INDIANANGLER

www.fishing-worldrecords.com/photo_gallery5.htm

Was browsing and the world record for golden mahseer is listed at 90 lb or 40.82 kg. according to the url above.

If thats the case, its probably been broken a couple of times at Galibore and I thought the record was 118 lbs.

My question to the forum
Assuming someone catches a large mahseer whats the procedure for recording the event and weighing the fish for a "record"?

Best,

Ryan

Hi Ryan,

I hear the 118lb record too would have been broken, had there not been a mess up of the scales used for the fish captured at crocodile rocks in 2004, so your question is indeed a very valid one.

From what i know, this is what is required to be done:

1. Your scales needs to have a calibration certificate that is valid. Most calibrations done are only valid fora fixed period of time and records the error in the scales, which needs to be taken into account when declaring the final weight of the fish.

2. You need to get confirmation of the weight on atleast one more pair of scales, preferably one kept with Sundar at Galibori camp.

3. Suffecient witnesses who will sign a document to the effect that they were present during the capture and weighing of the fish.

4. JLR's concurence on the same.

Good luck guys, i have been trying to accomplish this feat for over 20 years now, and have lost 15 fish over the years that could have done the trick!

Tight Lines
Owen
quote="Wolf"]www.fishing-worldrecords.com/photo_gallery5.htm

Was browsing and the world record for golden mahseer is listed at 90 lb or 40.82 kg. according to the url above.

If thats the case, its probably been broken a couple of times at Galibore and I thought the record was 118 lbs.

My question to the forum
Assuming someone catches a large mahseer whats the procedure for recording the event and weighing the fish for a "record"?

Best,

Ryan[/quote]

Hi Wolf,

The IGFA all tackle record for the mahseer is listed at 95 lbs caught by Robert Howitt, March 26, 1984




The IGFA rules and record application can be downloaded from here,

www.indianangler.com/IGFABookRule2004.pdf
www.indianangler.com/IGFARecApp.pdf

Cheers
Bopanna

Hi Owen,

I doubt if there is any other organisation in the world which promotes the sport of angling as much as the IGFA does. Where else can one register a World Record? IGFA has continuously supported scientific tagging and other data collection programs, and works closely with fishery biologists in order to exchange information and relay to anglers the particular needs and results of research and conservation efforts.

They would have to charge anglers for registering world records else where will the money come from for their conservation efforts. One of the reasons why our fishing grounds in India are being desecrated is because we do not have a global organisation, like the IGFA, backing conservation efforts here on a larger scale. As Hotshot said in an earlier post, it is very evident that the fishing in angling hotspots like Galiborai and Bheemeshwari has deteriorated due to over fishing and commercialisation.

I guess each one is entitled to their own opinion

Tight lines!
Bopanna

Thanks, Owen.

I am told JvI is still going strong at 92/93. Hat's off to him!

Rustam

On another note the VI apparently came by with his own coracle etc and used squidgies to land 3 murral. Good for him at his age.

Hi guys & gals

In the Uk there was a couple of published article reporting fish of 128lbs & 129lbs, Ill try to find & post on here

More like 118 and a touch below that in the last couple of years

No this was going way back around the time of the Raj, if I remember the story correctly, the 128 stood for a long time as the unofficial record & was later beaten by 129, After I mail this ill hunt the story down and post it

Br
Paul

Hi Paul

These could have been handline caught fish as I've heard of huge mahseer caught by this method. I'll be interested to see the report if you can find it.

Andy

Weather handline or rod, 129 lbs is a huge fish. Do post the story if you can, Paul
Cheers
Sualeh

Hi Guys see history section of text below.

The Himalayan Legends (barbus tor putitora)

These Mahseer attain sizes of as much as 85 lbs, and a 20 to 40 lb fish is often had on spinning. Often the figures are not found to be impressive, at least for the as anglers who get into a comparison of the Himalayan Mahseer with the Humpbacked Mahseer found in the Cauvery river system in the south of India, which off course do not take to lures and flies as fondly as the Himalayan monsters do.

The two fish are quite different in physical features as well as other aspects and are to be found in rather different terrain and landscape. The Humpbacked Mahseer, the so called larger Mahseer limits it self to only two river system of in southern India, the Cauvery River, which is the hub of commercial fishing trips in India, and the other - the Kabbini now is more or less extinct, following the construction of a dam on the prime fishing section some years back.

The waters of the Cauvery River are only limited and quite heavily fished. The river has amazing accessibility - which perhaps is also another reason for it being so well frequented by anglers.

Some of the most significant Mahseer accounts have focused primarily on the Mahseer of the Himalayas, as the scope is vast and as its not always just the fishing element that makes a trip, a number of other effects are associated with getting into the far outback of the Himalayas, the rich culture - the traditional diversity - the thick forests in the base of the Himalayas and the feel of an expedition. The whole experience is far more satisfying than going to a fleet of popular Cauvery resorts to fish for Mahseer in the midst of very active fishing beat.

Though still pound for pound the fish found in the Himalayan Rivers are a better bet, which is simply due to the rugged terrain they are found to be in, the turbid rivers of the Himalayas are a tough place for any fish to live in.

History

Some of the preliminary mentions of large Mahseer caught on rod and line were back in 1870, by Mr. Sanderson, author of " Thirteen Years Amongst the Wild Beasts of India", with the capture of a Mahseer, which was said to be over 130 lbs. Though this was not confirmed since there were no weighing scales. Over the next fifty odd years there were frequent reports of some of the largest Mahseer primarily from the river Kabbini in Southern India. All of these fish were taken either on live bait or paste - bait, a technique to which Mahseer fishing has always been associated with. The two largest Mahseer, the records of which still stand, are the 119 lbs fish caught by Col. J.S. Rivett-Carnac on 29th Dec 1919, and a 120 lbs fish caught by J. Wet. Van Ingen on the 22nd March 1946, from the Upper Kabbini.



Spinning and fly-fishing for the Himalayan Mahseer, barbus tor putitora, found in the Northern Himalayan Rivers was very common during the times of the British Raj in India. The early twenty-century saw numerous expatriate anglers fish the waters of the River Ganges, the Beas, the Sarda, the Ramganga, including several of their tributaries, for the Himalayan Masheer. The largest specimen heard of was a 140 lbs fish landed by an angler in 1939 from the river Beas - however there are no pictures to confirm this report. Such large fish were reported in the past even from the Himalayan Rivers. Mr. A St J MacDonald author of "Circumventing the Mahseer: & Other Sporting Fish in India and Burma", himself had a number of fish over the 50 lbs range including a 75 lbs fish caught from the Irrawadi river in Burma.

Interesting read. Shows what a dam can do to the ecosystem.