INDIANANGLER

Hello Everybody,
its my great pleasure to extend my Greetings to all of you .Its also very encouraging to see so many devoted anglers interacting on IA. This interaction will bridge the gap between the anglers from the South and those of the North.Now a bit about myself.
I was born in an Army setup and came to take to outdoor sports and shooting at the age of 6 in Ranikhet . Angling came later at about the age of 10 .Thereafter from float fishing in the Chandigarh Lake,we went out to Ropar and Bhakra and further and further .I myself joined the army and spent 25 yrs there.I fished where ever I was posted .
I then took premature retirement and came back to Chandigarh . after taking retirement I was a free bird, I spent 6 months fishing Chandigarh lake and then off to Ropar for 3 months followed by a good 13 yrs at Bhakra. I now fish the Yamuna,The Beas,the Sutluj and other smaller rivers.
I taught angling to many and in the last 2 yrs brought in sufficient angling equipment to be able to circumvent the trickiest of big fish. My main line today is Angling and I just love and cant do without this sport.I am not professional or commercial
It will be wonderful to come to know and interact with all of you.Till then Cheers!

Wecome aboard ... dont forget about broidging the gap between the West and East mate ...the best anglers are here mate

Welcome aboard

Sounds like you lead the anglers dream of an ideal life.One day i want to grow up and be like you .I am sure you have many interesting tales of fishing considering the fact that you must fished in locations we cant even approach(ie being in the army)

Tight lines

cheers
Phish

Hey there,
Fred I feel a little closer to East since I was posted there twice.I havnt been South of Bombay – thus the feeling of alienation from the South. For Rulerofsun –I am free –only bogged down with day to day chores-and the moment I am free we zip to one of our locations.For Mahaseerken -Yes I do take as much of fish as is required – Who was with u when we met at Bhakra - it will be good to remember.

Hi Ham,

Met at the boom. I sometimes come with Vijay from Delhi. But mostly I am there alone. Seen you camp the night on the slope. That's where I met you and your son I think.

How is that magic plug of yours?

cheers

Aaaaaaaargh!

Another one gone.

People just a few left. Take care of them please.

such a beauty, such a pity, such.....disbelief

indeed heading for a disaster

ever wonder why we have a common carp and not a "common mahseer" ? or even why there isnt a corpse for every notch on a bedpost ?

with a game fish as majestic and rare as the mahseer, the proof of the pudding is amply preserved in a quick photograph by the waters... and not in the eating.

game fishing and conservation seem like chalk n cheese. bite a little deeper and longer around here, ham. the only difference worth mulling about is the one you make.

Well put Yak!

The last thing I want a great mahseer to become is a burp.

man i havent even seen a masheer so far - hope there are some left by the time my chance comes.

John You better hurry. The way some people are going there won't be any left by the end of the month.

I think we have taken this mahseer extinction too far .Man was never so powerful so as to wipe out a species.There is mahseer in plenty and all over . yes they have decreased due to food sharing by other species , the control of waters and suchlike things but they are there and in plenty.All generations will see and fish the mahseer - We who have recently turned conservationists -because its the in thing these days have not really bothered to go into minute details. Way back in 1970 when I fished the yamuna - the challenge to hook Mahseer was the same as it is today. Pancheshwar was the same. Ganges was a comparitively better bet then.
I presume we all eat fish - and enjoy it . If u really want to take up the cause of this mahseer conservation take up some part of the river and I will teach u how to rear the fish there in millions .Its all perfectly legal and not like wildlife where u can’t keep any wild animal. Just had a talk with Dr Sahi (wildlife and Zoology Jammu) and my thoughts and ideas are in good order.
I would also like to state that data from Alaska fish and wildlife states that 50% of all hooked fish die. So maybe the conservationists need to now bring in legislations from the govt of India to ban treble hooks as also that single hooks be barbless.When I was a small child I had a fish tank at home and all the good looking fish I caught(carp family) in the chandigarh lake – were transported immediately to this pond. They would all die sooner or later .The one that lived the longest was a mirgal for about 14 days.Resident fish survived and bred –there was no problem about the water –its that hooked fish eventually die.
I worked to understand fish - their ways - its a lifetime spent on this .Give me any river and I will flood it with Mahseer in just 3 yrs have fish weighing upto 3 kgs there.But with that has to come protection- for local mafia always exists. And then there would be no worry about future generations not seeing the mahseer. Anglers at best take .1%(Point one) of all fish caught .So conservation would essentially mean getting to others who take the majority. The 1 inch net walas , the poison walas and so on. Last yr Jun Dadhupur was full of dead fish - apparently poisoned - it was a pain !
To end I would advocate conservation that we take what we need and can consume. We need to get more scientific in our approach to conservation .In a few days/weeks time I will post an article as to how we can have mahseer teeming our waters.
Please read “The rod in India by Henry Sullivan Thomas page 341 and realize that even in practical actually carried out and fishing by local anglers encouraged (with fish caught even allowed to be sold) the fish always grows in numbers .this was because there was no netting .This article is an eye opener.
I am in appreciation of all the comments I have received – after all we expect the Angling Lobby in India to be strong one day. Cheers…Ham
John u come down - I will get u to the Mahseer even in Dec Jan and Feb!

Hi, that magic plug which I made still works extremely well. Got an 8 kg grass carp in Bhakra this season (it was a proper take)and got about 5 trout on it in Banjaar. good wishes...ham

I have found as also what I read in books and from experts that the Mahseer spawns thrice a year.Apr to Dec you will find eggs in her.Some say they spawn in batches with limited no of eggs being laid but I have not found this to be so -I am working on it. This is now sure to me that she spawns thrice a yr. .This carp always has eggs in her .Other carps spawn once (unless we create artificial conditions) and thus I feel Mahseer has a greater rate of survival than other carp family fish. Pl consider this fact and corelate it to mahseer conservation.

Welcome to the forum..

Hi Hamdhingra

Its good to have a different view on the subject. I agree with you that mahaseer (and many other species) are disappearing not becuase there are too many anglers who do not release the fish they catch but because of the illegal commercial netting and all other illegal methods that you have mentioned. You know there are days when i dont catch a single worthmetioning fish even after spending many hours and using all kinds of lures/baits. And there i see a commercial fisherman winding his nets and taking hundreds of fish right infront of my eyes. Nevertheless, I believe that whatever is not needed must be released. But if that hook damage theory of yours is correct than there is no point releasing the fish anyway? I relaeased about 80 out of 100 trouts i caught this year. Wonder how many would have survived? I think we need to have some authenticated research on the issue.
As for mahaseer breeding thrice a year, i am not sure but i can say for sure that Common Carp (called Gulfam in Punjab) does breed twice or thrice a years. I think we are going to benefit a lot from your experiences.
Cheers
Sualeh

Sorry chaps,

I dont know what some of you may have to say to this, but I wouldnt want to even hook a masheer if I knew it were to die.

Food for thought........... if someone has a 50% chance of surviving (a hook up), would you not give it that chance ? (put yourself in a 50 - 50% chance of survival, what would you do? )

Food for thought.......... Tiny drops of water make the mighty Ocean. Can anyone deny this ?

For the record....Man is the main cause for extinction, either directly or indirectly.

Sualeh its good to hear ur views . I have had equally frustrating days -but it is these days that gets our mind working as to why did the fish not take. Many times the fish I release are hopeless but then I put them back as food for other fish. Rainbow tears more than the brown.if you are into fly fishing then many a fish will survive.The figures I gave u from Alaska fish and wildlife and my personal fish tank are all very accurate.In Bhakra recently the fisheries officer there has captured one inch nets by the tons and ignited them Hats off to him.In Bhakra this season our biggest was 5 Kg mahseer .it was not so that bigger ones are not there but they are v smart .It has been a pleasure to exchange views. Cheers...Ham

Welcome aboard Guruji,


Your entry to the forum was long awaited. I am sure we all will learn from your expertise!!!

Say, what about another one at lohan with Dipu, during this week or weekend ?


Harryxs.

Harry,
lohan canals were shut down for about 5 days .The same ol thing happened .All moved in and did a good job of finishing off all fish they could get hold of. God has his ways and so he let loose lohan Nalah which was in spate and it covered all the boulders our side. and a lot of fish went up lohan. So countless got away and the locals could not get to our lures which we loose - lets say 3-5 each trip . It will take atleast a week for fish action to recover - however the joy of spinning for 2-4 hrs and a good sweatout out there is pleasure enough. Just call me and I will be there...God Wishes...Ham

God! So much data on what to do and what not to do with your Mahseer!!! Yes, conservation is a must [ so is putting new Mahseer fingerlings in depleted waters] so that we build back the numbers and allow anglers to take 1-2 fish for the pot, while strictly conserving large females. Also, we anglers in north india have 0% percent influence on Mahseer conservation and policy matters effecting Mahseer waters. We are tiny in numbers and fragmented.

I do not see we ever having effect on things such as mass killings of fish in canals due to low water conditions/repair of canals in the near future. I remember Mr.Korla of HP Fishries ruing the fact if there are so many trout anglers in HP why is there poor growth in Trout Licenses??!!

India may not ever hunt but we do need a policy on sport fishing at MoEF level.

Bops, we could start writing. All IA members letters sent individually would atleast make them people aware that there is something called angling and we just happen to have one the greatest freshwater game in the world. They would come to know about the word "Mahseer".