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]

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.

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