NEMBWE

The NEMBWE is found in South Africa. It's coloration is olive to bright green with a deep olive band along the midbody.
This predatory bream resembles the bass in appearance and fighting ability. When hooked, Nembwe often take to the air with numerous jumps in an attempt to free itself of the hook.
Standard bass lures such as spinnerbaits, spoons, rapalas, and soft plastics to name a few will catch the Nembwe.
According to the IGFA, the World Record Nembwe was caught by Donald Bousfield on September 2007 on the Zambezi River. The Nembwe weighed 7lbs 15oz.

GOLDEN MAHSEER

The Golden Masheer is in the family Cypinidae (carp). It is found in the cold, oxygen rich rivers of Malaysia, Thailand,Indian Himalaya's, and Nepal.
The Masheer can reach lenths of 9ft and weights up to 120lbs.
The Masheer has large scales with an elogated body with pointed snout.
AFter much poaching the Masheer is now protected by law and endangered.
To catch a Masheer contact STeve Yatomi of www.adventuretravelalliance.com or head into the Thailand jungles with Capt. Francois Helias at www.anglingthailand.com

RATCHABURI LAKE MONSTERS--THAILAND

Ratchaburi Lake Monsters is about a 2 hour drive from Bangkok. Here it is stocked with one of the largest freshwater fish on this planet the arapaima.
On May 13th, Texan Kyle Burgess while fishing with Capt Francois Helios landed a monster 165lbs arapaima.
Arapaima are air breathers and are seen ocassionally gulping a breathe of air. They can be seen in the Amazon and have been stocked into ponds in Thailand such as the Ratchaburi Lake Monsters.
Ratchaburi Lake Monsters also has an abundance of redtail catfish, sorubim, pacu, alligator gar and many other exotic species.
On your next trip to Thailand get in touch with Capt Francois at fishasia@ksc.th.com and maybe you will catch a LAKE MONSTER!!

GIANT SNAKEHEADS

Giant Snakeheads can crawl on land and breathe air. They have been known to eat fish, animals, and even attack humans.
Giant Snakeheads are the largest in the Channidae family and capable of reaching lenths of 6 feet and weights up to 66 pounds.
The Giant Snakeheads have a long rounded body with a large snakelike head and a mouth full of fang like teeth. They are black/grey in coloration with silver/purple patterns across its upper body and a white belly.
During breeding the male Giant Snakehead looks after the fry while the mother attacks any preditors even sometimes humans which get too close.
Giant Snakeheads were found in Maryland in 2002 and are abundant in Florida while the largest are found in places such as Thailand.
Giant Snakeheads are fantastic fighters which put on drag buring runs when hooked. They routinely take topwater lures and subsurface spinners and minnow type lures.
If you looking to add the Giant Snakehead to you list of trophies, contact
Francois Helias at www.anglingthailand.com

ALLIGATOR GAR

Alligator gar are the largest of the 7 known gar species. These gar get enormous reaching lengths of possibly 10 feet and weighing over 300 pounds.

Alligator gar have been in existance for years swimming with the dinosaurs. However, today they live in only North and Central America and have been introduced into a few ponds in Thailand.

These behemouths are generally green in coloration and have a heavily scaled body. They have an alligator-like snout with hundreds of needle-sharp teeth.

Recently many large alligator gar have been landed from the Trinity River, Texas.

In earlier years, alligator gar were considered "dangerous" and were reported to attack humans. Many thought this predator destroyed game fish stocks so there were large scaled commerical fishing to get rid of these beasts.

However due to its recent exposure on television, alligator gar are now protected by law.

The current IGFA record was landed by Bill Valverde while fishing the Rio Grande in Texas during 1951. The monster weighed 279lbs. However, reports are the Kenny Williams landed monster alligator gar weighing 327lbs that had a length of 8 1/2 feet and girth of 47.95 inches on Feburary 2011 while fishing Lake Chotard in Mississippi

PACU

Pacu are close relatives to the piranha. However they have squarer straighter teeth with a less severe underbite. They are primarily found in South America and have been introduced into ponds in Thailand.
In South America there are a few different species which fit into this catagory such as the Tambaqui and Pirapitinga.
The Tambaqui can get huge with specimens of 3 feet in length and over 70lbs being reported. They are extremely strong fish and put up a fantastic fight when hooked.
The Tambaqui has a golden to olvie green back and an purple to black ventral area. Their set of teeth reminds one of a set of human dentures.
The Pirapitinga is very similar to the Tanbaqui however it is slightly smaller and has a second row of molars in the upper jaw whereas the Tambaqui has a single row.
Both species are some of the best fighting fish in freshwater. Both are known primarily as fruit, nut, and flower eaters unlike the piranha!
Both species are very good tablefare and are highly sought after by local fishermen.
To catch some monster Pacu contact Francois Helias at www.anglingthailand.com to fish in Thailand and/or Rodrigo Salles at www.untamedangling.com where you can catch monster Pirapitinga in Bolivia

TIGERFISH

Ever since I seriously got involved in fishing for exotic species in foreign lands, Africa was always on the top of my dream list targeting tigerfish! I dreamed of fishing along side giant man-eating crocs, boat flipping hippos, dangerous elephants, lions, cape buffalo, plus other man eaters!!!

In 2010 my dream came true when I had the opportunity to fish the Mnyera and Ruhuji Rivers in Tanzania. The Tigerfish found here grown to impressive sizes and are considered to be a cross between the Tigerfish and Goliath Tigerfish. Our group landed a few over 20lbs. Many of our Tigers bite through the landing nets with their massive teeth and our guides had numerous bite marks on their arms and legs.

Tigerfish are known for their set of massive teeth. They are among the best known and most important game fishes in Africa. The tigerfishes belong to the Chjaracidae family which contains species such as piranhas and payaras.

The tigerfish has a deep folked caudal fin which is red in coloration with a black edge. Black horizontal stirps run through each scale row. They grow to about 34lbs but average around 4 to 6lbs.

Goliath Tigerfish are found mostly in the dangerous Congo River. They are silver in coloration with no strips as found on the tigerfish. It has 14 or more teeth in the upper jaw.

Both the Tigerfish and Goliath Tigerfish readily take lures. Both species jump repeatedly when hooked. Due to the sharp teeth and hard boney mouths they are difficult to drive a hook into. A wire leader is essential for both species due to the sharp teeth.

The current World Record Goliath Tigerfish according to the IGFA was landed by Raymond Houtmans on July 9, 1988 which weighed a massive 97lbs. Dr. Henry Gillet writes in his "Game Fish of the World" that he landed a Goliath weighing 87 1/2lbs but lost one that weighed at least twice that weight.

The current World Record Tigerfish according to the IGFA was landed by Jennifer Daynes on September 12 2001 weighing in at 35lbs 7oz.

Hopefully some day the Congo will become politically safe and I can hook up to a Goliath and again return to Tanzania to battle again with these teethy critters!!