INDIANANGLER

I am trying my luck with catala and rohu this weekend. Can anyone give me the recipe for preparing the bait? ie both line as well as the groud bait. Also the kind of hooks, line wt etc that are prefered would be of great help.
Thanks
Belli

I recall Gavin having posted something on this earlier...

I remember it being under Blangalore meet...but looks like its gone...

Hi Dawan,

Use the search button on the top left to look for old posts. I guess you're looking for the following info?

http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.p ... ight=catla

Bops

Thanks Bops...this was the one...
Belli

Thanks Bops....

Belli - You need anymore info on them catlas ?? For rohus, use some smelly stuff like rotten cheese. It works goods but the smell..... makes your eyes water

Gavin...I definately need more information, will be of great help if you can give it to me..
Thanks
Belli

Try this
Ingridents :
1) Ghee Residue (Contact a dairy farm who makes desi ghee)
2) Cake (cake waste is usually sold at the bakery for Rs. 4 - 7 a kg. we get it here in Mumbai atleast.)
3) Vanilla Essence

Mix ghee residue, cake and a few drops of vanilla. Then add some some mud..mix well.. you want have to mix water, cause the ghee residue will do the work. Make balls and use as ground bait.

For the hook i usually use bread mixed with some butter... the dough needs to be soft.. put this on the hook a

Those ants' eggs were a bomb, mate !! It could make the dead guys turn in their grave

Vedan - The stuff you have just said is good, but just fyi.. Catlas are attracted to oil.. Thats why the sardines worked.. Replace the sardines with any other ingredient that produces oil, the catla will still take the bait..
Good suggestion and maybe I may even try it as a last resort..

Hi Vedan,

Your friend is right.. THe catla is attracted to lighter coloured baits and something that is sweet scented.. Rohus and mrigals go for more pungent baits..
You can use the chara or the flat beaten rice as i have mentioned in my recipes.. The idea is to get them high and hungry. Besides making them shit, you give them a hangover hunger.. (all you drunkards out there would know what am talking about )

I have NEVER tried worms for catla, as the smaller fish would irritate a lot.. And the catla being a very shy fish would be scared away from the area.

Regarding Jhuppies. I have a huge collection of them, some of which I had also taken on my trip to the WASI.. My largest Jhuppi is 16 hooks but I never fish with them.. Just a collection !!

I only fish with double hooks as its next to impossible to catch a big catla of 20lbs+ with just a single hook, unless you foul-hook him.

Hi mr vedhan
thanks for your reply in fact iam aware or chari some people feed rice husk balls for 2 days on the third day they add lots of rock salt to chari which cause heavy motions emptying the bellys and forceing the fish to gulp any thing in form of food

some how i find this a act of cruelty Iwill never practice it

couldnt figure out 'Jhoopies' and 'Togies' can you give more details

regards
riaz

Hi Riaz,
I am no expert on catla,but have seen enough bongs fishing in the east, to understand their methods.

Gavins recipie will work well, or you could make a simple groundbait out of oil cake presoaked in a little water, make it a stiff paste, add sweetner and some rum, broken up garlic etc.

Remember that the fish in the lake have never seen anything like it, so keep it simple.

Jhuppi is a multiple hook rig used by the bongs, which i don't advocate. Catla can grow pretty big, and most anglers use light line while fishing.

A catla with a mouthfull of hooks on a broken line will die a sad death, with no benifit to the angler, so go with a single hook but remember that your chances will also reduce with a single hook set up.

Suggest that you ground bait a spot near the bank with enough depth, and one about 30 to 50 feet away.

Fish one rod with float and a single size 9 or 10 hook. I always prefer hooks with a wider round bend rather than an angular looking hook. This rod will probably bring in various species of fish.

Use another rod for the longer range with a slightly larger hook and a larger piece of lead to carry the bait the required distance and hold it down even in windy conditions. (This rod will probably bring in more of the larger catla as they are shy fish.

Set the drag pretty loose, and don't be afraid to let the fish take a run before putting him under gradual pressure.

On the longer range rod, and with regular ground baiting for some days before fishing, you are bound to get results if there are catla around.

Wandering around the lake taking your chances, will probably be less productive than staying put in the spot that you have chosen and groundbaited steadily.

Drop in a couple of balls groundbait before a session, and repeat the same when bites taper off.
Tight Lines

You can use the chara or the flat beaten rice as i have mentioned in my recipes.. The idea is to get them high and hungry. Besides making them shit, you give them a hangover hunger.. (all you drunkards out there would know what am talking about )
This sounds much better thank you all for shareing your experiences specially gavin ridge cooke and owen
wish me goodluck planning to go fishing on 20 dec
regards
riaz

GRC

Right again. We substituted steamed rice in lieu of chari (also called 'chewda' or 'chevada' out west).
Saw your 'Seasoned rum recipe' elsewhere. Respect, Man! Abovesaid friend seasons his for over a year in glass toffee jars! Lemme see if I can get him on board...
16 hook jhuppi? Brrr....
Riaz- about giving the fish the shits- I'd agree with that. I'd also go with the rumshot in the chara- I'd rather make them Happy than Crappy anyday.

Owen's dead right on non-use of jhuppis. A Togy is something similar except one uses it more for snatching/foul hooking than for fair. But out there, the fish are taken for the pot in a very sustainable way. I guess out there not bagging a fish for the pot would be someting of a slur on the man who can't put fish on the family table, too.

regards,
v.

Like I had also discussed with Owen... I have never encouraged Jhuppi fishing, but the Bongs here fish for the pot and so take no chances..
Owen is also right on using more rounded hooks. If anyone has seen the mouth of a large 20lb+ catla, will know what we are talking about...

Riaz - The catla is not known for its fight. So it will take a couple of big runs only. So dont worry on keeping the drag loose.. Another way of landing the fish soon is to try to big him to the surface gradually. Once he has had a couple of gulps of air, he is a spent force..
If there is anything more you need to know on these buggers, do let me know..

This is the only thread where I can give my most serious expertise

Regarding Jhuppi fishing, my brother Robby has told me that he recently saw a huge Catla of about 30Kgs floating dead in the water, and when he checked, its mouth was full of hooks. This being the case, it probably died of starvation and would probably have been a 40 Kg catla to start with.
The sad thing was that no one wanted to help take it out of the water and find it a resting spot.
So much to learn, so little time left!
Owen

Its a real pity seeing dead fish on shore i found a marral about 4kgs on the banks of bannur dam 40kms from mysore prob killed by dymnamite users and unseen the gills were ripped off there is much to teach and learn

agree on that... Its a real pity !!

Read about this in Gavins Post-How is this done? In 'series' or 'parallel' or what? a line drawing would be helpful
Thanks
Axx

Owen,
I remember reading about non feasibility of guitar strings -early posts of Senor MM, to distinguish him from MM the other...
Great bucktail tying tips and lots of very sound advice from him-wonder where he is-any body?
Hola Senor MM, Como Usted?
Axx

Jefe,

Try unpeeling a clutch or throttle cable (after cutting off the blobs at the end) if you can't figure out actual wire leader. 2-3 strands upto 18" should be good enough for double figure mulley if there are any around. You need to be careful while twisting the ends around a small swivel and a clip-swivel or snap at the other. Try not to solder the twists, it does something 'orrible to the temper of the wire. Wind the twists over with a couple of tight overwinds of cotton stitching thread if fine silk not available, coat with Araldite or nail polish. Clip lure to snap or clip end, other end to reel line. Cast at will, to fish.

Weren't guitar strings prone to corrosion and brittle, according to our Salty brothers? MM?

Hope above helps,

Cheers,
Vedan

The set up Owen has given is what people have been using over the years, here.. However am not sure about other places in the East, but at least in Kolkata various angling places are cutting down on the hooks.. I know of a place where you could use any number of hooks on the rods but this has been cut down to just 3... (Please understand that fishing here is still considered more as a means of getting food for the table rather than a sport)....
Also most places have stopped the use of chick-pea flour or "sattoo", which is the main ingredient to make the bait for catlas, as mentioned in Owen's thread...

Now the reason why people use so many hooks is because like I have mentioned earlier, the catla having a real big gob, it makes it nearly impossible to hook the bugger with a single hook.. Even if you do, you might foul-hook him, which is never a good thing..

Will send a sketch of the 2 hook up set-up that I use... Hope it can shed more light on this topic.

Also regarding people casting out the bait without any rod.. I have not seen this done in a long time.. Maybe in villages they still continue this practice, as they may not be able to afford good rods, but this is not the case here in Cal.. Try bringing in a 20lb catla with handheld line..
You will find your fingers on the ground in a little while..

Gavin for Hand casting Jhuppi just check out Robbys neck of the woods. Almost everyone does it and plays the fish by hand.
Why i have seen 50 lb mahseer landed on handline from Ontigundu and Mekadattu. Bola & Subban were experts at it, and so are most poachers.
Regarding the use of guitar wire, it was only a suggestion for use on a day trip, it would be prone to rust for sure, but it should last a day.

Had a feeling those "Jammies" were up to no good ... Get Robby on there case.. Am sure if they can set up angling clubs or associations, they can curb all this..

By the way how do you cast that Jhuppi out by rod? It certainly can't take the type of cast that you have seen us make with Ragi.

You cant cast the Jhuppi the way you cast your ragi balls..

This how we bongs do it:

You take out the required distance of line from the reel.. Then holding on to the line, you oscillate the entire bait like a pendulum, gaining momentum gradually... Once you have got the required momentum, you let it rip.. You can also cast out. (My Old Man does it and doesn't have a problem, you just have to be gentle) Its very much like the way you cast a spinner "under arm"..

Those who are good with their hands can master this fast

Thats like bowling underarm. Thanks pal but i will stick to swinging out a chilwa!