INDIANANGLER

bolstered by my first catch on a spinner i got two mepps no 4 spinners. with hopes of getting a lunker i reached the lake and got started. nothing for appx 30 mins and then a bite. lost it within seconds as i allowed slack into the line. next bite occurred after a good 20 mins. and it felt as if i was hooked on to a runway train. the fish which did not breach water for around 5 mins. that was when i was able to see the beauty. it was a big , by my standards mulley. it had the rod bent in a u and the drag screaming. i played the fish for around 5-6 action packed minutes ( must have been more like 2-3 min but i swear it felt like longer than 5 mins ). got the fish aground and my ghillie went for it. he only succeeded in reducing all the play that was left in the line and snap ! away goes the mulley. the line was berkley xl 14 pound ( my daiwa combo is maxed at 14 pounds). the entire thing was a joy till the weeds and my ghillie mucked it up.the fish was at least 50 cm if that is any guide to the weight.
any tips on avoiding the same ? the next rod i m planning for freshwater is going to be a 10-20 lbs rated 8 ft rod. do i need to upgrade the line strength ? would a leader have helped ?
santosh, need ur experience on this one mate !

don't worry mate u will get the same fish again. now it's a new hope for u there

regards
Manish

Bad luck on the one that got away.

While landing a fish always keep the rod tip down and in case you do not have confidence in your line, reduce the drag. Generally we tend to keep rod tip up while landing the fish and if the fish pulls hard the drag is maximum and eventually the fish is lost due to hook pull off or broken line.

Regards,

Ali.

ali bhai as usual hit the nail on its head . the rod tip couldnt have been higher if it was on viagra. i think that was the reason . the line had held up just right while playing the fish and i have just recently spooled the reel with it .the drag was not to blame as the line held up until fouled by the weeds.

added a foot long 30 lb floro leader and hit the spot again. had a bite in short order and this time landed the mulley. i played the fish to the shallows and then the ghillie grabbed the bite leader. the pics are from my mobile (as have been all the previous ones)


now to get the big one

Damn they look scary man. Are they in anyways related to ANACONDAS :) Do you often catch them on spinners??
It appears they have 2 rows of teeth??? Does a mono stand any chance??
Doc, do you pull them from steady or moving waters?

I see you are getting more and more feathers in your cap :) Good going and thanks for reporting once again.

Cheers - DeZZ

nah ! they are not related to anacondas ! yes the teeth are scary and its a sight to see these fish bail into the baitfish ! they breach the water and become airborne. i have caught them on spinners, poppers and live frogs. yet to catch one on a spoon. infact the only thing i caught on a spoon till now is a murrel.
i fish in a lake and there is no stream in the vicinity. but yes they are easy to get on spinners.
i use only mono in fresh water. i have my smaller reel (daiwa d shock ) spooled with 12 lb yozuri hybrid and a penn silverado spooled with 14 lb berkley xl. but i plan to start with power pro shortly (20 lbs).

got this one on spinner again today morning. the fight was hard but short. the fish rarely breaches the water unlike murrel which give quite a few splashes and jumps. the big one is still out there !

You sure having a whale of a time with the fish.

Ravi

if any of u guys wants to join u are welcome after the 22nd of june. we can hit various venues like chilka lake, the port and the lake which thank fully has restricted access. if up to it a short drive shall see us crossing various small rivers which look like murrel heaven.

congrats on your catches, if you change to braid line, because of its thinner diameter you can use a higher rated line of say 20 lb for example, and you will still need a leader.

thanks ! i now use 30 lb braid on most of my reels.