In January 2013, two girlfriends and I did trip to Seoul. I have always visited Seoul in the fall and winter is so different. In Seoul itself, there was no snow towards the end of January and everything looked quite brown and dull. Shopping is also not as lively. Shops at Myeongdong were closing at about 10pm. So, we ventured outside Seoul for some winter fun! We booked ourselves at the Phoenix Park Hotel in the Pyeongchang district for some skiing and ice fishing.
Phoenix Park is easily accessible to and from Seoul. There are buses that run from the hotel/skiing facility several times a day. When we arrived, it was too late to participate in the skiing lessons and so we went off to Jinbu for the Pyeongchang Trout Festival for an afternoon. The annual festival takes place during winter and for this year it was opened between 22 Dec 2012 and 3 Feb 2013. Other than trout fishing, there are also other activities like sledding and 4-wheeled ATV rides.
The festival is held over a frozen stream. The ice looks like it a about a foot thick to me, so it is very safe to jump and stomp around. =)
This is our first ice-fishing experience and there is a LOT to learn. I learnt that there are different types of bait. The people there gave us some plastic fish and worm baits. For different baits, there are different techniques to move your line and bait. For the worm bait, the up and down movements have to be short and fast . For the fish bait, the movement has to be a slow, long dip followed quickly by a quick jerk upwards. Of course, we were NOT aware of this and we went around just jerking our fishing line up and down randomly for the first freezing hour. Mistake #1. Then a very kind chap came and enlightened us. Also he said that we are fishing at the wrong area. We should be fishing near to the banks of the stream, not in the middle, as fish swims closer to the banks. Mistake #2.
As advised by the kind chap, we then shifted ourselves closer to the bank and started using the right technique. But I think something is still not quite right as we still did not get any fish. Oh well! It's our first experience. No fish, no big deal. But it hurts a little when I see other people have 2 or 3 fish in their plastic bag. I reckon that if we have more time, we might be able to get something but we are frozen after about 2 hours and decided to call it quits.
When you do go the festival, dress very warmly. It is freezing and you will be out there for a long time. Jerking fish lines up and down isn't exactly a cardio activity, so there is no chance of your body warming up. =)
Till my next blog post, have some winter fun! =)
Phoenix Park is easily accessible to and from Seoul. There are buses that run from the hotel/skiing facility several times a day. When we arrived, it was too late to participate in the skiing lessons and so we went off to Jinbu for the Pyeongchang Trout Festival for an afternoon. The annual festival takes place during winter and for this year it was opened between 22 Dec 2012 and 3 Feb 2013. Other than trout fishing, there are also other activities like sledding and 4-wheeled ATV rides.
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| Pyeongchang Trout Festival |
This is our first ice-fishing experience and there is a LOT to learn. I learnt that there are different types of bait. The people there gave us some plastic fish and worm baits. For different baits, there are different techniques to move your line and bait. For the worm bait, the up and down movements have to be short and fast . For the fish bait, the movement has to be a slow, long dip followed quickly by a quick jerk upwards. Of course, we were NOT aware of this and we went around just jerking our fishing line up and down randomly for the first freezing hour. Mistake #1. Then a very kind chap came and enlightened us. Also he said that we are fishing at the wrong area. We should be fishing near to the banks of the stream, not in the middle, as fish swims closer to the banks. Mistake #2.
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| The equipment |
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| See! They have trout!! |
Till my next blog post, have some winter fun! =)
Hey there.Thank God I stumbled upon ur blog about this festival. I am planning to go sometime after the new year. Is the venue of this event far from Jinbu Bus Terminal? Or is it just a walking distance. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteI took a taxi from the ski resort to the trout festival. The weather was too cold for me to be waiting for buses. But I understand that the venue is within walking distance from the Jinbu Bus Terminal. Have fun!
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