About us | Contact us

Sportfishing | Species | Locations | Programmes | Conservation

.....................................................................................................................................................
Among the seven mahseers in the Himalayas, pride of place goes to chasing the yellowfin or golden mahseer. Large size, spirited resistance and the kind of places they live in make it a most notable adversary. It is also the most obliging taker of certain prescribed lures. For the angler who would like to add more species to the book, there are giant goonch, finicky carps and really tough to bag trout on fly.
......................................................................................................................................................

Sport
An activity executed for pleasure and not for food is what we think of sportfishing. Since it would be a pity to kill a magnificent piece of Nature we seek pleasure in pursuing it and meeting it in many places, coincidentally, places of immense character, just like the fish itself. We understand that fishing for sport means releasing the fish we catch. This is borne not only due to respect for an endangered creature but also because our lives are tied up in it's existence. Bags mentioned by several Victorian and Edwardian anglers seem incapable of belief let alone repetition. Today the story is very different. The mahseer is concentrated in very few waters and nowhere in the same numbers. Most mahseer live in temple or wildlife sanctuaries but are subject to predation the moment they move from these areas. Most anglers in India will not release fish- citing permit expense and great travel discomfort to justify the removal of fish. Other locals never release fish- it's a free non-vegetarian meal, otherwise a luxury to riverine folk all along mahseer rivers.
As you read this, mahseer fishing, especially fishing for big golden mahseer, is very tough for a number of reasons. Large specimens exist in certain rivers and can be caught, depending upon the time available. Sometimes the cause can be lack of availability of the correct bait (listen to the gillies around the campfire for good and bad experiences).

We fish under the following sportfishing conditions:
* All fishing is on a catch and release basis
* We use landing mats and well trained gillies for good handling of fish
* We fish barbless trebles and microbarb single hooks. If you fish with us, you have to crimp down the barbs or use our barbless hooks.
* We won't use more than two trebles on plugs. If your lure has three, we'll insist you remove it to avoid external damage to fish.

It did not take the rest of the fishermen and poachers in the country to have brought down mahseer populations so low as to turn a source of food into a luxury of pleasure, that we realised what was once edible will have to be released or there will be no thrill of either capture or consumption. Some other anglers believe the same and we have been honoured to host them. Other waters are netted, dynamited and poisoned to extract every possible fish and stage of fish from them.

That being the story of almost every mahseer river. So where does one go to find the last big mahseer? Do they still exist? Is it possible to catch just one good one? We know some places, the photos should say the rest better.

 

We believe sportfishing is a tough way to go about catching mahseer. While some of our gillies will do anything to open the score, ideally you should settle down to the idea that you cannot eat the mahseer you catch (nor certain other gamefish) and that you'll have to crimp down the barbs on the trebles.

Normally there's one gillie for each angler who's responsible for fresh bait as necessary, handling the fish and releasing snagged bait when possible and one guide per expedition responsible for overall running and securing permits, translation, etc. Packed lunches and beverages accompany each rod-gillie pair while breakfast and supper happens at camp with tea always in the pot. In the autumn season, the evening campfire is a great time for relaxing to tipple and tales.

><"";>

 

Sportfishing | Species | Locations | Programmes | Conservation