INDIANANGLER

I have mentioned in some previous posts that I want to go out murrell fishing in Hyderabad…especially after looking at the pics our Hyderabad team has been posting. And this time, I was able to realize this.
I contacted Arish who helped get me in touch with other team members and also helped plan the entire activity. He introduced me to Basharath and Shadab; who in turn introduced me to two senior anglers…Shadab’s father and Lin. Pls note Shadab’s father played the crucial role in my rebirth ; - for details just read through.
After lots of to and fro messages starting from Delhi, it was decided that I will bring my rod and tackle for snakeheads. This being first air travel for my fishing rod, I recalled what Sam and Dhruv had told me about it and ensured everything was ready. Keeping the Delhi experience in mind, I packed in the frogs and as precaution spinners for murrels…this helped me because the water was more suitable for spinners than froggies…
After landing, Arish introduced me to Basharath, Shadab and Lin, from where these guys took charge of the situation and plan was made out to go Saturday afternoon. On the fateful Saturday, Basharath picked me up on his bike and we went to Shadab’s place; all the time that we were weaving through the traffic, ofcourse we discussed fish , how does murrel behave, what is the right season for them, how they guard their kids etc. Upon reaching Shadab’s place we loaded our stuff in his car and there I met Shadab’s father, Grp Cmdr Kalim. Without any other significant event, we went to pick up Lin…and ofcourse Shadab took the longer route as was pointed out by uncle (his father). And after picking up, at last we were on the way to Location X.
Since we were going in afternoon, I was worried that we would reach late and will have a very short time to fish, however, these thoughts were soon lost in the beauty of the countryside. Needless, to say, the area around Hyderabad is still untouched by commercialization and the beauty of this was worth looking at again and again, Now I realized why Arish wanted me to take the camera along with – which I had not brought with me. Around 430 PM we reached the spot where we parked the car and walked for 5-10 mins to the spot. Though the water level was high contrary to the earlier gathered intelligence, we decided to try our luck there. I had assembled my rod when we parked the car with the frog, but on reaching the place realized that spinners will be more effective due to the water speed and low clarity. Three casts with the mepps long cast aglia, I caught my first MULLEY. I was surprised enough to get something so fast and when it came out was excited to see a small mulley at othe end of the line. This was the opening catch for the group. However, we did not catch anything for next few minutes and I decided to move a little further from the group towards the side where Kalim uncle was fishing. Having noticed that his spinner had got caught in the rocks and the way to retrieve was to swim and free it up, I was considerably careful.

BUT, it got stuck on my second cast on the changed spot and was at quite a distance. I decided to get into the water after consulting uncle who was approx 25-30 meters away from me. I got down in the water and immediately explored the bottom and realized that water is really deep there. I tried to get out but was unable to initially due to the slippery boulder and lack of any hold, but managed to get out with help of the water pump tube that some villager had put in there. This should have told me about the things to come. But since I was wearing my fav superman t-shirt, I decided to give it another go and I stepped on the slippery non-visible boulders to retrieve my spinner and did not realize that I had moved from one boulder to another while wading through the water.
On the second boulder I realized that the spinner is still far off and the water current has some nasty personal plans for me. That’s when I called out for help to uncle since turning back was becoming an issue. Uncle promptly came over and also realized that the water here was way deeper than on the side he was fishing. But he knew how to swim and came over to the boulder I was on. Now with uncle by my side and my amazing superman skills I decided to turn back and jump to the 1st boulder. Well my flight was halted by the krypton boulders and I promptly landed between the two boulders and responded to it angrily by sinking. Since the sinking was not lifting my mood, I decided to entangle myself in the line and ensure fish have sufficient food for few days to come. And guess what – some small fingerlings did explore me out. How sweet of them to offer company in water, must appreciate that fact.
On seeing my actions and reactions, uncle jumped in and tried to push me on to the 1st boulder. By that time I had decided “panic” is also a good companion and tried to introduce it to uncle by trying to drag him down with me. However, the NDA and commando training of uncle interfered and he gave me two solid pushes and pushed me on to the other boulder where the water was approx 3-4 feet. I must say that I still insisted on floundering in water and remaining submerged; all of which uncle ignored and pulled me up to my feet. Now, I must admit that I now truly know the meaning of “Fresh sweet air in my lungs”. With my head above water, a new perspective of life became available and I heartily endorsed it and managed my way out of water without any further incident. By this time rest of the team finding us missing in action was looking for us. Thanks to everyone for not taking my happiness there, and supporting me at that time…not that I was bawling or anything…superman t-shirt guys…don’t forget.
It was decided that this site is not fruitful…ehhh ask me again, we decided to move to another spot nearby where I was assured that they have never gone back empty hand. We drove/walked over to the next place. Meanwhile the rain god had decided to attempt wash off some of my super intelligence and see if something can be done about me after all these years. Moral of the story – never give up on someone. And I appreciate that fact.
On reaching the next spot we selected our areas and started spinning. 2nd cast and I got my 2nd mulley of the day. Now catching mulley has always been my dream, infact I have even bought steel leaders cos someone told me about their sharp teeth and steel leaders being the only way to get them out. Anyways, out comes the 2nd mulley and I swing it towards the land, it promptly jumps off the hook and goes in hiding between the gaps and holes in the boulders. Not disheartened by this, I decided to do what superman would do in this situation – save other fish from drowning. And then I seriously got into it even though it was getting real dark and I had been told about snakes and scorpions in the area. The place was ripe for picking and soon I had another mulley. Seemed like mulley land…though all were in the range of ½ kg to 1 kg.
Looking and hearing at the fish splashes around me, I knew there are big ones around and I started targeting the area in a methodical manner. This resulted in a big fish getting caught. Due to the low visibility, I was not able to see the fish and assumed I had caught a big mulley…dream about to come true. Imagine my surprise when the fish gave me a decent fight for approx 5 mins and with some difficulty I managed to make it climb the small rocks around me – all the while thinking that I had caught a huge mulley. When I was about to kiss the fish, I realized it is missing its whiskers and is looking to me more like eat me right now. I had caught my hyderabadi murrel. I promptly called Basharath over his cell ( we were really spread out) and voice guided him to my spot, where we bundled the fish in the keep net.
Few more casts, few more mulleys, losing the spinner in darkness was fun beyond description. All those who have been to Hyderabad will understand the rugged beauty of the place with huge boulders and greenery around you. Anyways, it was almost 8 PM and we decided to call it a day…ignoring the pleas of the fish jumping around and splashing to all their worth. On rejoining the entire group, I realized we had collectively saved lots of mulleys from drowning . Remaining will be saved next time.
To keep the long story short, we went to a dhaba on the highway and got the murrel cleaned and cooked. Having not eaten anything since morning (only a sandwich and a glass of juice), I ate everything that I could.
Since we were not carrying the camera, we took pics on camera of the snakehead caught…will be posting them once I am back home today

Thanks to Arish, Shadab, Basharth, Kalim uncle and Lin…I had a great outing and experience of my life. I caught mulley, murrel and was saved from drowning...all in one day. Thank you guys for making this trip a success and a memorable one, you are definitely going to hear from me when I come next in August.

Arish, Shadab, Basharath - in case I missed something, pls add.

No mention of Lin's catch's, he would have caught a good number.

A very thrilling report.

Wading in the unknown water is always a risky business, specially if there are boulders and rocks involved.

Good that you had company at that time. Utmost care should be exercised while in such kind of situation.

It was fun reading this report. Some very exciting narrations.

Congratulations also for your Hydrabady Murrel and Mallies.

Regards,

Ali.

Good fishing, hyderabadi murrel/mulley gang is rocking. MM waiting to see the pics.

sharing a thought ... knowing how to swim is always a good thing for anyone. U can save yourself as well as others in situations. however for anglers, since they spend so much time near water bodies i think its a must. Not that knowing how to swim will make one invincible in water but still. And yes it is never too late to learn. So guys who dont know how to .. why dont we give it a shot at the neighbourhood pool, Trust me being near water will be even more fun !
Someone had written in this forum (i think fredfish), about a similar incident and advised not to go fishing alone. This incident also reiterates that fact i Guess ... never fish alone !

nice report mate, good read. thanks for sharing.

cheers !
Samit

Good read my friend !! I sure will not get into the water for a spinner or lure anymore until I learn swimming !! :)

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1st pic has me (superman), Shadab and Lin.

Yes Ijahtnas, Lin caught several mulleys that day...the biggest mulley ofcourse was caught by him. He was very helpful and told me about several of his expeditions at cauvery. He was kind enough to call me next day as well and tried to arrange another outing for me with some of his friends and as well called me for his hash run as well - which I went for.

Thanks to him, I was able to explore and experience this wonderful place.
In total I think (we did not count), the group caught around 15 fish that evening.

Good photos MM, think superman with murrel is the best of the lot..

Regards,

Ali.

Nice report MM,u covered from A to Z.u can do a part time job as a content writer

hope next time when u come in august u will be a gr8 swimmer and a saver.

even though i know swimming i always carry a life jacket along with me thanks to salim bhai who advised me to do so.

Congrats to all of you for the murrel caught. Thnks for sharing the pics and happy fishing.

Thanks Ali bhai & Spoonangler. :)

Basharath - Next time when I am there...that life jacket is mine

thats a beautiful Hyderabadi murrel mate !

congrats and thanks for sharing the pics

cheers!

Congratulations on your wonderful trip to Hyderabad and the tryst you had there.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the writeup. Like Ali said the best pic is superman with mulley. I vote ditto.
I thank god you had kalim uncle next to you, getting tangled in line underwater can kill fish who breathe underwater. we can't stand a chance. Samit is right. everyone must learn swimming and incident my uncle once narrated to me about swimming and how he felt it wasn't really necessary for him to learn but he did, and one day in nainital there were heavy rains which flooded the area in a matter of minutes and he could save himself and his newly wedded wife on their honeymoon..... See he never knew swimming could save not only his life but the life of a loved one. I sincerely urge you and every angler to learn swimming. If not your own you can definitely save someone Else's life!
MM I'm glad your alive. I can continue reading and enjoying your posts.
Your narrative is real real impressive as its real hilarious and comic, still explaining the seriousness of the situation you went through in a subtle manner for the likes of me who find it difficult to comprehend the language. None the less. I can understand the seriousness. Better learn swimming or buy a life jacket before you go to the water again, (sorry I'm presuming you don't know how to swim). If you do know how to swim and you still went through the ordeal then I guess I need a life jacket before I head to the water again. I know you might feel i'm harping about swimming too much, sorry if you do but I feel its important I do. My father has been a man at sea for over 35years. There have been many an instance people have lost their life! in a fraction of a second. Life may give you second chances but death takes it all away..... I trust many anglers like myself will take your experience as a lesson and exercise caution in their future endeavors.

Cheers once again! Congrats to you!
Cheers to Arish, Shadab, Basharath, Kalim uncle and Lin for being gracious hosts and helping you out with your trip to hyderabad, it is a big thanks to these people and the likes of these people the sport called angling doesn't die.

Cheers guys! Thanks for sharing

Regards,

Super Congrats to the Superman who nearly drowned trying to hook the Hydrabadi Super murrel

Super Salutations to Commander Kalim for the Heroic Act [smilie=superkewl.gif]

Enjoyed reading your honestly detailed report Mohit next time you go fishing just wear a life jacket and put a superman sticker on it instead of your fav t-shirt

once again congrats to the whole team & thanks for sharing your experiences
wishing all happy & safe fishing

Great Trip guys… I hate myself for not going out for fishing during my 2 year stint in HYD…. Anyways… planning a trip there in Aug …. Mr Old Man MM would be there with me… looking forward to meet the HYD gang…

Awesome Pics.. tight Lines

SR

@ Omesh - Thanks for the wishes...I don't know how to swim...am planning to buy a life jacket now. Uncle was definetly a life saver that day
@ Lion - Thanks buddy... am designing my new superman getup

Super Murrel, Super Pic n Super trip Mohit aka SUPERMAN RETURN

Im very glad that you have enjoyed upto the limit , I Thanks ALMIGHTY for giving you the wonderful company and a wonderful luck, and also to Basharath, Shadab bhai, Kalim Uncle and Lin for making it the real success for Mohit.

I really missed meeting you all on that day

Insha Allah! next time we will surely meet up no matter what even if i had to crawl


Although I have got the account of the trip from both MM n Basharath I would like to congratulate once again to the whole team.

Heard that you guys had real fun cooking murrel in Dhaba Not to mention MM's overjoy, when I asked Basharath - was Mohit happy after he caught the murrel and his quick reply was :"Khub khush, Laddua Bangaya"

Like Samit and Omesh i too once again request that you should learn swimming well. When next time you are visiting Hyderabad what can we call you "SUPERMAN RETURN" or "SUPERSWIMMER RETURN"

Our sincere respects and thanks to Kalim Uncle for his Bravey!


Yes you have missed something! the trip planned well by me for sunday action, i can understand your reason for not making it to the way, but my uncle called me to let go for he had already arranged the meeting with the locals. So we both went alone in a scooter taking with us 20kg of rice husk to be goundbaited... rest of the story will remain secret

Congratulation once again and Thank for sharing

Tight Lines and Regards
Arish!

Arish

This discussion is like a temptation so do not be surprised to find me knocking your door one day and dragging the complete hydrabadi gang towards your secret fishing spots.

Regards,

Ali.

PS. On a serious note, I would love to meet your Kalim uncle and the rest of the gang so in case any of you is in my part of wood, just give me a buzz.

Let him do my contents writing task which accounts for 25% of my work to save my time for fishing

BTW thank for your generous help when i could not make it on saturday for Mohit...

Thanks and Regards
Arish!

Not Possible



We will surely bag the entire stock if ever get a chance...

Thanks and Regards
Arish!

??????........

Oh yes, thanks for reminding me Arish, apologies for not making it on Sunday...got stuck. Thanks so much for being there and contacting everyone for the trip. Next time is definitely catla time

Sure...

hey bud...exciting story, glad you didn't end up as fish bait

@MM
This sat we got total 9 mulleys.i got 2,uncle got-6,and shadab bhai-1,there was no murrel even though we tried on the spot where u got the murrel.any way we missed u and uncle was also feeling bored as ther was noboday to be saved

Don't take them away, free them for me

did not i told u there are good stock of cat fish available!!!




me too missing U! damn boring week without you!

@ Bobby : thanks buddy. On fish bait: u should have seen the way those small ones flocked around the place i was bleeding a little after banging my leg on the boulder. These small ones were really serious.

@ Basharath & Arish: save some for me. I will be back in August.

Wouldn't wearing a life jacket be easier...just being lazy...I agree with you that this is something that all of us, specially me, must learn.

You bet, once is enough for a lifetime...

That murrel came especially for me....it was my lucky day afterall... Now the next one will come when I am there in August.

can someone please enlighten me with the difference between a mulley and a murral?

Here are the pics...though I am sure that you have seen these earlier...from my prespective, murrel or snakehead is tasty and I am yet to taste the other one...

http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.p ... ght=mulley

http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.p ... ght=mulley

http://www.indianangler.com/viewtopic.php?t=2796

OK, mulley is bright silverish in color, has whiskers and the body is more like a big knifefish...
Murrel does not have whiskers, has patterns on body (check one of the posts by Jeen...had beautiful patterns on it...almost egyptian ). Depending on the location may have varying color patterns...If I am not wrong, there are 9 types of snakeheads...Not sure if mulley has different types...

ok...got it!! silver for the mulley and green with patterns for murral. are they both from the catfish family? i have Google references for the murral as snakehead, but none for mulley.

Mully is called Wallago Attu or Boal in Hindi / Bengalee. Search with Wallago Attu.

Mohit, Lin caught a Murrel last friday from the same pools and Dad lost a pretty big Murrel last saturday. It didnt hook properly and one charactestic Jhatka from the fiesty fish had the spinner flying out. BTW dad found a new pool full of Murrels further north from where you where fishing. Hope we dont clean that pool before you retun
And i almost forgot to mention that i forgot the keys that night in the boot and closed it with all doors shut, me and Basharath had to really think out of the box to get the keys out else just imagine what we would have done in the wilderness
- Shadab

One wilderness I would love to stay back in...barring the scorpions and snakes though and fish whole night

Don't do anything on that pool...leave some for me...I will be back in August to take care of them with you...keep Lin away from it :D:D

Hahaha Nobody can stop Lin from catching his beloved mistresses from Hyderabadi waters, he is the undisputed king of Murrels (read devourer) in Hyd (Though a few may disagree )

@ Bobby: Here are some details that I found on net...
Family Siluridae
Distribution: Europe and Asia. Dorsal fin rays usually less than 7, when present. No spine before dorsal fin. No adipose fin . Pelvic fins small or absent. Anal fin base very long with 41-110 rays. Nasal barbel absent, one or two pairs of barbels on lower jaw, and maxillary barbels usually elongate . Maximum length of 5 m reached in Silurus glanis, with 330 kg . This European species may enter brackish waters.The family Siluridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Siluriformes. It contains 12 genera and 100 species. It may be found in Freshwater environments and is primarily Primary freshwater. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are guarders . The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is gymnotiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the upper Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 60° n to 8° s and 6° w to 142° e. Etymology of this family name : Latin, silurus = a kind of fish. 1555

Habitat
Found in large rivers , lakes and tanks . A large, voracious and predatory catfish which thrives in heels with grassy margin [1]; mostly hides under holes in river banks and canals[2]. Associated with deep, still or slow-flowing water with a mud or silt substrate[1]. Sluggish and stays on muddy or silty bottom in search of food.

Diet
Juveniles feed mainly on insects; adults feed on smaller fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Destructive to other more valuable food-fishes.

Reproduction
Abundant during the warm season ; a pre-monsoon summer breeder.

I agree... maybe we should tell him that he has to leave a quota for us to catch

Dont make me jealous!!!!

@mohit

I dont think when u return in august the pool will be in the same condition because of the rains,i think they will join wit each other making a big pool.

You are right, there will be joined by that time...lets see what we manage then...am very interested in catching those huge mulleys

Moral of the story:

Safety First....

and to have right people with you

Nice report indeed. Thanks for sharing.

Here is the latest pic from my recent Hyd trip...was a last minute trip and hence not planned completely...there are some more pics with Kalim uncle in it...are in my mobile, yet to be uploaded...

I'm glad SOMEONE is getting some action!! Looks like a NICE size fish...details?!

This was at the same location we went to earlier...this was my 1st decent sized mulley and helped me understand the difference in fights between murrel and mulley. It took the spinner and gave two runs in different directions...all the time in going downwards...with help of Kalim uncle's gaffing skills we pulled it out. It weighed approx 3 kgs and was almost 3 ft in length (I may be wrong here...did not measure the length, though the weight was).