If we are honest, given the opportunity, most of us would love to fish the most exciting and most exclusive waters in the world. After all, isn't that what people like John Wilson are accused of doing when they always seem to come up with enough of the goods to keep their image profile in tact. The problem would then be that those who grumble would then have no excuse for not coming up with the same measures of result. None the less, I think we would all give it a go, particularly if it was for free. And in coarse fishing terms, IT Monsters Lake at Ratchaburi in Thailand is most definitely up there on the A-list with the best of them. The only drawback is, that unless you can swing a TV freebie, then exclusive also means expensive, which at between £250 and £300 (depending on the exchange rate) for a fully guided hotel to fishery and back package with all tickets, food, equipment and bait, it is expensive by any standards. The big question must therefore be, is such a hefty price tag for a day spent fishing a lake actually worth the outlay.

The presence of one particular species of fish answers that question in itself. The possibility, never mind the reality of catching an Arapaima without having also to do battle with the Amazonian jungle, which incidentally I have actually experienced and therefore have some appreciation of the situation and the many problems that can bring, is worth every every Thai Baht it costs all by itself. The fact that into the bargain you are almost certain to catch a whole host of equally exotic and interesting support species, some of which are pound for pound probably much better fighters anyway, is the icing on the cake. With over 30 species of predatory fish comprising a nice mix of Amazonian as well as indigenous Thai species, this has to be one of the best coarse fishing experiences on the planet. In terms of anticipation alone I would say still say it's worth the money.

In some ways because of the hefty price tag, there is always going to be plenty of room to wander around baiting up a number of swims in the knowledge that someone else isn't going to step and reap the benefits of your, or should I say your guides efforts. On the day I splashed the cash there was only two other anglers present, one of whom was fly fishing, while the other worked his way around casting large plugs. Actually, fishing artificials is one way of keeping ticket costs down. But once committed, you are forced to stick with it until 2 pm after which time you get the remaining 4 hours up to closing time to fish however you want. However, it has to be said that in this life you usually only get what you pay for. And while the chap casting the big plugs ended up catching the very fish at the top of my most wanted list, the Arapaima, until the clock struck 2 pm, that was the only fish they had between them. I on the other hand was in need of some serious R & R fishing the livebaits with big fish heading off in all directions with virtually every cast. So it does pay to spend that little bit extra as I did, particularly for a one day visit and having travelled so far.

In with the price of the days fishing, we were provided with quite a sizeable live bait container stocked to capacity with dozens of small bait sized Tilapia. So many in fact that we were able to loose feed them into our swim to drawn in and hold the larger predators. Interestingly, the guide with the chap who was fly fishing was also loose feeding them into the area the fly was working through. Not that it made much difference on the day. But for me fishing with live baits, it helped draw an instant response. That said, because the water was a bit on the coloured side similar to what you would expect to find back home where carp are active, it was impossible to see more than a couple of inches down from the surface. But judging from the size of some of the bulges and swirls, whatever the loose feed was attracting, not only were the fish responsible for them huge, but there was also plenty of them about.

Both the live baits, and occasionally the dead baits when we used them, were free-lined using bait-runner reels to indicate any big fish interest, which wasn't long in coming. And there was no mistaking a take when one did come along. The cost of the live baiting ticket also allowed for the use of two rods, and before the second bait had even hit the water, the bait-runner on the first was singing out. We couldn't have been set up for more than an a few minutes, and already I was hooked up into something arm wrenchingly big. The bad news however, if you can call it that, was that something equally big had immediately picked up the second bait. So Eddie Mounce and Alley from Fish Thailand were lining them up for me. Not that I as even thinking about that. With over 30 predatory species in the place, my only thought was what the identity was likely to be. Other than the fact that it was powerful, due to the colour of the water, none of us had any idea as to what it might be. Obviously, I was wanting it to be an Arapaima. Whatever it was, it was certainly full of running. Then it shot along the margins, and from the shallows virtually touching the banking, a big red tail came out of the water. Immediately it was identity puzzle solved – an Amazonian Red Tailed Catfish which is the most prolific species in the lake, and a second lined up on the other rod waiting to entertain me. Two cats, two incredibly tough scraps, and no more than 10 minutes into the day.

Around mid morning, the Amazonian and Asian Red Tailed Cats with a lone Tiger Cat thrown in for good measure suddenly gave way to a series of long, fast, screaming runs which despite the fact that they appeared to be un-missable, repeatedly came to nothing on the strike. Eddie and Alley knew from experience what they were. The layout of the mouth and the way these fish pick up a bait and run makes it particularly difficult to connect with them. They were Alligator Garfish. Some people would probably have switched swims to get away from them and keep the hook up rate going. But I had long wanted to catch an Alligator Gar. So on the basis that by the laws of average, sooner or later I would manage to stick the hook into one of them and keep it there, I stayed with it and was eventually rewarded. Job done, it was then that we decided to move.

On the 1½ hour journey out of Bangkok into the Ratchaburi countryside, Eddie had warned that there would be fast and furious spells of hyper activity punctuated by slower, even dead spells, but that later in the day, in all probability, the fish would more than likely come back on the feed in the run up to darkness. As the session trying to hook up an Alligator Gar had brought us almost up to lunch time, and with the possibility that a switch to another swim might take a little time to get things going again, even if the fish generally hadn't already switched off, we decided to go in to the restaurant for a spot of lunch and a nice cold drink. Not that this meant an end to the fishing. Because it gets so hot, the restaurant is completely open sided literally right up to the side of the lake. Some of the children from the permanent staff on site using a tiny rod to lower small baits down the side of the restaurant foundations were catching Indian Carp to around 3 to 4 pounds. We also put a couple of dead baits out and propped the rods up at the side of the table while we tucked in to our prawn fried rice. Meanwhile, Alley was out along a new stretch of banking piling bits of chopped fish into a couple of new swims.

One species anglers occasionally latch on to at IT Lake, known locally as Toman, is the Giant Snakehead. On the jungle trips, along with big Indian Carp, this aggressive predator is one of the main target species for many Fish Thailand clients. Actually, I had caught them before while fishing in Malaysia. After lunch I decided to sprawl out for half an hour in one of the hammocks in the restaurant area, obviously still holding the rod, which was when the first Snakehead struck. When I caught a second a few minutes later I was told how lucky I was as they usually only occasionally put in a show. So catching five in succession must make me extremely lucky, with a Pacu (giant fruit eating Piranha), and a weird but totally amazing looking Giant Feather back mixed in amongst them for good measure. But not a sign of any of the bigger predators. By all accounts they had decided to take a siesta too. So a switch to mackerel strips, and of all things pieces of chicken breast cast out on to a carpet of smaller mackerel pieces was tried, and eventually the Red Tailed Cats started to come back into the reckoning to the point where by about 4 pm, it was back to business as usual, just as Eddie had predicted.

There is no doubting that IT Monsters Lake holds plenty of big, hard fighting fish across a huge array of species. Equally, there is little doubt fishing a guided trip all options ticket that you are going to hook quite a few of them up. I enjoyed it very much. Particularly the not quite knowing what to expect next variety. And those Amazonian Red Tailed Cats can certainly put on a spectacular show. Very impressive. But for me, were it not for the chance of catching an Arapaima, then a couple of visits maximum would be enough (if you can afford it), mixed in with a visit to Boon Mar for the Barramundi, and a bout of serious physical self abuse with the Mekong Giant Catfish at Bungsamran, which is exactly what I did. Collectively, these three venues made it for me, as indeed would have been the case with some of the other venues Fish Thailand offer, making this a freshwater fishing trip of a lifetime. Certainly up there with catching Payara in the Amazon and huge White Sturgeon in Canada's Fraser River. And all within easy reach of the comfort of central Bangkok. But the question still remains, 'Was it worth it'. My answer would be yes, very much so. But we all have different budgets and agenda's. So the final answer is down to you.