INDIANANGLER

Hi Guys,

Recently I got back to India which I have been looking forward to for a long while. The idea of being on the beach and under the indian sun has been pretty inviting while sitting in the English weather :)

And the first few fishing session haven't disappointed :)

Fishing with a nice light set up I targeted Barramundi on lure, from the beach and estuary. The first two sessions saw 14 fish landed and released, weighting in up to near on ten kilos. All were fighting fit and fought well with many spectacular jumps in the moon light. The winning lures were a mix of small soft plastics and also some shallow diving minnows.



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Abbey and I also did a spot of lure casting from the rock and a lovely Mangrove Jack was the result. Unfortunately the water seemed a bit too cold for any serious action but the beautiful scenery made up for that :)



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Hopefully there will be some more photos to share soon,

Scott

Some beautiful fish there, Scott.
Thanks for sharing.

Ravi

Well done! Where is this place?

Scott, Awesome pics out there, hope to more of the tight line on the Indian coast.

Nice pics...

good going scott.....congrats for some very beautful catches

tightlines

Nice catches Scott...I belive that you were in fisherman paridise..


vijay....

Great Scott, very good catch. Thanks for sharing the pics.Abbey's pics is lovely.

Happy Fishing

Great report and pics!

I am planning to fish Canacona district sometime in Jan or Feb.
Was wondering if there were any GTs in the area to be caught from the surf?

BTW, how was your thumb after lipping all those Barramundi :)

Cheers, Maruthu

Great pics . Superb stuff Scott. We were also on the road for about 10 days targetting mostly murrel and mulleys. By the time we reached the west coast for barra the first day itself got a bout of Malaria and had to return home. The boys got a half hour session on an esuary and caught a decent barra. Have some pics from the trip will post soon once they are resized.

Jeen

Well done, pal

Great job scott.... thanks for sharing those pics...

Happy Fishing...

Wow!! Amazing catches Scott..

thanks for sharing info and photos.

Wish you many more ..regards - Vinod

I can't help but wonder how you do it! None the less..... its always a pleasure to read your posts and view the pics.

Regards,
Omesh

What a pleasure to see healthy and live fish after such a long time! There are lots of things in C&R we can learn from you. Please try and share your methods how you manage to keep your catch intact. Right from tackle to setting the hook, playing and landing these huge blighters.

Hi Guys, Some more memorable barra sessions over the last few days :)

Bob, as for releasing the fish: everything needs to be prepared before hand. Camera and unhooking equipment. gently land the fish using the waves to beach her. If possible unhook while the fish is still in the water and then hold the fish so she faces into the current and give enough time for her to get fit again. A couple of minutes will be needed. Then lift carefully by supporting the fish from underneath. Do ot lift the fish only by the lips and definitely not only with a fish grip. The whole body must be supported particularly with a big fish. Lift the fish for the photo but don't lift it high from the ground encase it jumps and falls to the ground. Keep it low, take the photo and then again hold it in the water facing into the current until it is strong enough to swim away. Often when the fish is ready some bubbles will come from the gills. Make sure it swims off strongly...if not ohold it for longer. preparation is the key and do things effieciently and quickly. When fishing from the rocks a net and a soft mat will be needed to put the fish on while unhooking/photographing. hope this helps



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Gracias, O, Barra Hunter.

well said Scott.
And thats a nice barra.

Ravi

congrats scott. beautiful barras. how do you fish for them from the beach? do you first see them feeding or is it just blind casting and retreiving. please share the technique.

Lovely catches Scott! Even I have the same questions as Dr. Amir as to how to cast lures from the beach. Do you cast beyond the surf or do you look for the feeding action? Do the Barra feed near the beach?

Regards,
Humaid

Hi guys, A few more pics of some more catches :)

will write more soon, All the best, Scott





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Scott,

Great pics again and good info on releasing the fish.

I release most of my catch (all of my catch when I'm traveling) but here in the East Coast when fishing from from big rocks of the Jettys with rough seas, the fish gets banged up on the rocks before you land them For this reason, a friend of mine stops fishing after a decent fish is landed and leave them biting. And doesn't fish for at least the next couple of days while there is still some fish in the fridge.

Can you please tell if there was any current where you were fishing and what leader and snap(if any) you were using. Looking at the size of the lure, I'm assuming that the fishing might swallow the whole lure requiring the use of some 40# fluoro leader even if there are no rocks?

Haven't been out much recently, but the last fish that took my 1 oz bucktail jig with pork rind trailer, snapped my leader (Penn 30# mono leader). I was using a Rosco duolock snap and the fish might have inhaled the whole jig to snap the leader above the snap.

Cheers, Maruthu

Hey Maruthu,

good on you for releasing the fish and fishing ethically :) Yes i use a flourocarbon leader of 50lb for that reason of the fish taking the complete lure into it's mouth. A barra can then rub through the leader during a prolonged fight but this rarely happens. If i am expected smaller fish i will drop the leader to 30lb. I use breakaway beach casting links. They are very strong and allow the lure to be changed quickly and they have never let me down. The rosco ones are also ok but still you need to open the snap to change the lure. With the breakaways the lure slides directly on wiht no need to open the snap.

All the best, Scott

This is a question which is right on the money! Scott can you please educate us as beach fishing is something I have never tried and presume Dr. Murrel hasn't either..... Will highly appreciate any information you share.

Regards,
Omesh

Scott,

Thank you for the response.

I do use the links from breakaway and tactical anglers, and like them specially when fishing jigs (soft plastics and bucktails). But I mostly use the duolock snaps when slinging heavy metals (t-hex) and poppers (super strike) I am heading to Gokarna tomorrow and will be fishing for three days. Hope I get to land some fish :)

Cheers, Maruthu

Hey Marathu,

Well good luck in Gokarna, There is some great fishing there with all the usual suspects including GTs,

look forward to some photos,

I'll write something about beach fishing when i have time:) its a big subject!!

all the best, Scott

Thanks Scott!

I'll try to get as much pics as possible (not sure if my dying camera can make it). Planning to fish the rocks in the south and if I could make it to the inlet in the far north (if I could rent a small scooter or something like that), I might give that a try as well, looks like that spot might attract some GTs too.

Cheers, Maruthu

PS: I'm taking my Korkers with me

Hey chapps! how goes it!
Scott, i wish there was a like button for your explanation on c and r... guys when Scott mentions barramundi from the beach, he means the sandbar side of an estuary, not necessarily a beach with breakers.. we have many such estuaries along the west coast, that have rocks on one side and sandbars on the opp side of the estuary mouth, the rest of the technicalities im sure Scott will fill in.. P.S. its fun luring barra from the sandbars, as one can go a bit light on tackle and enjoy the runs, leaps and fight, as the fear of getting cut on the rocks is minimalized... but on the other hand.. it does tire the fish out and one needs to be careful to ensure proper release..

Scott,

Got back from Gokarna. Was not really comfortable trekking and fishing at night without a fishing buddy. Next time I shall fish Canacona district in Goa as I can rent a little scooter to access most of the spots and there are more lagoons that are easy to fish compared to Gokarna.

Korkers helped me a lot to fish the rocks in Gokarna. Landed a Mangrove Jack about 5 pounds on a plastic swimmer that was released. My first MJ, but there was no one around to take a pic though They also seemed to like bucktail jig with pork rind trailer, but I was not able to set the hook.

Maruthu

good stuff mate, at least you got stuck into some fish!:)

all the best, Scott

Hey Merwyn,

I will post a pic soon, not got one with me now.

All the best, Scott

Merwyn,

Here you go:

http://www.terminaltackleco.com/prod_detail_list/573

Cheers, Maruthu

Thanks Scott,

I shall plan next time in such a way that I can fish at night.

Also, next time I'm really curious to see how darters and needle fish lures work in India.

Cheers, Maruthu

They should work of course. I've never had any need to try them as the lures i currently use see to work extremely well but its always nice to experiment. I have a few new techniques/lures I do want to try so will report back if they are successful :)

all the best, Scott

so then.. doc.. omesh, humaid.. looks like you chaps are still waiting for a reply on targetting barras from sandbars...i'd love to explain it here.. but im too lazy to write about it and if i do i may end up confusing you .. if you want.. pm me and i will give you my number.. you can call and i can explain in detail.. interested .. let me know.. ciao!

Excellent as expected from You Scott keep the pictures and reports coming in so People leave there offices.....girlfiends and wives in the pure pursuit of fish and gain enlightenment from fish......who's sole moto is "WHATEVER THE ODDS NEVER GIVE UP"

Hi Guys, Thanks for your comment Neil. Internet access has been limited lately but soon whe i have some time i will post a few more pis and also some write up of the fishing over the last few months,

tight lines, Scott

Hi Guys, unfortunately the internet connection is a bit slow but i'll try and upload a few photos..



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Great reef shark for Sam that took a Mullet head cast to the back of the breakers...50lb wire trace and sliding lead. great runs and very spirited fight:)

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Great hard fighting (as always) Konkan GT. When we arrived at the spot it just screamed trevally so I covered all the good looking water with a big popper but had no takes so changed to the lighter rod and a subsurface lure, a yo zuri mag minnow and first cast had a savage bite after a few turns of the reel handle. The fight was touch and go abut luck was on my side and after what seemed like an age Markus and I managed to land this beautiful fish, get a photo and then release it :) great feeling

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Great Barra for Sam that took a small soft plastic lure...screaming hundred metre first run then plenty of acrobatics! :) happy days

Nice Catches Scott ! Keep it up

did You & Markus get any action at Kasa ??

__________________________________
The only fever that I always carry ---> Fishing Fever

Great catch man....

Thanks guys, no mate no catches up there...the water didn't look to good at the time unfortunately:(

Great catch Scott. Thanks for sharing the pics.

awesome as always! congratulations! Always feels good to see a fellow angler have a gr8 time! Cheers to you and Markus

Regards,
Omesh

Ditto Omesh.
Great show Scot.

Ravi
\

Hi ,
Maruthu I was wondering the same.

I am thinking of using SS sinking popper as a mullet representation .It looks perfect swims just below the surface on a slow retrieve and can be popped occasionally I don't think any other lure mimics mullets behavior better than this .
What is your opinion ? by the way how is fishing ?long time no Maruthu special (GT) vid or pics?? I am currently stuck in banglore having lived my entire life next to the beach it feels weird here.

Hi Guys,

A week ago conditions looked good for some GT on the konkan coast and finally things turned out rather well and some good fish were landed.








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I fished with Abbey, with both of us using gear suitable for very large fish, Xzoga and kaiser popping rods, Shimano saragosa 18000 and heavy braid with 220lb mono leaders.

Abbey was the fist to strike gold and landed a lovely GT. not the monster we were after but very much welcome nonetheless. He then did it again when a bigger fish smashed his lure. After a short and very powerful fish we had the fish on board for a quick photo and successful release..I followed with a lovely GT after a couple of missed strikes..


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As conditions became rougher it was time to head home and wait for the next window of weather when we could try again..

And it was a good job that we tried again as after Abbey landed the first fish I hooked into something a good deal more serious.

In just over a metre of water my popper stopped dead and the next sensation was as if i had just hooked a train...Luckily for me the fish didn't have anywhere to go but deeper water...with more than full pressure applied the big Gt thrashed on the surface before slowly coming towards the boat..No line was given and just a couple of clicks from the clutch let me know the setting was suitable...

The fight passed quickly as I gave all my strength to the rod trying my hardest not to let the fish get the upper hand..

In the terrain we fished letting the fish run would spell almost certain disaster...with the sharp oyster and barnacle encrusted rocks below the line would surely be cut within a millisecond..

It didn't take long and the fish reached deeper water at which point it sulked deep below the boat and really tested the tackle...luckily I kept my balance and the fight went smoothly...And in a few more seconds we had the prize on board for some quick photos and release back to the reef..

Finally we had cracked the big Konkan GT on a popper...without a doubt the biggest trevally landed with this method on the Indian mainland coast so far (please correct me if i'm wrong) and a huge highlight in my fishing career :)



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Hi Scott,

Wow.. lovely fishes there Scott!! Wish you many more.

Cheers
Sarath