INDIANANGLER

Andy,
Have just returned from the Cauvery having fished it a few times.
I wouldn't use any hook other than a size 7/0 or 8/0 Owner SSW. I have always used 40 lb Daiwa Sensor in the past as it is cheap and very tough - you cna afford to change it every day if you needed to, unlike the more expensive lines like Big Game. It is essential to have your reels as full as possible, and after a fish it is often necessary to cut off 30-40 yards of 'scuffed' line, which basically means you need to respool.
This trip i used 40 Gamma (clear) and it was brilliant, didn't have a single cut-off despite having it running around rocks whilst playing a fish.

Just a few alternatives you may want to consider:

-Hooks: I use 7/0 Gamakatsu Octopus 4X. Have not failed me in the fish-hooking/landing dept, ever. Easier to re-sharpen with a ceramic stone. Hooks get blunt often in this rocky river. Normally, I press down the barb, to ease in the hooking. Have lost a good mahseer when the hook didn't penerate past the barb, so now it's standard practice for me.

-Lead: I use flat lead strip or large soldering wire (2mm diam.) wound over this sticky silicone tube. Twist the wire, and the tube grips the mainline. Thus no need to use Power Gum and such.

-I check line and hook everytime I reel in. In any case, I change the mainline after 3 days' fishing, max.

-I swear by Maxima Chameleon 40-lb (for me, price is not a factor when it comes to hooks and lines!). Diam. 0.60 mm. Have fought a big fish for an hour, it snagged among the rocks 5 times, then circled round a sunken bush. More than 30m. of line got "squared off" or flattened, and still it held. That's testimony enuff! Other good lines we have used are Sufix Synergy 10X (grey-green) 40-lb , and Berkely Ironsilk (green) 50-lb (about the same diameter).

-For spinning spinning reels, some good models: Shimano Baitrunner 6500 (big spool); Thunnus 16000; Penn Spinfisher 8500 or 9500; Daiwa BG90. These are robust reels with reliable drags.

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