INDIANANGLER

hey guys, today I and Ashish had an interesting time at powai.

we are there at 10.30am and as usual we were playing 'goli hook' on atta.
Within the hour we had a huge shoal of fish right under our rods. what's really interesting is that we had huge fish surfacing on both sides and splashing. then there were huge air bubbles (like a bunch of TT balls) right under the rods and near the floats.

This happened a few times for us to start wondering if the bottom feeders (ROHU???) were burping!!!

And Ashish was hopping mad because the "damn" handphone would ring and the fish would bite
That was an interesting 1 - 1 1/2 hour but no fish

AND THEN... the float started dipping just a bit a few times, then gone, then again then nothing Pull out the line and there's no bait !!!
This story repeated itself for nearly half an hour with me cursing the little nuisance fish (gobi) as I had a similar experience last weekend for nearly an hour while the big daddies of angling were in the AGM

Then at about 1 pm, I finally decided to strike - like many times in the last hour - not expecting to catch anything and to my pleasant surprise, the fish actually pulled back ... and hard.

A short fight later out comes a fish about 14-15 inches long, felt like over a kilo when lifted out (to get the hook off, which I couldn't from that tiny mouth) and looks like the fellow in the little aquarium in the club house but about 3-4 times larger.

Then about 20 minutes later, Ashsish managed to hook another of these fellows.

Benny id-ed the fish as Gourami

These fellows seem to have a really small mouth so they to seem nibble out the bait (hence the float dips?) but they seem to have danced all around the damn bait never ever pulling it more than a centimeter or two.

I have started to think that the gourami's eat the bait (with their tiny mouths) like we eat ice-cream candy....lick, suck, slurp ... and maybe burp


Look at those ridiculously small slits called mouth


Both the slick gourami's side-by-side


That's me


That's Ashish


Another closeup of the gourami's[/list][/list]

Hey Guys ... next time do me a favor .. release these beauties and Ill pay for Lunch or Dinner ... anywhere ...

Hi Fred,
We always release the the fish we catch but both these fish were on a sucidal mission... they died within mins of putting them in the landing nets. We put them in the landing nets for someone to identify them. Did not know they were so delicate... they might have died as they had swallowed the hooks... the hooks were burried deep in their mouth, as we wanted to release them later we just cut the line n kept them in the landing net...nxt time we sure will be more carefull...

Gourami is a popular food-fish in Thailand, they even sell them in tinned cans like the do sardines. I have had them a couple of times, tastes good but has a lot of bones. May I suggests you take up Fred’s offer on dinner...the Italian restaurant at the Oberois is very nice so is the Chinese restaurant opposite it, some of the Dim Sums there are comparable to Hong Kong. But since Fred is being so generous you better try the Zodiac grill or Chambers, if you can't get in I will even do that extra bit to help to see you get in so that Fred can shower you guys with generosity. Christmas is just around the corner.

Hey Lad,

Nice fishes and nice narretion.

Your observation about Gaint Goramis are not correct. They simply gulp the bait. In all cases you will find the hook embeded deep inside the mouth of the fish;;;

Congratulations..

Regards,

Ali.

P.S.

It is why you have to be very carefull while targetting Goramies. If you do not strike soon, you will find the hook embeded deep inside throat. The best you can do is to use a circular hook.

Regards, Ali.

I don't think anyone should be targeting Gouramis! They are not game fish nor are they table fish.

In my opinion there should be some sort of protection offered by the members of the Powai club to these fish.

oops! for the giant gourami's were an accident. a pleasant surprise to see it on the line and utter panic when we discovered that they had swallowed the hook.

That's because, we always release all the fish we catch. Except mungoor's which we have been told to not release.

Ali-bhai, will keep your advice in mind.
Fred, I & Ashish will take you up on your offer ... cause we always release
Mahseerken, besides Ali's suggestion, pl. do tell us how we can protect the Gourami's? We weren't targetting Gourami's but got them anyways.

Felt bad to see those beauties die, but as Ashsih put it "what options do we have? leave them and they suffer, keep them and they die"

Sorry if that sounded like I was 'targeting' you guys. What i meant there should be a way of protecting them as these are prize fish. For a start keep their existence quiet.

Been reading with avid interest all you guys have been writing for the last few months ever since I chanced on this fantastic site.
Fished at Powai for several years with my dad and brother age 16 through 21.
We used to fish for gourami near the dam in summer with small hooks baited with banana chunks suspended at 3 to 4 feet.
The only reason i post is that as the hooks were almost always swallowed,we would carry a pair of surgical forceps to use as a disgorger,was very effective in getting the hook out without doing too much damage.
Bye.

Hi Guys! I don’t want to target anyone as such and I hope so I am not doing so.
Well I must say Gourami’s are beauties and such beauties must be kept at an aquarium. We can’t blame any angler as such, as powai is an angling club and anglers out there target big game fish. The club should not have released the giant gourami’s in the first place it is totally the clubs fault for doing so.
The gourami’s were caught on tiny hooks and without anyone trying to unhook them they died in a few seconds when kept in a landing net in water. I could just imagine if the gourami’s were foul hooked by the anglers who practice this cruel art it would be a brutal murder for such beautiful fish. Only the club could save them from such merciful killing.
It is really sad to see such beauties die in vain. What can we do

Getting Emotional...Eh...

Some Facts...... Goramies are one of the best fighting fish and they do grow big. They are beautiful but are not all fishes beautiful..

No fish is an aquarium fish...Though you keep them in there...

Despite the water condition the Goramies do breed in Powai, and they breed fast..

The club has not introduced Goramies, it was released through Aquairium hobbist..

It is suerly a Game fish... though I do not know weather it is a table fish or not..

Regards,

Ali..

The first thing I am going to do now is google 'Gourami'.. Felt bad a bit ..But I am happy they breed fast n lay eggs in thousands..

Yes I must say I get emotional !
Ali I did not know so much about the goramies till you have come up with it saying they are one of the best fighting fish, I still beg to defer on this but sure when we meet up some time.

Yes boss all fishes are beautiful in they own category but Goramies are extraordinary I must say.
Ali I must say such beautiful fish looks good in an aquarium not suffering at an end of an anglers hook. I think according to me I will not have the goramie on my game fish list to target. I pity the goramies out at powai there should be an alternative to save the creature.

Despite the water condition the Goramies are breeding in Powai is a shock to me. I really dont know how an aquairium hobbist released such beauitful fish out there,amoung the the hooks that are dangling and a cruel fisherman waiting to rip them apart.
I think the hobbist has lost his mind in doing such an aqwful act.

Ali I am sorry boss It is suerly not a Game fish... for me I would prefer seeing them in an aquqrium anyday and watch these beauties swim.

I must say LIVE and LET LIVE !

You are on a wrong Forum Man...

Regards,

Ali..

Nice catch mate..
Are Giant gouramies native to India? If they are not native to India, then there is nothing wrong in removing them from the water..

Cheers,
Binu

Just for your reference....

Other common names:
Gurami.
Kalui.
Identification:
Usually a uniform grey-brown colour which fade as they mature.
Large rounded anal fin and long thread-like pelvic fins.
The male has thickened lips during breeding time.
Typical location:
In slow flowing or standing waters of lakes, ponds, swamps and rivers.
Fishing methods:
Fishing with bread, dough or earthworms on float or drifting on the surface.
Fighting characteristics:
A tough fighter with several fast runs and powerful dives
mixed with constant direction changes.

Regards,

Ali

Ah spit.
I picked up a pack of the smallest circle hooks that I've ever seen recently in Singapore. I have an experiment in mind for them but they were cheap as chips and had I known that they are being used for species like this in India, I'd have picked some up for you guys.
My experiment will involve fishing bread and worm baits on an entirely unweighted line beneath a float so that they sink slowly and naturally. This sort of setup is rubbish for bite indication but I'm hopping that the circle hooks will allow me to simply lift into fish as they move off with the bait and do so without deep hooking - similar tactics wight well work for several species in Powai.

I am with Ali on this one...every fish is beautiful, I even think the Goonch is and I am sure I am not alone... if you enjoy catching a particular fish, that fish is game...everyone is different and remember ones man food in this case fish, is another man's poison.

And while I say one man's food is another man's poison, here's proof that the gourami is a food fish as well.

Yummy! I know what I am having for lunch. Might not be able to get one of those but something close atleast.

MK before returning back from Wanchai somewhere around 4:00 am after a gruelling night at the bars I do recall now, when I look at the picture, I have eaten this fish and tilapia with some Thai sauce, tasty

Sorry for this late response, but I just noticed this thread! Interesting issue you got here.

In Malaysia, giant gorami was apparently introduced from Indonesia decades ago, but have now occupied its own niche as to be deemed a local fish. It's an omnivore, partial to stuff like grasshoppers, aquatic plants, worms, fruit etc. Some facts from me:

- Biggest known size: 15 kg. It lived in a villager's well for many years!
- Biggest size I have hooked: about 15 kg too. I fought it for 20 minutes, on 25-lb line, until the hook got straightened!
- Kalui, as it is known here, are air breathers ie. they need to regularly come up for air. If kept underwater or tethered through its gills, it will drown! This is similar to all snakeheads and Anabas (climbing perch).

- Giant gorami mate for life. When I was fighting that giant fish, its mate was following it everywhere. When the hook pulled out, the mate waited till the fish recovered, and then they slowly swam off together. It really touched my heart!

- To me, big gorami of the rivers can be considered gamefish. They are tough fighters! The bite is unique. It will slowly pull on the bait, then release it, a couple of times, until finally it will swim off with it. A soft rod tip and a circle hook is perfect for this type of fishing. Running sinker or suitable paternoster set-up is good.

- When targeting big gorami, use thicker mono for the hooklength. Big gorami has thick and coarse lips which can easily abrade 20-lb fluorocarbon line. I usually use 20-lb Daiwa Crystal clear, or 30-lb+ flurocarbon.

Hope this helps!

JB