INDIANANGLER

Try the Battery river[the name might have changed since!] behind the suburb of Pallavaram, 12 miles from the city and next suburb to Meenambakkam. I am sure this river flows behind St Thomas' Mount and comes out at Guindy bridge, then flows out to Santhome.You will have to walk about 2 to 3 kilometres along the bunded walls of paddy fields, some babool forest and rocky tracks beyond Veteran lines. We caught Kanartic carp there when we were knee high to a grasshopper and the tackle was bamboo rods, fixed catgut, peacock floats and small hooks[size 8 i think!]We also caught small catfish and Korovai, all on worms and dough bait. The local fishermen were experts at hooking the larger fish and used a kind of red paste comprising idli, cochnil and ground peanut.Find a spot where the rapids run into a large deep pool. Some areas are crowded with dhobies so try and fish away from them naturally.Also not a bad spot for a picnic!Perhaps it may be a good idea to check it out on google earth before you venture out.
Good luck,
Glenn.

I just checked the Adyar river on Google Earth and it seems to flow into the sea at Besantnagar and inland to Saidapet,Nandambakkam and it then seems to appear in short lenghts at the back of and alongside Meenambakkam airport which has now extented[the airport I mean] upto Veteran lines in Pallavaram. At this point the river seems to be continuous for a few miles but is not very wide. It is hard to guesstimate the lenght and width of the river but this is the section we fished when I lived in Pallavaram back in 1959 to about 1963. There was also a lake at Chetpet near the railway station which was stocked and managed by the Govt[PWD]. They, the inspector and his staff, did a fine job of seeing to it that the active members of the club fished fertile waters by ensuring the lake was stocked with rohu,catla and plenty of tilapia, besides murrel and eel- tail catfish. They also had a small boat to take you to the island in the center of the lake to fish off the island.The caught fish were weighed at the end of the day and one paid for the take home catch by weight. Sad to say these days the lake has been filled in and people use it as a short cut from Nungambakkam high rd to the Chetpet station!!My cousin took a few photos of the area during his last visit to Chennai in 2007.
Wish you the best Debb in finding a decent fishing spot.
cheers,
glenn.