INDIANANGLER

Last month or so, the fishing in Powai was not very good (Breeding Season) and accordingly we all were waiting for the fishes to lay their eggs and then start feeding. Meanwhile, I was desperately trying to get exact combination of ground bait and hook bait for our target fish – the Catla. I had heard many stories of great Bong Anglers who were in possession of some magic ground baits and hook baits which when used, were sure to produce results but the catch was that these recipes were close family secrets and no outsider was allowed to even smell the masalas. I have contacted many of my friends and acquaintance in hope of getting those recipes - but in vain. Actually I had lost all hopes of getting those recipes and had started wondering whether this recipe actually exist or not. Then the unthinkable happened. One ancient looking Bong gentleman, who used to visit our club approached me one day and asked me why I released fishes after catching them. Obviously satisfied by my answer and explanation he was kind enough to give me one telephone no. of Delhi and ask me to call up that person and assured me that I will get one recipe from him which will increase my catch ratio and assist me in catching Catla, properly hooked in mouth. When I called up that no., I was pleasantly surprised to know that this gentleman had already talked to this Delhi guy and he promised me to mail me the complete recipe immediately. True to his promise, next day I got his mail with all the ingredients and the way to make the ground bait. Many of the ingredients were such that I had never heard the names and my first concern was to procure them. After searching many shops, finally I was able to procure all items from one aurvadic shop and then proceeded to make the masala as per the instructions. Believe me that it was sort of ritual - but for some incantations - to make this masala. Armed with this new arm in my arsenal and high on hope, I called up Madhur and decided to give my new masala a try. Reaching the lake, I ground baited the most likely spot for Catla and then setting out our rods settled down in hope of catching something good. After a bit of a wait, the activity around our bait started considerably and within no time fishes attacked our feeder. It was amazing to see the way big fishes were moving the feeder and the tips of our rod constantly twitching and jerking. We stayed full night, every moment in anticipation of getting a hook up but without any luck. Our masal was working but obviously our rig was not proper.

Last week, after fine tuning my feeder with one pop up hook set and one free setup I once again tried the same ground bait. I was playing with two rods and towards the evening suddenly one of my reel started screaming. After a short fight I landed the fish. Lo and behold – a catla of 3 kg.
At last – A catla of 3kg.



After some time, as I was rejoicing over the fine catla, the second Rod also started singing the sweet song of line ripping from the spool. This time there was something big and the fight was a tough one as the fish was trying to go round my adjoining machan. After a determined fight of about 30 minutes, the fish started tiring and was ultimately landed. A fine hybrid of 11Kg.
A fine fish- Hybrid of 11 Kg.



Vishal, who was sitting on dam and fishing, joined me and after resetting our rods we where relaxing when once again the line of one rod started ripping and the fish after taking a short run jumped clear out of water. Wow – A Rohu. After a short fight where the fish sailed in the air twice, it was landed. A fine Rohu of two Kg. In between these three fine catches, I also landed five undersize Mirgals and three olive carps. Vishal has also landed seven Mirgals. His best 2.5 Kg.
My Rohu of 2 Kg.


Vishal with his Mirgal



Buoyed by our success, myself and Vishal decided to once again try for some more fishing next day and accordingly we met at the lake in the evening. That day was also very nice as I landed two mangur of around 4kg and Vishal got five screeming runs on his feeder but unfortunately was only able to land one good mirgal of 3 kg.

These two days were one of the best days of fishing I had ever done and next to fishing in the rapids of a sub mountain river, in a natural surrounding, this fishing with feeder rig is absolutely fantastic. Here I would like to thank all of you for your kind suggestions to help me land some good fishes, specially to Allan for introducing me with feeder rig and Gavin for sharing some finer point with me regarding the habit, ground bait and hook bait for Catla.

My this episode does not end here as the monsters of Powai are still at large and I have to take account from them of my nine straightened hooks . Now I have got in my arsenal Gamakastu hooks (3x) and am dying to latch on one of those monstors.

Regards

Ali.

Ali partner that is a superb report and great catch although i have heard he detail from you personally on the day you did it it is still a great reading. congratulations
I wish that you guys had a good camera but still great picture too.
I am waiting for my turn now as you know to land a big one on the rig
cheers and tight lies

Congrats, Ali! Really happy for you, nice to see all the hard work paying off.

I bet you are going to have a lot of PM's asking for that secret bait now

Cheers and keep on doing it!

Bops

Alibhai ... Great perserverance I have followed this topic with great delight .... only a master with unending patience and love for the art of fishing on even terms with a fish could have accomplished what you have .. Congratulations and Great job ... I have to now take lessons from the "guru" of freshwater fishing in Mumbai and try to accomplish what you have .....a cleanly hooked catla ... Great going mate .... You are now teh "Tom Cruise " "Top Gun " of lake fishing No more mission impossible for you anymore

Great going Ali.. its really a pity that I was not able to join you that day.... the feeder rig is fantastic, but more than the rig & the ground bait its your determination, passion & love for angling that is producing the results. keep on doing it mate.. prove all fu(%!^@ foulhookers wrong.

Indeed you are the best angler.

I consider only two anglers as my guru and you are one of them ..without any doubt my guru of fresh water angling.

mission impossible


Final Round


YOU WIN

Normally, I prepare Catla baits as per the taste of the water (Funny as it may sound, but it has worked for me...) I would request someone to just taste the water and let me know the taste, such as is it moderately sweet or a bit on the bitter side.

And huge Catlas can be caught on two hook sets too....

Well done Ali bhai

Good job Ali Bhai...

Time & again u have proven urself.....

Great going Ali Bhai,

I am amazed by the amount of passion, perseverance and patience that you have for this sport.It's always been a privilege to fish along with you.
The ground bait is fantastic and I am sure, its just a matter of a few more variations/experiments with your rig and you'll crack the code... which only you can!

Regards,
Madhur.

I am honored and humbled by all the kind words from you all but let me tell you that I too am a student of the vast lore of this sport as you all are. So there is nothing like guru and all that. Still thank you all for your encouraging words. There was a time when fellow anglers were laughing at me (Here in Powai) for my lack of success but now the same persons are approaching me to know about the rigs I am using. The most satisfying aspect of my success is not the end result in term of fishes caught but a shift in the perception of my fellow anglers that fishes can be landed in Powai, properly hooked in mouth. I am also honored by the fact that someone finds me trustworthy enough to share his family secret recipe with me.

Riaz, I am sorry but I am also under the oath of secrecy so I will not be able to share the recipe with you but I can always send the same to you. P.M. your address and I will send the same. As you asked, I am posting the feeder rig setup photo here. It is very easy to make. The centre part is empty pen refill and wound around it is one G.I. wire. In the front part, I have attached one rubber tube (Used for valve inside cycle tubes) and one end of the swill is inserted inside this tube so as if the feeder rig get snagged somewhere, when the fish is dragging it, the swill will come out of the tube and line will run free through the refill tube. As you can see, I am using one pop up set up and one free setup and I have caught all big fishes on the pop up set up.



You just have to make a ball of your bait around the wire and the pop up cork/ hook and cast it on your chosen spot. Do not forget to keep your reel on bait runner other wise you will lose your rod.

Hope this explain the setup.

Regards,

Ali.

So, where are you going today ? That was the thought I had in my mind on the morning of 08.08.08 or was it an ad line…and it was raining heavily (hypothecally speaking but it did rain bad by evening). Thought will meet bablu bhai and Ali bhai and see some stuffs that bablu bhai had bought. So went to their office at around 11 in the morning, bablu bhai asks to head to ali bhai place with him. I go there expecting kababs & parathas and what nots(I stay alone.. so nothing wrong in having expectation, now ali bhai you are force to feed me that ). Anyways after reaching there, ali bhai hand out some rods & says lets go and I ask where?? He says lets go fishing. I was.. now…I was not prepare at all… all spiked, gelled & perfumed with a expectation to woo a girl on a weekend … not like this…but then I found myself in powai with Ali bhai & Bablu bhai….thats when I realized women has become a second fiddle to fishes and I am not married yet …
Anyways bablu bhai drops us at the lake and we head for ali bhais machhan. I am all excited & zero patience.. .wants to throw the line the moment I saw water. But looking at ali bhai..all calm, poised, checking & working meticulously on the rods, reels, baits. Well that’s where he metamorphoses into a true ‘engineer’. Starts with preparing baits and boys I asked ali bhai.. are you inviting the fishes for a ‘food festival r something’ ..milkmaid, ghee, coconut milk and the works…I was hungry. But that was for ground baiting.
Then he fixes the rod, says he is going to use feeder rig with pop up hooks(I have heard about them, never seen one working and forget catching a fish). Ali bhai tests the water, throws in the line..lines (three), watches it for sometime ..no movement, the lake was dead….nothing. I go out to meet my bro, get some sandwiches & beers. Come back and sees some good movement on the float…it went vertical in for the second time and I screamed for ali bhai and I strike…and I scream with the expectation that something was hooked, ali bhai comes looks square on my face and says that’s the weight of the feeder and you are not supposed to strike with a feeder rig…and all my expectation went off …was expecting ali bhai to say good strike….now I wanted to hide myself somewhere .(.but not much option ..you have to jump into the lake...but if my smartness was narrated even the crocs of powai lake will have a hearty laugh )..so I shrunk to a corner..

Anyway ..nothing much happened after that…and it started raining bad …and it became quite dark at 3pm..ali bhai retired for a quite nap

…and impatient me started throwing the ‘goli’…but nothing …no jumps, no movement , no bubbles…not even a ‘singy’ r ..dead…and I was man…..should have tried wooing a girl instead…
Bored, dejected….i also went for a short nap…by this time bablu bhai comes back its 6 or so…ali bhai asks for some ‘chutni’ says he couldn’t find them…bablu bhai gets it from somewhere….the moment ali bhai sees the ‘chutni’...something bright lights up in his eyes… and he say ‘I am going to show you magic’…I was ok…
He makes a new ground bait with the chutni, throws it into the lake and say…10 minutes …the fishes will come and ask for your health. And believe me….i was awestruck when 7/8 minutes and see a big jump right in front of the machan…then it was total chaos…fishes from all corner of life was asking for my health…I couldn’t believe the change….the dead lake has suddenly turned into paradise….bablu bhai was having a headaches and was down and itching to leave.. but the moment the splashes and bubble started popping, the headache was gone…but still no movement on the lines apart from a couple of tugs…by this time it was pouring mad..…and it was getting darker…still nothing happened…ali bhai asked a couple of times . chala jaye kya fishes are in no mood to feed’…but rain made us wait….and again when it was getting dull….ali bhai changed the feeder baits…dough a new one…meticulously used this powder, that paste some cakes and kajus(exaggerated). It smelled like carmel custard .. I looked at him thinking how patient is the person...then he threw the line…5 min..i was about to fall asleep…when I heard the ..keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. of the reel and boy the ‘reel screamed and screamed and screamed’…ali bhai was on it in a flash…latter I told ali bhai…I guess this sound makes the best wake-up alarm for ali bhai…I was so excited…to see the rod practically doubling up and the line going this way n that way…ali bhai…was trying to get the fish in control but the guy was hell bent on making ali bhai use his every muscle, maybe he knew that ali bhai is nursing a shoulder injury. …what a fight… after about 30 min. we saw a glimpse of the guy…a decent size …and ali bhai threw a caution …the fish was trying his best to head for the marshy land or was trying to entangle in the machan poles…which he did a couple of times…dived deep . He said if he trying to pull the fish hard ..the hook might straighten….so, without exerting much pressure he landed the fish with all our help..i was holding the lantern n bablu bhai was holding the landing net…it was 8 pm… a 6 kg rohu…a beautiful fish…we didn’t have a camera( I told ali bhai…today I didn’t get the cemera, n we will surly catch a big one.)…but I clicked a few with my mobile …






Bablu bhai with the catch


…then ali bhai said…rajesh, this is a gift for you… and I was like…winning a Oscar…wanted to thank every possible person…then I realized maybe…ali bhai might have seen the ..fish pakkkors, the fish fingers and the fries and the curry that I was visualizing and thought ok…he needs it more than anyone else…then gave it to me…whatever..now I had, a 6 kg rohu with me and I am the only person to eat all that fish… it’s a feast…still is n ll be for a long time…
I was walking around with a smile as if Katrina kaif said she will join me for dinner.. …and bablu bhai did ask.. rajesh, you okai..a couple of times.

In the end it was sheer patience and attention to details..i was converted to a feeder rig guy…and hopefully ll catch something big…but as reminded by ali bhai..time and again…patience no movement…be a fish till one is hooked.
I learned a lot on fishing with ali bhai, techniques, actions and the recipe. The great angling guru. His techniques are based on pure research.

…boy hats of to ali bhai

thanks for bearing with me…this was the first opportunity I got to watch a big fish caught and land and it was the first event that I got a chance to narrate…would have liked to include a few song and dance sequence…but thought otherwise…..

cheers!
Rajesh

Well, after Ali and his exploits mentioned above I was itching to get to Powai and get into one of the monsters of the lake with the help of MR Mission “possible” himself, the gracious gentleman & host par excellence and now a very dear friend Alibhai. First to subtly inform the wife that im going fishing to Powai . . My expected reaction –MURDER – the surprised reply “ If you’re meeting Alibhai I have got a gift for his wife “ Heh heh heh … Mission Impossible now accomplished .


So I packed my bag called Alibhai and got going . Reached the lake at around 1100 am , all excited and waiting to try out Ali’s new rig and get into a monster . Alibhai reached just a few minutes after I did and together we got into his boat and headed out to the Machan . .Rajat and Babloo bhai were already there with their baits in the water . Once there Ali showed me his indigenous rig and explained the working . Looking at the rig it all made great sense and anyone looking at it was sure that it was meant to work . Great Innovation Alibhai .

We rigged up two rods with the bait runners on and set the baits in the water . And decided to wait ……………………………..and wait we did right till 7 pm … Sober Santosh  joined us and so did Vishal …..We waited and waited and I began to have my doubts on the whole setup but Ali was clear in his mind ….. The fishing gets good after Dark …

Around 730 pm I got up and said OK boys I think its time to go .. and got up from my chair and suddenly my rod went of like an express train . Vishal heard it and called out . I charged back outside and took the rod and engaged the drag and hooked into the fish .. Game on .. The fish gave a long run to the middle of the lake and then rose up to the surface . Reeled in the fish about halfway and then she took off again .. After playing the fish for about 15 minutes with the fish taking a couple of very strong runs , the fish came close to the machan . In the water the fish looked like a Catla and there was a great cheer around . Ali announced a party of it was a Catla … I brought the fish in close and led the fish into the net . Babloo bhai netted the fish .. Rajat the bong then came from his Perch to take a look at the fish and said “not Catla .. Hybrid “.. … Then Ali too said it looked like a Hybrid with a 80 % Catla and 20 % Rohu … No arguments from me and I settled for that. Congratulations all around …

We baited up the rods again and then just as we were talking inside the machan , Alibhais baitrunner went of …..but stopped ….. We waited for around 30 minutes more and then decided to call it a day .

The local boatman who came to pick us up “Afzal “ then was asked to identify the fish and he said with nonchalance … “ Rohu “ .. We all stood dumbstruck … He was so certain that he told Alibhai that he was willing to bet his salary for the month on it …. Case settled .. no arguments . Rohu it was …

At the weigh in it was confirmed 7.5 kg rohu

Id like to say that at first I was also tempted to do the foul hooking stuff on and off as it produced results … however I must say that after spending quality time and company with Alibhai and his thoughts and conviction on fishing in Powai I can safely state that those “occasional “thoughts will NEVER cross my mind again .

Alibhai thank you for your hospitality ( second to none ) your patience ( neverending ) your generosity ( gracious as ever ) and for being the friend that you are . . Thank you once again

PS Pics to follow later

Awesome! We'll believe you when we see the pics

No pic. No fish!

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Just yanking your chain mate. Seems like it was a great day. And yup, Alibhai is just about the best person to fish with for all the reasons you mentioned.

the mere mention .. of Ali bhai was around,,gives a whole better picture than any actual pic....tug on...

Fred, that's a lovely fish! What's with the double chin? Is that a new addon since I last met you?

Bops

hey fred
I was there i saw it all it was a great catch congrats I hope i land one of these soon now cheers

one should see this beauty in a larger size so i am at it again

which of the beauties? both are large enough

The thread has become interesting and the pictures are good
Regards

[quote="ostrocastro"]ali bhai, i wanted to ask you whether you have to be a member to fish at powai because i had called the MSSA office and they said that you have to be a member and have a licence to do so.If not i would love to go with you for any other angling excursion within maharashtra if it seems convenient for me...
i am really fascinated at your pics because i had never imagined that the powai lake could have such big fish(catla in particular) due to the excessive pollution around...
great catch![/quote
hey looks like you found the right man he is "the one" of fishing at this side of the country just latch onto him mate and you are at home

oh

Well this time it is my turn. As an active partner in Ali mission impossible and a chella to the great guru, I was yet a spectator in the game of getting a big one on the feeder rig although overjoyed with the success of such an invented method of Ali’s feeder ( I would say it is Ali’s because he has solved the biggest problem which is I feel is bound to be the inherent in feeder rig technique).It is not that I was not catching fish but the dream was to hear that scream of the reel when the big one takes it.

All I was catching was small Mirgal and common carps my biggest one till today was about 5 Lb . For last three month it was getting really a wee bit tiring' but as Ali would always say have patience you must be doing some thing wrong. Did you check your hooks? Did you properly check your pop up bait? What time did you ground baited? What mix did you put on feeder? And on and on

Finally couple weeks ago I went to Ali’s house and he make me made my own "feeder rig" in front of him insisting that I should do it with my own hand so that I understand the exact technique. So I did it and also took a kind of determination to do it properly next time. Mean while the guys in the team kept getting fish. I missed the great independence day run as I was tied up with work and decided to give it a full go.

Toady after to missing so many timed session I decided to be there from the morning till evening and give my whole effort ( although the master Ali have predicted that the game will only happen in the evening )

Bablu bhai and I started the day at 4.30 am but the entire day nothing happened not even a decent bite!!! Ali and Alan joined us in the evening ( as if Ali have just come to say best of luck ) and Alan being just returned from England with goodies which i was looking forward too
Ali finally nodded his head in approval seeing my rig in operation but very calmly suggested to change my positioning of fishing pointing the right spot.
Ali and Babu bhai wished me and Alan who decided to joint me, best of luck. Ali very confidently said one of you guys will land a big one today (well the word of zen master!!!)

I refurbished my feeder and casted it out to the new spot and the imminent waiting started.

Alan and me chatted about the various thing including his trip to England and off course the success of the feeder rig in Powai specially,

Alan and I suddenly started to notice tremendous activity on my rod Alan pointed out to me but now I knew better now I told him I am not going to touch the rod till it runs.
Then the magical sound
My reel on bait feeder screamed and man!!! What sound it was!! like a banshee. With my heart doing a140 per min number . I picked it up and taking a deep breath engaged the drag later after about 12 min of a dream fight I landed the beauty of 20 lb high bred .here is some picture for the fish and the evening at my most favorite place in Mumbai “Powai” and my passion angling.



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Bablu Bhai making sure back at home verdict it is 20 Lb

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The evening:

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Thank you Ali for the great amount of support and your never lasting patience and its rub off effect on people like me who have finally learned and yet ready to learn more

Looking forward to share some more with you guys

Nice Fish mate.

WELL DONE MATEY. THIS IS BIG.

Man what a fish and what a fight that must have been. Great stuff mate.

Gotto get me one of those.

Hey Rajat,
Great going partner, you did it.Congrats to Ali Bhai as well for cracking the code...

Cheers,
Madhur.

PS. Ali Bhai looking forward for MI.2!

Bishon Bhalo Rajat Da, the last pic. took ma heart away that's why I call Powai my Dream Land.