Our first stop – Top Cats, as all 3 of the chaps in our group are fishing mad and my husband’s dream for his 40^th birthday was to catch the biggest Arapaima he possibly could… he wasn’t disappointed, landing a 250lb beauty on the very day!

But this was just the tip of the iceberg. Our friend Joe, who was a Thailand fishing “virgin” – became Top Cats answer to Jeremy Wade, landing 9 different species during the stay and Rennie (a well-seasoned Thailand fishing fan) landing a 240lb Arapaima as well as some seriously monster Carp.

The alarms were buzzing throughout the whole of our 3 days and our guides certainly earned their keep, with barely a chance to rest before another ‘fish on’.

For the ladies in our group, we had planned an outing to a spa and some local tourist attractions – with plenty to choose from in close proximity, but it turned out we were too engrossed with the excitement of the fishing (along with sunbathing, a dip in the pool and relaxing by the lake with a book) that we didn’t start our day time exploring until after our stay at Top Cats was complete.

We ventured out at night, enjoying some great local restaurants and bars, just a short taxi ride away – but during the day, we found ourselves too well looked after round the lake to want to stray, with great breakfasts, lunches and a constant flow of cold drinks.

I must say we were sad to leave the accommodation to continue our Ko Samui exploration, as the chalets we stayed in were lush, well kitted out and very comfortable – perfect for a good night’s sleep after a long day fishing, followed by long nights out partying. But also, as the Top Cats staff and the new owner, Simon were all so welcoming and friendly, we felt right at home with them and 3 nights seemed too short of a time with them in hindsight.

Needless to say, we all agreed – we shall be back again soon for a longer visit!

Charlotte Stacey-Batten (Lotti)