INDIANANGLER

If you want to catch huge catla fishes you must use this bait.

Ground Bait: butter & Mustered oil cake mixed
Hook Bait: Bread, Elachi Powder, Honey, Ghee

Then add some ants egg

use just 1 hook or 2 hook setup with feeder rig...

i dont mean to generalize this method but i have had success with the feeder plus the pop-up rig on catla. i also noticed that catla are more active during summers alone.

tightlines
mchishi

4 to 8 hooks ???? Dude, you can catch the fish with a two hook set up.. Jhuppies are a very sad way of catching the fish and in most cases you are going to foul hook the fish.. I would elaborate on this but as most Bong anglers would know, when you use Jhuppie, you invariably will hook the fish under the mouth or at the side of it.. Not to mention if the fish breaks your line (and I have seen this happen several times), it dies a very slow death due to starvation..

I remember an instance wher,e in one of the lakes, a dead katla was found floating on the surface of the water.. When the locals brought the fish to shore, it was a monster.. It tipped the scales just shy of 35kgs.. This fish, mind you, died of starvation.. And how ? There were a set of Jhuppies (6 hooks) that had sealed its mouth.. Some crappy angler couldn't manage the fish and in all probability it broke the line only to find a worse fate...

Am sorry if I come on a bit strong, but that's my opinion...

BTW, you recipe is good and I have seen a lot of people use it..

Tight Lines, my friend,
GRC

Nice post Gavin. Totally agree with the Jhuppie hooks being an irresponsible way of angling.

But i guess many people do not follow responsible angling practices, and its hard to explain it to them. Many believe that if a fish got away, the fish will live no matter how much it is damaged or how it is hooked.

@biltu- y sand??wat is reason to use sand dude?

@mchishi- i have some doubts reg pop up...
Do we need any cent or attractant for pop up?or simply cork can be used as just float as a bait?

the hook bait is the most essential:

use sattu laddu bait or sooji laddu bait with special multiple hook rigs..

Dear Biltu,

Is there any dire and absolute need for using 8 hooks to catch a fish ??


Tight Lines,
GRC

If the tackle is good, there is no need for multiple hooks... Guys, please dont use multiple hooks even if you are fishing for pot, because if the line snaps during a fight, what Gavin mentioned earlier will happen... Using a single hook is the best way to angling/fishing...

The average Bengal angler's mindset is a little different to other anglers.
I don't mean any offense towards anybody but i shall try to explain.
I have been away from the angling scene for long time and one of the main reasons I came out of retirement was this forum.
I have started fishing again and this time round I'm making it a fair fight.
It is easy catching a Catla or Silver on a 6 to 8 hook Jhupi.(been there done that) Most of the hook bait here in Bengal is pretty much the same with little variations, but I have found recently that Suji works wonders.
In Bengal there are not many places that practice Catch & Release.
Angling in Bengal is paying 500 to 1000/- per day on what they call a pass lake. Here you find 30 to 40 Anglers battling, often less that 5ft from each other. In this sort of scenario Its all about catching fish any way you can.
I have been to 4 such pass lakes since my return, only using Feeder rigs sometimes with pop ups. On the first three outings I scored what Bengal anglers fondly refer to as DANDA.(Zero). When the teams next to me were dragging in 2kg Silver carp sometimes hooked in the belly I was tempted to return to the tried and tested approach but I didn't.
On my last trip I got a couple of Mrigal on the feeder rig, nothing large but I am happy that Im on the right track.
To all my Bengal brothers please give the fish a chance! and if you are not using a spinning reel please try one at least.

Regards Ashim.

Nice post Ashim, deep respect!

one hook is enough to catch fish, what was the logic in using 8 hooks, next will come a post of catching fish with 12 hooks. when will it end?

The original idea was to provide a much larger bait with all the baits on each hook being rolled into one ball. It always ran the risk of morphing into a foul hooking method and has done so. It is much better to use a method feeder to concentrate hook bait and a large attractive ball of bait in one place. Incidentally, I am a Bengal angler but have never subscribed to the theory that the object of angling is landing fish any old how! I use one hook normally and very rarely two hooks (when I am using the traditional Bong method).

Ashim, just using a spinning reel isn't the thing. I use spinning, multiplier, fly reels, each as is appropriate to the method I happen to be using.

All the best

Lakhyaman

Obviously you do not fall in the average bracket. My words were directed at those anglers from West Bengal who still use 1:1 conventional reels, with brutal tactics. Since you do not, good on you.
Most of the angling done in West Bengal is lake fishing and a fixed spool reel is adequate.

Regards Ashim.

I agree with ASHIM. But if the angler wants to throw the sattu-bait to a pretty good distance(nearly 30-40 metre or more)he has to use minimum 6 big hooks.Because the sattu bait is mainly dust and 6-8 hooks can tightly hold it.

@Subhadip You are right about the ladu being as dry as possible so that is creates a cloud of particles quickly, but a properly made Feeder Rig is capable of holding the same mix.

KATLA'S BAIT :
gram Powder and corn powder Mixed (50:50)
Aromatic Cooked rice
Coconut Milk
Pure Ghee
Sweet (Sugar or any Sweets)
Coconut oil
Some Elachi, javitri and methi paste (dont use much)
COCONUT DUST
FENNEL SEED
KANGLA

Just to add on what Ashim posted:

A couple of months back, I had visited a public lake with a good friend of mine..

While everyone in the lake was fishing with a three rod set up and more, with a minimum 6 hook per rod set up, I settled down with a two rod-two hooks per rod set up.

While they threw baits one size smaller than the Allies gift to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I was contented with my smaller baits..

While the others sneered and laughed at my approach, I sat under a mild sun and enjoyed the clear country air..

While the others caught fish that would fit in the size of my palm, I reeled in a 3.5kg katla.

While everyone slogged under the midday sun to recover the money invested in catching fish, I slept under a banyan tree while my friend had a dip in the lake.

While I went home happy and contented, their were cursing having paid so much money for nothing..

Dear Ashim - while I agree with you on so many points, however them Bong anglers trying to justify their 8 hooks set up just because they spend 500-1000 bucks a day for fishing, I don't agree.. It would be easier for them to go to the market and buy the fish for a lesser price.

But then that's my opinion...

Tight Lines,
GRC

I totally agree with you Gavin but what I failed to mention is, pride, ego, bragging rights, what ever you want to call it, plays an important role in the thinking process.

Regards Ashim.

@ Ashim - I agree with the bragging rights and ego playing a part, but I guess its more to do with mentality then anything else.. Most of the anglers I have seen and met are very suspicious of others and even more jealous when their counterparts catch a fish.. The name of the game as far as they are concerned is "more hooks, more chances of catching a fish"..
I find it a pleasure in catching fish in front of such anglers and running their noses into it .. Sadistic, isn't it

@Subhadip - Let me have the privilege of sharing a bank side with you and I shall attempt to cast a laddu bait on a two-hook set up to a distance on par of the other anglers.. I have done it a couple of times, and am confident that I can do it again..

Once again, I am not trying to step on people's toes here but just trying to put across my opinions..

Tight Lines,
GRC

@gavin.... casting with hand against casting with rod....not fair

single hook or multiple hooks matters only when we practice catch and release. here in bengal , nobody is catching fish to release it back. moreover in case of line break, single hook is equally fatal.
for sattu bait multiple hooks is a must to hold it together otherwise why would anglers go through the pain of broken thumb nails.

Us Bong anglers will spend a 1000 bucks a day to fish, but we won't invest in a decent rod and reel.. we are happy driving our Ambassadors around, if you know what I mean

With regards to line-breaks, it will happen 99 times out of a 100 in our Bong special set up, because there is no play for the fish, as compared to a casting rod and reel..

On a personal note, I haven't lost a fish through a line break since the last 10 years thanks to the casting set up. Am not sure if that would be the case if I had used the primitive set up that most anglers here in Bongland use.

Also most lakes across Bongland are banning the use of the laddu bait because of various reasons, and I believe that its a step in the right direction and I fully support it.. Lets see how many people can catch catlas without the laddu and call themselves Ustaad..

BTW, Peter aren't you also using a casting set up


Tight Lines & Screaming Drags,
GRC

This post seems interesting.

I had gone through this situation once. I had bought a three hook jhuppi rig just for the sake of keeping different types of rigs.
I was fishing in a govt pond (angling restricted) and was catching a lot of small fish for a year. I heard that there were a lot of big rohus and catlas there. I decided to use that 3 hook jhuppi (we call it bardhaman kata). I simply used bread as bait and covered those three hooks with the bread bait. Within minutes of casting the bait with the hooks the reel was screaming. I set hooks on the fish properly with a good fight. Later when i retrieved the line the fish turned out to be a very big turtle. I couldnt take the hooks out of that turtle and had to cut the line. Later i felt so bad that i promised not to use multiple hooks for fishing.

Guys,

Here is one nice story from my side,
In my vicinity I worked hard to form an angling association with local anglers,
We took a big lake on lease...introduced some nice no of fishes,
I have tried to convince the others regarding catch and release, cheap carping outfits, clean ground-baits and baits,

I was frustrated only to find out that members are catching every single fish and taking them home,
They fish with their friends alongside...in a members only pond,

I quit carping in frustration...vowed never to fish for carps again,

Sometimes I go back in that lake to practice my cast, improving my shoulder and all.

This is my story with bong anglers,

Everyone from bong brethren...take initiative to educate these people
See if you can make a little difference at least...unlike I failed big time

Regards,
Saiki

Apoo,

Those hooks are really made in Bardhhaman district in west bengal

Saiki

guys, instead of thanking Mr Biltu and Mr Subhadip for their invaluable contribution and disclosing such close guarded secret recipes, we are pointing fingers on their personal fishing methods. i believe its ones own personal choice how to go about it. moreover transition from traditional methods to modern methods can only be inspired when newer methods can manage to catch more fish(which i seriously doubt with all those numerous secret recipes floating all around) . so what is the solution to reduce the agony of the lost fish ?
from my observation most of the fish are lost due to line-break and it happen because of the fact that anglers here seldom use more than 10-12lb line (longer cast requires thinner line). so on our part the best we can do is is to show them that .30mm mono having 20lb strength are available in the market . i believe they will readily accept this suggestion since it will give them a better chance of landing the fish(i have already converted quite a few old timers)

I love to use bread bait(sada top).because its easy to use, requires less money(compared to sooji/sattu), u can use minimum 2 hooks easily, and after all it dosen't effect the pond water...