Golden or yellowfin and redfin mahseer (Barbus tor putitora
and Barbus tor tor )
Both species inhabit our waters. While the Golden or putitora
mahseer can be found in snowfed and springfed rivers, it is rare to
encounter the Redfin or Tor tor outside springfed waters. Depending
upon the location and season, mahseer will keep all anglers happy whether
they spinfish, flyfish or baitfish. The smaller ones are the most obliging
and hit-happy but once you get through the brats, you can have a go
at the big ones that lurk nearby.
Specimen mahseer fishing is a matter
of timing and planning. Spinning is the traditional way of mahseer fishing
and gives good results but the best way of getting into numbers and
sizes are to prebait a location and fish it intensively. Best fish caught
by team was an 88lbs golden mahseer from the Kali in 2002.

Tor putitora, 40lbs, Ramganga river. Angler- Revati MB

Barbus tor tor- redfin mahseer, 17lbs. Angler- Suprio Mukherjee
Bagarius
bagarius
Also known by several uncomplimentary names including giant devil catfish
and freshwater sharkOne
of the true megafishes left in the world, goonch can grow to 300lbs
given the right circumstances and protection. If you're looking for
the heaviest catchable (?) fish, this one is as big as they go. Meet
the Goonch, some specimens tip the scales at upto 200kilos. Catching
one is reasonably tough, landing them is another story. One of our clients
caught the world record of 161lbs from our favourite river, but there
are bigger fish to catch.
For the sporting angler who likes landing big weights, the goonch can
be intensely gratifying or downright frustrating, especially if the
cause of loss is weak tackle. Goonch can be extremely local and sometimes
very specific in habitat. A short-cut to finding such places is to spend
time doing it. The other way is to go with a reliable guide. We've done
the first, the second is always available.
How big do they get? We've handled a 150kg specimen
from the Ramganga. We can take you to places you can actually see them
in that weight category (fishing not allowed here). The world record
goonch was 73kgs and came out in the buffer zone fishing area.
Ignorant anglers tend to kill goonch believing they'll cause less tackle
loss and provide space for mahseer. We believe every fish in a river
has a place of its own and helps maintain a natural balance. By the
standards of removal prevalent these days, a good goonch is anything
over 20kgs but there are locations which have been throwing up good
50+kg fish. We believe the new record goonch will come out of
the Sarju and Kali rivers at the right time. Best fish we've
guided to was Jakub Vagner's 75kg goonch in 2009.

Bagarius bagarius, approx. 300lbs, Ramganga river

World's first Goonch on TV. 66lbs, angler- Jeremy Wade in Jungle Hooks
Salmo trutta fario
In Garhwal, trout were introduced in the early 1920's, at the
behest of the Maharaja of Tehri who established one of the first hatcheries
in this part of India. The fish were forgotten after Independence from
the British in 1947. The hatchery expired in 1990 due to a severe earthquake,
was rebuilt but not functional till this year. The browns have managed
to make these waters their home.
Trout in Uttaranchal are an as yet undiscovered
quantity by most anglers, let alone the rest of the world. The fishing
is good enough to justify long transit times to locations but once there,
it is quite something to connect with trout under snowclad Himalayan
peaks. Summers see some amazing hatches of flies and certain streams
have much undergrowth leading to a great variety in insects. The local
baitfish also curry favour with trout- one specimen of about 2lbs regurgitated
a 6" torrent catfish. Another one threw up a 4" snow trout.
Our best session on our favourite trout river
gave us 98 browns in 2 days between two anglers. The other stream
gave us 48 trout in three days of fishing, best fish 5lbs. Most fish
were taken on flies, where flies didn't work, the shikari slung spinners
to score.

21" Brown Trout. Angler- Aaron Alter. He's 6'5", so the
fish always look smaller!

17" Brown trout. Angler- Grant Lee
There are other fish to be caught, too- our flatland
reservoirs have the native carps like rohu catla, mrigal and lowland
catfish like mulley (Wallago attu), Singhara or shovelhead
(Aorichthys seenghala). Just let us know what you'd like to
catch or where in our part of the hills you'd like to fish and we'll
find the time for you.