking about nature and other subjects. We tried different ways to get the fish biting, with Liam explaining the habits of the various species. I’d never caught a Julliens Carp before; it fought like a barbel on protein shakes and steroids. There were also Siamese Carp, Redtail Cats and Java Barbs, among others. All the fish I saw caught were healthy, strong and beautifully colored. I’ve fished at Bungsamran in Bangkok and elsewhere, and had been thinking fishing was all about monster catches, so I was glad to spend the day after different species. It became my best day fishing in Thailand, even better than Bungsamran, and the lake price was very reasonable. We had lunch at the lovely restaurant overlooking the specimen lake. The food was delicious, with a great choice of food and drink, and the service was friendly and welcoming, as you’d expect in Thailand. An ice cold Leo went down well. Nuni drove my taxi there and back; she was elegant, friendly, very polite, and a really good driver. Thanks, Liam. I can’t wait to come back.

The fishing was tough during my three days at Greenfields, with only a couple of fish caught from the lake, but the place itself is lovely. Staff were great, the food was good, and when we had a blocked drain in the accommodation it was sorted quickly. Just before I headed home, a couple of hours on the family lake with Liam saved the trip: I caught a double figure giant gourami I’d wanted for a long time, two great double figure Siamese carp, and a beautiful Juliens carp. Thanks, Liam and the staff.