INDIANANGLER

The point is that Murrel are lazy. They like to wait for prey or move around weeds, sunken trees, etc slowly. When they notice something they stalk and then attack with a burst of speed.

What you need to do is what IG is saying - Attract their attention. Waiting for one to bump into the bait is cool for the locals, they can leave their lines overnight. So think like a predator and stalk them. When you see one, cast close to it and get your lure/bait moving a bit. You should get a bite.

Yup, oppurtunistic predators. I've seen IG plonk a worm next to Mr.Murral who was going by with his hot date-the guy changed tack and took the bait with a splash I could see 20m away...3 + kg...sound advice all. Stick to the reed banks and troll/jig/spin Basically create a disturbance and leave a 'biryani trail' that he'll come looking for.You should do well with the mutton-only use some 'neon lights 'and 'radio FM' to let him know its there! Thats why IG and MK catch so many fish...
Best
Axx

And Turtles!!!!!

Thanks to you all for best tips.

2days b4 i went to same place by 4 PM i was stunned to see a head like anaconda just besides bank, popping out of water, at first i thought big snake but in seconds i judged it was big head 3-4kg Sour (sol)/Murrel, the head was brown black with 2 big eyes.

Dear all that day i casted 50 times, my hook with some lure fish, then changed to worm and small spinner then slowly taking it out. NO Luck

But this time i hv decided to play with Frog tying with hook as you guys suggested.

Also grasshopper seems to be a goo idea too.

Thanks again.

If i catch will post a pic surely.

Anoop

Best of luck Finebaba, do share your experience with us if you catch one.
Cheers
Sualeh

come to think about it all this talk about Sol/ Mureel being the ambush predator, IN Tarbella Dam built on the Indus River system the enviorment isn't suited to the ambush startegy as the entire dam area is viod of vegetation. trees etc....
These snake heads aren't indegnious to the area and were introduced by the contaractor to the area . Now they have grown to big sizes 5kgs plus and spell danger for the already endangered Masheer population. But very few anglers have managed to catch to them. Though u can see them off and on roaming the surfaces. What do u think can entice them ...........

Yeah, its wierd how no one is ever able to catch any snakeheads in Tarbella.

I doubt that the sowl would be the head of the food chain in tarbella, too many predatory mahseer.

The reason why the sowl is less aggressive in our part of the continent is because it gets to cold in winter, thus they become sluggish. Its the northernmost point of the murrel's range. In fact as Shaphan mentioned the murrel wasnt even found in the upper Indus until it was introduced.

In Sindh and even Central Punjab, where it does not get as cold, sowls are taken on lures quite often.

Ali,

ur quite rite there. Murel on lures is quite common in upper Pujab and sindh and many of my friends have caught sol on spinners and other lures but the Tarbela sol stil eludes us

Ali and Shaphan,
No worries, we will get them soon.
Cheers
Sualeh

Absolutely spot on IG, this is how i catch sol most of the time. And again you are right, mulley takes the bait most of the time. The advantage of using dolla/dolley is that its a very hardy fish and can survive the hook better than any other fish. Secondly, remeber that sol are cannibals.

Hi..

I have had success in hooking murrel with chicken gut..(Chicken intestine/fat). This is one of the best bet as bait as far as Murrels are concerned.

Finebaba, you can try this too next time.

Arokiaraj

Hi Arokiaraj,
These guys are right about the murral going very quiet in cold conditions. You will notice that here in the south, we too have a hard time spinning for them if the day is cold and cloudy.
I have seen a spinner going right past a murrals nose in such conditions and it never moved a fin. On the other hand, on a hot sunny day the same guy would chase your spinner from right across the pool.
Regards
Owen

Yes Sualeh Sb,

But teh important thing is that we have to plan a atrip to go and get them.

We can't do much sitting here....

Shaphan, little dolas are quite hard to get your hands on, especially in our beloved Potohar region. I heard Sheikh in Pindi sells them though. It would be a good idea to take some along on your nex trip to Tarbella. Dolas are also good livebait for mahseer.[/quote]

Ali/Indian Gypsy,

Ur rite I have also heard the same and as they are hardy fish they survive being transported and stay alive for much longer on the hook. Will try that the next time as well.......

And on any given day I would prefer spinning to any other form of fishing..

Hi Ali...... I think it has got something to do with fishing technique also. Almost all the people that i see on Rawal lake are using charai and targetting carps only. I know of few fishermen who regularly catch sowl and singhara (mostly with nets from various streams in Potohar). Mulley, well the water is perhaps too cold for mulley in Potohar.
You can find lot of mulley in Marala, Rasool Headworks and downstream.

Sualeh Sb,

I dont agree with the satement of the water in Potohar being cold thats why u dont get mulleys. Mulley is one of the fish that you get almost year around from Mangla and the water there gets quite cold. As for people fishing for carp in Rawal dam, the main reason is that there aren't any predatory fish in Rawal Dam. Masheer was the Apex predator in rawal dam, but the population has thined down close to non-exsitance.....

As for Masheer the Potohar belt was full with Masheer but unchecked poaching, commercail netting, loss of Habitat has killed off the population. The few spots where you can still catch Masheer are Tarbella, Warsak Dam, Chak dara and simbly dam.... Sanke heads are still common around the fateh jang belt in the small nullahs and rivers. You can also catch mulleys and Shingharas in the Indus near Attock, ( Gharayala, Fateh Mohammad). The strange thing is that though singharas and Mulley can be found and caught near attock which isn't very far from Tarbella, there population is non-existant in the dam ( Up stream).

Another factor is that most of the water Reserviors have commercail fishing going on and the contractors and fisheries department release carp related species in these places

By the way Ali, my boatsman at Tarebela caught a 5-6kg snake head lst weak [/quote]

Sualeh Sb,

I disagree. In my last visit to Rawal Dam we caught three mulleeys. Though they were very small. And not long ago when the Soan river ( the water comming from Rawal and Simbly dams) wasn't the drain that it is today we would catch good size mulleys all along the soan.

Similarly this season when I went ot visit a friend of mine who lives at the up stream part of the Jehlum ( B4 entering Mangla) mulleys were in abundance ( Colder water and no up stream movement of Mulleys). Its just that its not the most talked about fish in ths part of world as Masheer wwas the king

Ali I just spoke to an angler friend yesterday ( Quite an Aged Chap). He caught a 9 Kg mulley on worms from Mirpur ( Mangla) and his friend managed to catch a similar one as well and both were on worms. Although muleeys on lures are caught now and then (I caught when about 2 years back on a brass spoon), but the frequecy on bait is higher

Ali,

The snake head was caught on Chilwas. Its very strange for a place like tarbella the majority of the big fish are caught on live bait. This year the two bid masheer caught from Tarbella ( 15-17 Kgs) were caught on live bait

I have failed to catch anything on spinning and rarely heard any one catching anything while spining. Live bait is the order of the day @ Tarbella for Masheer, Common carps, eels and snake heads are all live bait thingz........

Hi Shaphan, Mahseer is the fish of mountaineous/semi mountaineous area. Its movement is downstream in winters and upstream in summers. Mulley is a fish of plains and its mov is upstream during summers and downstream during winters. It is due to this fish movement pattern that you find mulleys caught from potohar and mahseer from Gujranwala/Hafizabad (remember ahmed anwar baig caught a mahseer from hafizabad). I know people who have caught mahseer as low as sargodha during winters but that is quite rare and we cant say that Sargodha/Jhang is a mahseer country. The same is the logic for mulley. In case of dams like mangla, these fish were perhaps caught in the upstream waters before the const of dam and are now a natural inhabitant of the lake. But as far i know, growth of mulli in mangla is slower than the warm areas downstream.
By the way, mulleys and singharas are frequently caught on spoons/spinners in Marala. People angling for mahseer with a spoon/spinner normally land up with a mulley. This has happened with me many a times.
Regards
Sualeh

Shaphan,

The tiny mulley-like catfish in Rawal Dam are not mulleys, they are another species of sheatfish and they do not grow above a pound. I once caught a six inch one on a three inch spoon while trolling for mahseer!

Same with the little singhara-like tengras. Great fish the tengra, it was my favorite fish when I was a kid.

Sualeh Sahib,

I have a theory that singhara prefer spinners while mulley prefer spoons and plugs. I think singharas go for the vibration of the spinner blade whereas mullys like the rolling and swimming actions of spoons and plugs.

We certainly have to go to Marala to get some big mulleys. I think they'll take deep diving Rapala Shad Raps quite well.