INDIANANGLER

Murrel column has been dormant a month now guys!
Lets see some action soon... Senor MM, que tal ?

I've been sending scouts to locate 9 kg + murrel specimens . There are plenty of favourable reports. Having one photographed and weighed in a few months time should be the challenge
Yaj.

Some good locations are already identified.. right Yaj??

You bet!

Why 9 kg + Yaj? Is there something special about it??? Why not 10 kg +??
Just curious

Well because there has been some discussion before that murrels above 9 kg are a myth or something to that effect
http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.p ... highlight=
Regards,
Yaj.

The scum frogs and the slurpies have just come in . Preperations are on to hit Murrel. Lets see how it goes
Tight lines...Hamdhingra

eljefe,

Just stir up a bit of intrigue. In my last trip to Head Rasul on our way back saw murel/sol close to 10-15 kg sizes. Have already started a quest for them. Trying to gather info on the location of these awesome fish.

Lets c if can catch a few of them

If you get one of 9 kg +, I better apply for a visa mate! :)

Your welcome mate.

As Sualeh also mentioned in his earlier posts they are reports of Murel/Sol bigger than 10-15 Kgs as well.

Its just a quest finding out the spots where they are.

One of our friends was at Ganda Singh on the Pak-India Border where the ravi enters Pakistan. He caught 3 Sol 6-9 Kgs and 5 Rahu 5Kgs + Lucky Son of a ............

Will let u know when something turns up.

Now now Shaphan, we are all grown men here ( some little longer than the others ),

But do keep us posted on your Sol-searching

Sure thing Gavin

The man from the east who walks with 3 legs and two shoes ..... OMO ...thats our Cookie boy for you :)

Thats true Shaphan, Ganda Singh Wala downstream of Hussainiwala Headworks is a great fishing spot and 6-9 kg murrel are not uncommon. The only thing that its Sutlej River and not Ravi

Hi Yaj,

A myth I'd like to see broken. Looking forward to your posts in the near future regarding Monster Murral.

May the Force be with You,

Mighty Marlin.

Hey MM,

Hopefully anytime before May 08 you'll see one .. :)

Santosh

Good luck guys
Regards
Sualeh

Thanks MM. We are really going to go for this one.
Regards,
Yaj.

Hi Yaj. This might be of some interest to you (pic downloaded from internet). Guess how much it weighs??

Well considering the size of the fish in relation to his hands maybe about 4 kgs?

This is the IGFA record fish (16.5 lbs)

http://www.carpecarpio.com/giantsnakehead7kg-jfh.jpg
Regards,
Yaj.

Is it the IGFA record murrel?? I must have seen more than 10 sowls bigger than this one (all netted by commercial fishermen). I think this is one world record that one can hope to break anytime. Good luck in your quest for 9 kg murrel.
Regards
Sualeh

Yes Sualeh, apparently it is. I guess its a good record for us IA anglers to go for
Regards,
Yaj.

Good luck. Myself and Shaphan will also give it a try in coming summers. Is it? Shaphan

Anyone tried flies for marral? When mahseer can be fished with fly, why not?

I remember this question from another thread.

Yup sol take flies. As a kid my friends and I would catch grasshoppers and float them on the surface of the lakes at Old Fort and the Delhi zoo. Pretty good sport as I remember. the best part was that you could always see the sol creep up and then wham!. Visuals that are in my head forever.

I am sure they will take artificials too.

Though I have never tried a fly for sowl but I think Mahaseerken is right. They can be caught on flies. I have seen snakeheads eating moths floating on the surface in still waters.

Ken so do Carnatic carp and small mahseer

Owen!

Do the carp take flies down there. I have seen some great videos on catching carp on flies. Somewhere in Florida on the flats. They sell the trips as "CARP, the freshwater bonefish, on fly".

Ken, all the good books say that carnatic carp take flies, and i am quite sure they will. They are quite different from the rest of the carp family, and can also be found in pretty fast water.
I have often caught them on a spinner pretty close to the surface, so there should be no problem taking them on a fly. On the other hand i have seen guys with fly rods flogging the water in desperation trying to catch one

Damn fish just refuse to read.

Can anyone tell me the scientific name of Carnatic carp?
Regards
Sualeh

Barbodes carnaticus

Thanks Yaj

Your welcome!
I've read of carnatic carp being taken on vallisneria leaves floated along the stream.
Regards,
Yaj.

Thats interesting. You know Fishbase also mentions her feed as "Feeds on allochthonous fallen leaves and seeds". Thats not being very carnatic. Does this fish eat small fish or shrimps or other water insects??

Hi Sualeh,

I've caught Carnatic carp on small plugs. I forget the model now but they were by rapala and about 1.5 inches long. A friend of mine landed a couple of trout a few weeks earlier on the same plugs. So Carnatic do feed on small fish.

While fishing for mahseer, espcially in the evenings I've seen mahseer on many an occasion chasing small baitfish in the shallows among the rocks.... Always wished I had a fly rod with me, I'm sure they'd take a fly then. I know John Bailey has caught some Mahseer on fly on the Cauvery.... not very big fish though. About 10lbs was the biggest one taken.

Regards,

Mighty Marlin.

Thanks for the information MM. I haven't heard of carnatic carps in Pakistan. Must have been a good fish to catch. This also reminds me that Shaphan in one of the posts mentioned about common carp (called gulfaam in Pakistan) being taken on chilwas in Tarbela Dam, Pakistan. I haven't heard of common carps eating live fish from anywhere else. Perhaps it is this adaptability that makes them such a hardy species; capable of surviving in most parts of the world.
Regards
Sualeh

"Rod in India" says that most Indian carp become carnivorous when they grow large.

Regards,
Yaj.

Sualeh,
The name Carnatic has nothing to do with the eating/feeding habits of the fish, but more to do with the waters they inhabit - Carnatic carp are supposed to be endemic to most rivers of South India (in this case mostly rivers that flow thru Karnataka State).

Cheers,
Alexis

Sualeh, the Carnatic Carp is not found North of the Deccan, so its not present in Pakistan.

Thanks Alex, this clarifies the thing.
Cheers
Sualeh

Yaj! Conversely, many of the modern fishery experts believe that most of the major carps (Rohu, mrigal, Catla, grass carp, silver carp etc), less the species of common carp, become more vegetarian as they grow in age and size. Common carps, as I mentioned earlier, may feed on small shrimps/water insects and sometimes on small fish as well though mainly they also stay vegetarian. The juveniles of all these species, however, like to feed on water insects.
Regards
Sualeh

Yaj i have caught them at 250gm size on Mepps! and a 15lb carnatic on ragi ball. Even caught them on carrots, potatoes, chicken fat, tomatoes, beans, chapathis etc Anything left over that gets dumped in the river from the camps, attracts them in shoals.

They are good fighters and are sometimes mistaken by the uninitiated for mahseer. However they lack the trademark mouth, and the body shape is different. They have beautiful silver gold colouration, with not an ounce of flab, and are very different from the common carp.

Will post some pics after my next trip to the Kaveri, cannot fail to catch one!

Ah!! What a fish not to have in Pakistan