Hi Bops,
finally figured out the image thingy.. thanks
Ken,
Thanks for your response. Yeah, it looks pretty similar to the one in the picture, but had a mild-yellow hue on the dorsal and pectorals. The other two were definetly croakers, now that you mention it. The first chap i landed one, it started croaking and completely freaked me out... i didn't know they could be so loud. The catfish was a pain, i was wary of the spine(s), especially after what my brother tells me about them.
YB,
True...Way too many techies

. I wish I did something soulfully-constructive as trumpet playing.... heck, nevermind, we have fishing and the outdoors for now
Beemorein, Jeen,
Thanks, proud to be a part of this forum (finally)
Vinayak,
Not sure about the technical details...still a newbie you see... I used decent sized hooks...and a good Tiger Rod. Perhaps Derek can give you those details (I bummed off his equipment

)
For bait, I used Prawn which where dredged by the local fishermen. They are called Satlu in local parlance and the fisherfolk are excellent people and will give it to you for nothing.... you might have to compete with the local fisherboys though

. Alternatively you can use rock crabs or barnacle meat to fish... but Praws work the best....
You can spin of the rocks too...but the resident fisherman, Muhammed, says that its not a very good idea, this season, as the waves are really rough and the water is muddy with all the water running off the ghats due to the monsoon. Theres no sunlight too. And he is right, hours of spinning and achy arms, did not even generate a single splash...
Arokiaraj,
Gokarna is a small pilgrim town close to Karwar/Kumta. Its a beautiful place with pristine (atleast used to be that way) beaches. Its a great place for some peace-time. Good place to take a few books, a good bottle, a few good smokes

and now your rods n reels...
Look it up on the internet...
If you are going there somtime soon, stay over at Namaste German Bakery. They charge about 400 bucks for a simple room and have decent food... contact me if you want their tele-nos.