Fishman here, taking a look at Phu Quoc Island.

Before we get a line wet, here're a few stats.

For anyone not in the know, Phu Quoc is a beaut little island about 1,500 square kilometres in size, in the Gulf of Thailand.

It's only about 55 minutes from Saigon, and the best time to come for some fishing, or R&R is between November and May.

The locals are friendly and bear a striking resemblance to the folk in Van Gogh's early masterpiece "The potato eaters "

Substitute the bowl of spuds in the painting with tiny grilled fish and you get a Birdseye view of life inside any hut, here on the pond.

If you haven't been here before, here's the griffen.

Where to stay:

For those of ya with a quid or two, you'll be pleased to hear that the islands first 5 star resort has opened. It's the La veranda, the rooms are luxurious, and the food is good.

If you've been following triggers tips on the hay burners lately, you should have just about enough cash to stay for a long weekend.

Longbeach Ancient Village, the islands second 5 star Resort will officially open its doors in just a few months

For the regular angler you might want to stay at the Beach Club, the Sea Star, or Mai House. All are clean, have good food, and are priced between 15 and 40 bucks a night. There are also plenty of cheap beachside joints if you're looking for the almost Koh Samui of 20 years ago.

Where to eat:

Needless to say there is plenty of fresh seafood to be had, and some of the better places to get into it are, the Palm Tree on the beach, Zen, and the Hieu Family Restaurant, which is now located in the Thanh Hai Bungalow Resort.

For those who prefer non piscatorial food, you can get a solid bite at the Biergarten, Carole, Le Bistro and the Eden Bar.

Other stuff:

Just as the pony rides disappeared from The Saigon Phu Quoc Resort, this fine food establishment opened.

As the sign says "healthily nutritionally and successfully"

Fishman prefers horse with a jockey on its back!

You can't bet on, or eat a whale, but there are plans for horse and dog racing on the island. What better way to top off a successful day at the races, than a good feed of delicious equine or canine?

Speaking of dogs, Phu Quoc dogs are one of the world's smartest breeds, Yeah right!

Nuoc Mam doesn't have squid in it, where's all the fish coming from?

The new airport scheduled to open next year, hasn't been started.

Ah... that's the old, new airport; the new, new airport is now expected to be open in 2,010 providing they start this year. So far the earth hasn't moved.

A new seaport has been constructed for a ferry linking the island to Cambodia, and its estimated that within 8 to 12 months people will be able to travel from one country to the other. But hang on a minute!

 Cambodia still want the island back, it was theirs in the first place. Maybe the ferry is for domestic travel only.

The fishing scene:

The guys from Bluewater fishing report that the Tuna have moved well off shore and that small 3 to 4 kilo Wahoo are occasionally being caught 40 kilometres off Duong Dong.

This is in stark contrast to the 6 to 10 kilo fish regularly smashing tackle earlier in the season, 10 kilometres off Cua Lap.

This occurs each year, as the Tuna's diet is mashed into astronomical quantities of Nuoc Mam, and they are forced to go further out to feed. Hopefully they'll be back in close in about 4 months as the water temperature cools and the fish sauce trawlers take time off due to inclement weather. 

Head chef of Longbeach Ancient Village, Stefan, with a 6 kilo mackerel caught trolling off Cua Lap.

So with the Pelagic's well out to sea, the bottom feeders have become the focus for the islands anglers.

This isn't a reference to school teachers; we're talking about the snapper, cobia, and coral trout.

Last Friday Al from Sharky bar in Phnom Penh hooked into 3 snapper of over a kilo, another half dozen were just shy of a kilo, and about 20 smaller sized coral trout were also reeled in down south off Pineapple Island.

On Sunday half a dozen of the locals headed north with us, to fish the reef off Turtle Island, they caught about 30 fish of just under a kilo using squid and prawns for bait, and got through 2 and a half boxes of beer. All in all a good days fishing, and an indicator that as the rains pick up over the coming months, we can expect to land snapper up around the 2 to 3 kilo mark.

Next time in Fishman we'll give tips on toothpicking lures, and discuss how to poach eggs on your boat using an orange and the Barbie.

That's all from me, keep your lines tight, and only keep what ya plan to eat.