Indian Angler

I wonder if the birds ate them, before the others ate the birds

Hi Singy, I had a look at the pics and they're all Rohu!I guess the best way to tell them apart is by looking at the head and mouth of the fish. 'Classic Rohu' would be the ones with the light blue background. Rohu are a important food fish here and are raised in many ponds and lakes for the market. As most fish breed in the monsoons, lakes are stocked during the rains, they are then harvested just before the next monsoon when water levels are low and they've reached about a kilo. Rohu are pretty decent fighters espcially when caught on light line. They're known for lightning fast runs and sometimes jump out of the water. They are also pretty fussy when it comes to taking bait and hence not many people target them. The fish I caught was while mahseer fishing at the Cauvery. The section of the river I was fishing that morning was called 'crocodile rocks' which is deep and slow moving, in the summer its almost like a lake. This stretch is know for its large mahseer, rohu and pink carp. The pink carp is another beautiful fish, but I don't have a picture of one. The best picture of one I've seen is in one of John Bailey's freshwater angling books. Regards, Indian Angler.

Hi Singy, This is a Rohu I caught a couple of years ago. It was a really beautiful fish and was returned to fight another day. I spent the rest of the day with a really upset guide who tried his best to get his hands on that fish Regards, Indian Angler.

Hi Singy, No that isn't a Rohu. The fins on a Rohu are orange, but very similar in shape. I'm sure the Rohu gets bigger than 15kilos. Angling in India is still in its infancy, so it'll take a few more years before some kind of system is worked out where (accurate and verified) records can be maintained. I think I have a picture of a Rohu somewhere so will post it if I find it. Regards, Indian Angler.

Hey Rustam, I'm thanking you!! You're most welcome to hijack my threads

Hi Guys, For some strange reason I just couldn't log on to AN the whole of yesterday Thanks for taking over Rustam, while I was lost somewhere in cyber sapce. Rob, I know what you mean... the grass carp I've caught (much smaller) have been torpedo shaped, with smaller scales. But the scales on this one aren't big enough for it to be a mahseer, and the mouth too small. I guess it must be a mix or a hybrid. The first big one to have been landed from that lake so we'll only know once more fish are caught. Regards, Indian Angler.

Hi, It was months ago that I'd posted in this section of AN asking about how one fished for carp in a lake full of weeds. We had previously noticed that the carp were feeding on the underside of lilly pads. We figured they were going for moss and some small worms that attached themselves to these lilly pads.Well after discussing it with my pal, he went down a few weeks ago and fished a small hook with worm about 6" under the surface in a section that was covered with these pads. After a wait he hooked into this fish and landed one of the biggest carp from the lake. By the looks of it we think its a large grass carp. I should be down at the lake this weekend to see if I can manage one of these fish as well. Will keep you posted. Regards, Indian Angler.

Hi, Offering popping and jigging trips in the Andaman Islands. www.gamefishingindia.com Please go through the site and don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have. Cheers, Indian Angler

Here in India the so called off season is during the months without the 'R'! The monsoon begins in may and that's the time most fish spawn. Angling starts up again in early november right through till march end. This is with regards to Mahseer. One can pretty much fish all year round here for carp.

Hey Roti, Last season on the CuveryI met up with a guy who does some fishing in that area and is based in Dehra Dun. If I remember right he was the principal of some boarding school in DD. I'll search for his address and phone no, if I find it I'll PM it to you. The furtherest I've gone is central India (fishingwise), am very content with the Cauvery So I can't give you any 1st hand info on the areas you plan to fish. Will ask around and try and provide you with some info. Regards, Indian Angler.

From where I come its the CARNATIC CARP. Pound for pound it comes close to giving Mahseer a run for its money. A bold fish, caught on paste, livebait, plug,spoon and spinner, oh yeah fly as well!! Cheers, Indian Angler

Hi Newt, The fish I saw swimming about were the size of the fish in that picture. I still have to sort out a way of hooking into one of those fish. The one 'Rohu' labeo rohita I saw was feeding on the underside of lily pads. Probably trying to scrape off small red worms that seem to stick to the lily pads. Hey merlino bill, All this way for carp I'm sure you'll find bigger fish closer to home. its worth the distance if you wanna try Mahseer

I'll post again once I've fished this lake again. Those carp have really got me thinking. Will probably spend 2 days there and see what happens

It was float fishing till I discovered how to make spinners. Now it's all lure fishing, somehow just can't get back to float

I spent the weekend fishing a lake outside Bangalore thats part of a canal network that feeds Bangalore with its drinking water. The sides of the lake are marshy and have alot of water lillies and floating vegetation. The lake is full of carp and tilapia and some catfish. We saw alot of rises and some of the fish were huge. Judging by the size I'd estimate them to be between 30lbs to 50lbs. The problem is that they just don't seem to be feeding on anything!! We went out in a boat and tied to fish from it and still had no luck. The bottom of the lake has a kind of underwater grass and the bait gets lost if cast into the grass. We saw some huge carp ( labeo rohita and grass carp) foraging among the lily pads just 6 ft away from the boat totally oblivious to us!However fishing with float produced some results but only with tilapia. Any suggestions about fishing on a grassy lakebed? How do I make my bait more visible ? I know the fish are there, its just a matter of getting my bait to them. Regards, IA.

We here think carp grow at an average of 2 to 3lbs a year. Many lakes around Bangalore are stocked just after the monsoon and harvested just before the following monsoon. The average size of fish are around 3lbs, at that size they are considered just right for the table!! Also depends on the number of fish in a given area. I've had common carp in a small pond for a couple of years and they grew to about 200gms. So I guess some sort of 'stunting' occured. Alot depends on local climatic, food and water conditions.

Hi, I was wondering if carp lost weight during winter? The fish here just don't seem to be feeding readily yet. I think this is due to low water temperature that slows their metabolism down and they go off the feed. I guess they survive on reserves of fat they've stored during the summer. I've caught and eaten carp that have had a layer of fat just under the skin. A pity I can't remember what time of year it was So I was wondering if a 20lb carp would lose a pound or two during winter? Indian Angler.

Thats a really interesting article. Those fish have to be some sort of mahseer. The head of the 3rd fish is similar to the mahseer here, but the scales are much smaller. Mahseer here have pretty large scales. Also the fish in the pic has barbels , similar to mahseer. The position of the dorsal fin is further back. The S Indian mahseer have the dorsal fin further forward. Body shape wise its similar to N Indian Mahseer which are longer and sleeker, basically because they inhabit fast flowing rivers and streams. I,d imagine rivers in Iraq to be quite similar to the rivers we have up north. That fish ( shape) is def a fish from fast flowing water. May have been bred in that lake, but its a fast water fish. Hmm must bookmark that article Regards, Indian Angler

Hi, I finally managed to get my first Mahseer session in this season. The way work is going I hope it won't be the last one. My friend Darran and I headed down to the river, armed with Abu 10's and a couple of uptides. We reached in the evening and cast out as soon as we set up our camp. The first couple of hours went slow till Darran's baitrunner screamed. He threw the handle and struck...... nothing! We were both quite upset with that and checked to see what happened. We realised that on throwing the handle, his baitrunner was not disengaging, esp when line came off the reel at high speed. First time its happened and we haven't figured out why ? About an hour later it was my turn and in seconds I was battling a fish that was hell bent on heading for the sea! Managed to stop the fish and turn it, only to have it run upstream this time. About 10 mins later I saw a glint of silver as a very tired mahseer swam into the shallows. We landed the fish that weighed in at 54lbs. Not a bad start. A few photographd later we sent the fish on its way and called it a night. The second day was an absolute blank, as the fish just weren't feeding during the day. We tried various stretches of water and finally gave up around lunch time. The evening proved to be just as bad. We called it a night early and passed out. The third day however proved to be really special. We drove 4km up stream and came down river by boat, carrying only our light spinning rods hoping to land a couple of carnatic carp. I cast my spinner into a deep fast channel and had a huge take from the surface. I clearly saw the fish, which was a silver mahseer about 25lbs. This was a brilliant fight as i was using 12lb line and the fish used the water to head downstream. Luckily we were able to follow the fish in the boat and landed it after about 20 mins. This was a personal best for me with spinner. A 35lb silver mahseer. The evening session produced another 30lb gold mahseer for Darran and I lost a fish after fighting it for about 5mins. We headed back to camp and cast out. I ahd another hookup with a fish that again headed downstream and didn't come in easily. This fish was a gold mahseer that weighed in at 50lbs. It was Darran's turn next and he soon had a 46lb silver that fought well. It was a good fight as the fish stayed much higher in the water and didn't head down for the rocks. We packed up early the next morning and headed back for home beaming!! One of the best trips I've had in the last couple of years!! Indian Angler.