One of the few places left in the Himalayas of a 50 plus pounder is the Kali River on the Indo-Nepal border and nowhere better on the Kali than at the confluence of the Saryu and Mahakali at Pancheshwar in Champawat District of Uttaranchal. For mahseer addicts, this is a 'fix' beyond compare and certainly, there's nothing to do but return for a bigger one once one lands a good Pancheshwar mahseer. The other big plus is that this is the only river system with four mahseers- golden, redfin, copper and chocolate. And anything can happen.

One has the choice of fishing either a big springfed river- the Saryu or a big snowfed- the Kali. Since everything is big around here, so are the mahseer. The Saryu fishes well almost all year round as is usual with springfeds but the best time for the biggest fish is before they begin the breeding run in May-June and then after the run is over around September. Many fish choose to remain behind in the the larger pools of the Saryu and some go back to the lower drainage of the Kali. If one is looking to tangle with a 10 kilo plus mahseer, this is the place to test oneself and one's tackle. Since the fish are low in number and waters clear, we advise no more than 4 anglers at a time, to cover the best water in a given time.

There are other ways of fishing the Saryu-Kali, all of them on expedition basis to marked runs and pools away from the regular beats. Contact us for details or better still, book a session and find out.

 

Weather/climate
Summers in Pancheshwar area are 17-22 Celsius, day temperature reaches 40. Winter mornings are around 8-12 Celsius, day temperature around 25.

Clothing
For summers, t-shirts are good enough and combi-pants useful. Woollens are necessary in the winters but not thermal underwear.

 

 

Tackle
Rod: Carp rods do well- not only for being able to cast good distances but also for subduing fish without triggering off fresh 'hard rod' runs. Hard rods make a mahseer run in fast headshakes, this is bad for weak or weakened line. Some may consider multiple runs exciting, none will when there's the inevitable breakoff. A soft tipped pike rod or carp rods from 2.75lb+ test curve do good service. Carp rods are also good for baitfishing- the rigs involve large weights depending upon the spot being fished.
Do remember minimum recommended line strength for Pancheshwar Area is 20 lbs.

Reel: Big reel- fixed spool, 8000 or 10000 size, to carry 250mts of 25lb line. Multipliers to carry same line. Small reel- fixed spool, to carry 200mts of 15lb line.

Line: Always monofilament. Berkeley Trilene Big Game is a tried and tested make. Other good makes are Platypus(Australian) and Sufix. Wire leaders are essential when after goonch.

Bait: Livebait is supplied. Best game happens on plugs and rubberbaits, the more natural ones are best. Plugs in firetiger, rainbow trout, brown trout, baby bass and black/silver patterns are good, all in 4-8" size. A long cast is essential at all times in the best pools hence the plugs need to be a little on the heavier side. Bring floating divers for fishing rapids and deep divers for pools.
Spoons: the noblest way to go for mahseer. Abu Toby and similar are old killers in full chrome, hammered brass and hammered copper colours. Other good makes are Luhr Jensen Krocodile, Gibbs Koho, Raider, Sniper and Abu Pike.

Flyfishing
Rod- Essentially a rod for throwing big streamers and flyspoons a long way. In some places a 6wt with shooting heads makes the distance while on the Kali a big 12 weight may fail. 10' 2piece rated for 12 weight line.
Reel- to carry 300yds of 30 lb backing under 12weight floating line for rapids, sinking line for pools. A spare spool is a good idea.
Flies: For big mahseer, big flies are essential. All big salmon flies work. Tube flies and brassbottles are good. We've had good success using the Temple Dog variations but the best flies are tied by us. These are the Raj-era Alexandra and Coachman triple hook flies. When fur and feathers fail, just ask your gillies to rig up some flyspoons. If the Victorians considered it fair game for mahseer, so do we.

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