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Fishing Tackle
India - fishing for the legendary mahseer in southern India
23 April 2009
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The joy of sitting in the cool shadows is within five minutes of being taken by the sun creeping up over the top of the hill. The kind temperature of an early Indian morning is about to be ripped up and thrown away by the unrelenting heat of a normal day. I have travelled half way around the world to be here and I haven’t had a great deal of sleep. So what on earth am I doing perched on a smooth rock at the bottom of quite the most savagely beautiful river valley ? Why am I going to sit there as the mercury rises and thrill to the sheer wildness of my own rock ? Because I am finally living my dream and actually waiting for the bite from one of the most magnificent freshwater fish in the world, the mahseer. Most fishermen seem to have some kind of wish list of species they would like to have a go at in their lifetime, indeed that travel lust is what fuels so many of our greatest adventures. It just so happens that the mahseer has been on my list for a few years now, and finally I’ve got the chance to try and hook one……
The river is simply hypnotic in its perfection, winding its relentless way through the valley it helped to shape. Every single ripple and torrent might just hold a monster mahseer and I’m quietly working myself up into a serious state of apprehension. Staying cool is just not happening. My guide Ramu has cast my hook and innocuous lump of ragi paste into the torrent and then let the rig trundle down stream and around the rock in front of me. The mainline hangs over this rock edge and I presume the bait is seductively sitting in what must be a back-eddy around the corner (I have never really fished around a corner before !!). I am perched on this fishing spot called The Chair, but really that is most kind to the rock: I see no resemblance to a chair and I can’t find the same sort of comfort level as on my favourite one at home, but who cares? This is what I have travelled so far from home for.
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A multiplier is a great object to nervously fiddle with whilst waiting for a bite, far better than a fixed spool reel. The drag is set for my 40lb mainline, the sun is starting to cook, the rod is clamped in my hands, and my mind starts to wander. I wonder how my wife is, hope the dog’s had some good walks, maybe the cod are feeding thousands of miles away, has the England rugby skipper retired, whack !! No other word can adequately describe the hit; whack, I am ripped from my thoughts, somehow a strike is made from pure instinct (and blind panic I must admit) and the hook is set. But my line is going around the rock in front of me, its screaming from the reel, help ! Ramu makes it quite plain that we have to go after this fish, so between us we manage to “walk” (clamber, climb, scrabble, jump) the rod a few rocks down the river and we can now see the full story. Another fifteen yards down is a set of rapids and my fish is making its way straight for them; just how much pressure can I apply to this train ? With my head in a state of wonder, terror, and longing, all at the same time, the line suddenly starts grating, then goes very tight, and then goes horribly slack. Wishing in vain that the fish has simply decided to run towards me, really I know full well that the mahseer has in fact simply laughed at me. Forlornly I wind in and look closely at the ragged shreds of the end of the line; one mahseer bite and the fish has won quite convincingly. But time is on my side and luck often changes…
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Not for nothing has the mighty mahseer garnered such an awesome reputation. I know they can be caught in a fair few locations throughout India and surrounding countries, but I reckon the Cauvery River (nearest airport, Bangalore, southern India) must be some kind of spiritual mahseer home. Henry Sullivan Thomas, author of the quite spectacular book The Rod in India (1877) said “pound for pound, I believe the mahseer is far superior in fighting prowess and sporting qualities to the ‘lordy salmon’ of my native land.” Put the river and the fish together and you must be close to some kind of fishing utopia.
I find it quite hard to describe the mahseer to people; carp and barbel may well be great fish, but to simply call the mahseer some kind of cross between them just does not do it justice. I reckon the mahseer looks as if it simply belongs to its environment, as if somebody had created this savagely beautiful Cauvery River valley and then decided upon the perfect fish species to inhabit the tumbling waters. Out of the design room came the mahseer, and with this fish they incorporated a serious turn of speed and masses of endurance; encasing the massively muscled fish is the most perfect coat of scales imaginable. “Mighty Mahseer” was a saying first committed to paper in 1903 and over one hundred years later I believe it is still very apt. You can throw whatever technical bit of fishing tackle you have at the fish, but still a perfect fish and a savage environment are going to combine to give the angler a head full of problems. Just look at where the fish lives, note where it has to swim and feed, and now see just why this fish is so famous for messing with our heads and ripping our fishing tackle to pieces.
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India may well be a long way away for a lot of people, and like fishing in any country there will be different way of doing some things. But mahseer fishing is not only for the few; it really is possible to go and do this. I went with a group of fishermen who over the years have fished in various far flung locations around the world with one of England’s most respected fishing writers, John Bailey, himself a veteran of Indian fishing and along for the trip. You can just imagine the range of fishing stories being thrown around each night; locations such as Mongolia, Greenland, Angola, and Siberia, species such as taimen, artic char, and tarpon, indeed the complete recipe for hours of talk. We were there for the fishing and the whole experience. But are not fishermen the world over some of the greatest raconteurs ?
The traditional way to fish for mahseer is with ledgered baits that your guide will cast into extremely specific spots; a local paste known as ragi, local crabs or small fish are impaled onto size 8/0 forged hooks tied directly onto 40 or 50lb mainline. You would think that such rapid currents would dictate the need for huge great lead weights, but instead the locals simply wrap small strips of roofing lead around your line and then often deliberately snag the rig on the bottom after the cast. I imagine that many years of knowledge is routinely passed down from generation to generation and thus we accept that local knowledge is vital to us having any chance of success. Very rarely will you lose any tackle, for snag fast and the chances are that your guide will swim out and try to free it all ! They hate seeing any tackle lost; to us it may be no more than a hook, but try to think of it from their point of view and relative worth.
There is no need to take any real kind of ultra specialist rod or reel; almost every angler I have spoken to about mahseer fishing tends to favour an uptide rod that is rated to cast generally up to 10oz. I am sure that many other kinds of rods will work, but I have yet to see anybody actually design and market a specialist mahseer rod. Multiplier reels are the best reels for ledger fishing, around the ABU 10,000 size; I took a Shimano Trinidad 30 and found it to be just about perfect as regards line capacity, robustness and smoothness. You will need to change your mainline a fair bit due to it being roughed up badly on the rocks; 40 and 50lb line is preferred, definitely monofilament and not braid. Good as braid is, it is not a line for snaggy areas as it has absolutely minimal abrasion resistance.
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Mahseer can also be caught on lures and if you want to do this, make sure you carry a very heavy duty spinning rod and either fixed spool reel or multiplier. The most popular lure seems to be the Rapala Shad Rap, but it is vital to remove the hooks that come with the lure and swap them for the highest quality trebles you can find (Owner etc..) I saw a couple of sets of inferior trebles simply torn apart. I think it would be fair to say that most mahseer guides have grown up taking “their” anglers fishing with baits, but if you talk to them and make clear your intentions, then they will happily guide you to places where lure fishing is going to work. Make no mistake, if you want to seriously fish with lures, then you need to be relatively fit and able to walk, climb and fish in serious temperatures. Lure fishing can be highly effective and seriously exciting, but to be successful you really need to move around; like any fish, the mahseer can be spooked if the same piece of water is disturbed all the time. A lot of people thus stick to bait fishing.
The mahseer is also a fish that will take flies, although this form of fishing is, as far as I can work out, fairly underdeveloped. I know that massive fish the world over are taken on fly fishing tackle, but when thinking about landing mahseer, you always have to take into account the terrain and other such factors working against you. That is by no means meant to say that large mahseer are not possible on fly fishing gear, just that where I fished seems to be a river almost too far. John Bailey has landed them up to around the 20 lb mark, a heavy fish anywhere in the world, but he has been torn to pieces by larger fish. The mahseer often chooses to feed near to or in very fast water, and as such the fly rod is not a tool designed to stop such a fish dead in its tracks. Broken double-handed salmon rods are proof enough !! But I am sure that some fishermen putting in seriously concerted efforts will eventually reap the rewards………
As you can see, the mahseer is a fish that can be caught in many different ways and from various kinds of water. If you go for the first time, let’s take it that you will be bait fishing with your guide. These are hard fish to catch, make no mistake, do not expect bites all the time; if they were that easy, everybody would have caught them and the challenge would be over. Sometimes you will sit there all morning and not even see the hint of a fish, and other times you will be nailed on the first cast of the day. For that reason you need to be ready at all times; easier said than done I do agree, what with the heat, amazing surroundings, bird and wildlife, and general mind wandering. Bites are not usually of the subtle variety. When I fish a new place I like to find the most experienced people and ask them hundreds of questions, like “when do you advise striking a mahseer?” Do not worry about this for a second though, for most times the fish will simply try to wrench the rod from your hand in its sheer aggressiveness and by default hook itself ! If you are not used to big hits from fish you are in for the most wonderfully rude awakening.
Mahseer can grow to over the 100lb mark, but not many anglers in the world have landed them to that size; anything above 40lbs is regarded as a good fish, but really any mahseer is stunning enough. It is generally believed they can reach 150lbs, indeed our head guide Subhan says he has seen them some years previously to this size on hand lines. He is about the most experienced mahseer man alive, so I take his word as gospel. But really the size of fish does not matter too much, for any sized mahseer in the fastest water and the rockiest bottom is going to give anybody the run around. All fish are retained using soft nylon stringers, allowed to recover, gently handled and photographed, and then released.
Mahseer fishing in the area I fished takes place from January to the end of March. It will be hot, but the heat is usually dry so is actually fairly pleasant; we tended to get up early, fish a good session up until lunch, get out of the midday heat for a few hours and then go back out again for a couple of hours. Drink plenty of bottled water, usually more than you think you need; I always took at least two litres for the morning session and then drank another on my return at lunch. Suncream should go without saying. You will need sturdy and comfortable footwear to aid your safe passage over some serious terrain. We all wore lightweight tropical shirts and either shorts or flats trousers. Other species are available to catch on lures, smaller baits and fly tackle, including many different and stunning carp species, a strange looking barbel that is reputed to reach 40lbs (!!!) and apparently some huge catfish. You may well see the magnificent Indian elephant, but do listen to your guide and do exactly what he tells you to do; it is not a zoo.
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If you are a travelling angler and desire only air conditioned luxury, non strenuous fishing, and four boring walls, then perhaps fishing in India is not for you. But if you are prepared for the way other people live in these kinds of environments and you can leave our usual trappings at home, then by all means look to doing this fishing. The mahseer is a fish bound up with the history of colonial India, seemingly forgotten for many years until the old stories were picked up again and a few intrepid anglers once more headed out to chase the mighty fish living in some of India’s greatest rivers. I feel so lucky to have done it, to have achieved one of my fishing dreams, to have that dream surpass all expectations, and to have caught one of the world’s mightiest freshwater fish.