How did you get on?

[peter crabtree]

Fished a rather neglected woodland pool today, I just fancied something different.
A beautiful morning, birds singing and a verdant freshness all around.



3 hours on my 4m whip with maggot and I had a few Rudd.....



Solid...

 

[lakhyaman]

It is some three weeks since I returned from my sojourn in the foothills of the Himalayas. But it was such an overwhelming experience for one who lives in the most densely populated country on earth that I have not been able to work out how to report it.

Pancheshwar is where the Sarju river meets the Mahakali. The Mahakali becomes the Sarda from here on down and is the border between Nepal and India. It is at the confluence or sangam that fish the size of a man are reputed to lurk and it is something of a place of pilgrimage for those in search of the far famed Golden Mahseer of the Himalayan Foothills.

My own journey began in of all places a W H Smith in London in 1980. I bought an angling magazine there which had an article by Paul Boote about fishing for these fish with pictures of the rivers. I was hooked. He mentioned a book, The Rod in India by H S Thomas. The third edition of 1897 was the recommended version and was duly acquired. Since then I have bought Mahseer tackle from Hardy's and Farlows and anybody else and have steadily built up an esoteric collection of lures and other bits and bobs.

It has taken me thirty-eight years to get myself and this pile of junk to the banks of a Himalayan stream.

Four of us, Prof. Tamim and I from Bangladesh, Chris Correa from Sri Lanka, and Praveen Rengaraj from, Cochin in South India converged to make a long cherished dream a reality.

The truth is we did not catch anything for the record books. But we did catch enough small ones to give at least myself the feeling of accomplishment that laid to rest my slow burning obsession. Well, not quite, I am already hankering to be back.

I caught my first lure caught fish, and it was a Himalayan Golden Mahseer. I caught them on bait for, by nature, that is what I do. I even threw in a feeder with my oats based pack bait and sweet corn for bait and it caught a Mahseer.

The Culprits


The Prof, myself, Chris, and Praveen Rengaraj.

The Rivers




The Sarju River

See next post

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[103841]

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Amber Alert!!!

 

[binka]

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One thing's for sure, the Bream are certainly preparing for spawning!

Mind you I recall posting pictures of Trent Bream that displayed the same features and that was on Christmas Day, I'm not sure where that leaves us.

Would it be now safe to appoint the official phrase of 'The Bream Hold'?

 

[lakhyaman]

The Rivers (continued)





The Mahakali / Sarda. The other side is Nepal. The 2nd and 4th photos show the confluence of the Sarju with the Mahakali and the difference in size of the two.

Please see next post

Al the best

Lakhyaman

 

[barbelboi]

I also trekked across the fields to a woodland pond accompanied by a mix of white cloud and bright sunshine. The crues were not having it today, just the one, but a couple of dozen roach to over a pound and the obligatory gate crashing ferals............A slice of 50/50 and fished from 10-3pm.

PS I don't think we have any rudd in this one....................

 

[binka]

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In the event that we depart this dear earth with an everlasting image of whatever we conjure up in our heads at the time, that pretty much sums up the ideal for me.

 

[lakhyaman]

The Fishing of the Rivers





And Not the Fishing of the Rivers



Please see next post

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[S-Kippy]

I feel I should wait until after Lakhyaman has finished his Himalayan odyssey. What I got up to today cannot compare to that !

 

[lakhyaman]

The Fish from the Rivers:






Please see next post

All the best
Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

Thank you Lakhyaman for some very interesting and luxurious posts accompanied by some stunning photos! I too am reluctant to try and follow that in that a snake lake( albeit very large) in A little Cheshire village is harshly the confluence of two great rivers in the foothills of the Himalayas . Cheshire is very flat!

I tried the other pool( the snake lake ) and after a totally unproductive morning ( except for increasing the turnover of feeders from Guru and Korum ) I reduced the hook to an 18 and a 4mm pellet in the band and suddenly I started to catch! I had 5 carp but one each of common, mirror, crucian and F1 plus 3 rudd and a few more roach! I cannot compete with PC!

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No fish pics as my phone lost all power despite being fully charged this morning!!!

Markcw please start a new thread on Cheshire fishing as PC requires! We can thus record our modest exploits without hijacking the hdygo thread!

 

[Redeemed]

You know it's been a bad day when as you're packing up Les Dawson's ghost appears with a Blankety Blank cheque book and pen
I tried everything short of dynamiting the place. I tried float and feeder, worm, spam, half a worm, popped up and au natural, groundbait and worm peat.
The lad tried bread, spam, fake corn on float and method.
I fed like a good un, groundbait with chopped worm in.
The closest I got was a small perch that hopped off the hook about 3 feet from the bank and two missed strikes.
The lad didn't get a nibble,
My mate, sat on the next peg along had a couple of 1lb roach and numerous tiddlers including a gonk and a diddy perch.
Difference? he was fishing maggot, although why worm wasn't doing it I just don't know.
Obviously a maggot day. There were some big fish rolling but they just weren't playing today.

hey ho. Monday, weather permitting we're trying a different fishery, the lad's getting a bit despondent and to be honest I could do with a result as well.

onwards and upwards

 

[Tee-Cee]

I fished a flooded swim today so I had to sit some 10' back from the water. Probably hasn't been fished for at least a month so I decided to give it a go. I used a 14' Ultralight with a pin and just dropped the bait in the edge which had about 4' of water. Red maggots as bait on a 20 and I had several 8" roach from the off before a carp took off but he was gone in a few seconds. Nothing for a while then the float dithered and finally sank and I was pretty sure another carp but not a big one. It was a strange fight, very solid and for a while I thought I would lose what turned out to be a tench of about 3lbs or so. Not big but he gave it everything!

Another quiet spell with finicky bites on all offerings, then a few small roach fished shallow followed by my best of the day at EXACTLY 1lb. or as near as damn it. Beautiful condition and lovely colouring....
In a word I could've left for home after that as the sun hit the water and bites just about dried up, but I sat it out as it was such a great day.

Fished from 06.30 til 1.15 then home to good lunch a bit of snooker

 

[lakhyaman]

More Fish


Praveen with a long hungry and prehistoric looking fish. His phone camera photo, as is the next one of a Barilius bola, also known as the Indian or Himalayan trout. It lacks the adipose fin to be a true trout.


The photos don't tell the story of the never say no attitude of the camp staff and guides. Nor does it tell of the Bailiff of the Sarju who one night when we had the temerity to be fishing all strung out on the home beat, walked the little path to the temple on the opposite bank and expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms. When a wild leopard growls at close quarters in the dead of night , it causes a certain stirring in the blood. We found his pug marks every day in the sand.


Nor do they tell of the sudden standing of the hairs on the nape of your neck when, fishing into the gloaming, on Old Tom Spots' side of the river a Barking Deer gives out its alarm call on the slope of the hill just behind you.

Nor the beauty as a full moon rose over the Nepal hills and turned the dark river to molten silver while you saluted her with some molten gold from the Scottish Highlands.

In the end, we may not have caught them but they are there.


Hoshiar Singh (cap) and Raju, two of the guides, with a fish we did not catch.

Please see next post.

All the best

Lakhyaman.

 

[103841]

This is a very rich thread and made all the richer with these posts from Larkyman.......thank you.

 

[mikench]

Stop it Lakhyaman ! How do we compete with the terrain, the fish, the ambience the whole 5 yards.:wh I have a friend in Dacca who has often extended an invitation to visit; I might just take him up on it!!! In celebration of your wonderful country I have just ordered a lamb byriani, garlic chicken, peshwari naan and some popadoms! I have some Kingfisher lager cooling as I type !!

I feel you would be hard pressed to reciprocate with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes!!!

I can offer you the footprint of a french bulldog!!!!:wh

 

[lakhyaman]

No chase after Golden Mahseer should end without a visit to the Western Ramganga, the river that runs through the Corbett National Park. If you have not already done so, then the books on the hunting of man-eating tigers and leopards by Colonel Jim Corbett (Maneaters of Kumaon, The Temple Tiger and More Maneaters of Kumaon, The Maneating Leopard of Rudraprayag) is a must for on your travels you will tread in his footsteps and the fascinating description of the hills in his time and as they are now will give you a sense of travelling through time.

The Western Ramganga


If you stand on top of the little cliff where the rapids tail into a deep pool you will see fish the size of which will make you think twice about casting a lure to them. But nothing loth you will, as I did, and fail to evince any interest. So we turned to bait, at least I did. We caught Mahseer. This was probably the smallest.


The Ramganga is a wild little river. We found this dead python in it.

It had eaten a porcupine but the quills had done there job and punctured its vital organs and killed the snake. If you expand the picture you can just make out a quill which had made its way through within the coil.

The other side of the river is within the Corbett Tiger Reserve. At dusk a sudden stillness settles upon the hills. And then the fear filled "dhank dhank" of a Sambhar deer's alarm will come down to you, followed by the quavering "Pea Hawn" of a peacock. The confirmation by that ever vigilant sentinel of the hills, the black faced langur monkey, as he coughs out his alarm, and he never lies, tells you that they still roam here. All the jungle folk take heed for His Majesty is out surveying his kingdom.


The Sentinel of the Hills

HM


My apologies to Mr. Crabtree for taking up so much of his thread. But this is where we meet and talk about what we have seen and done. It is a long story but it is the termination of thirty eight years. Please do forgive.

If you want to see more photos of our trip especially the spectacular wildlife in Corbett park please click on the link below.

Mahseer - Google Photos

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

Wonderful truly wonderful! Thanks Lakhyaman !

 

[barbelboi]

Just the long weekend was it?..............:wink:

Terrific stuff there Lakhyaman.

 

[S-Kippy]

Well I cannot compete with leopards but I did hear my first [and possibly only] cuckoo of the year down at Bury Hill today.

Early start ordered by the Big Feller so we flew round the M25 and were there by 7 am. Back on Milton Lake after the crucians again though Dave in the ticket hut said Wednesday's rain and a couple of cold nights had made the fishing a bit hard. He wasn't kidding !

Same tactics as last week and we were both into fish from the off though these were tench not the hoped for crucians. Never a good sign if the tench are on the go early and it was clear that the day was going to be hot and bright....also never good for the crucians. After a couple of hours I'd had 6-7 tench, the odd rudd and roach but no crucian. Phil had had a couple of crucian. some rudd, a couple of hybrids and a little perch. i then had 3-4 tiny little tench [4-6 oz jobs] which we learned later had been stocked yesterday. Fortunately they soon buqqered off and I was back into "proper" tench. Once again single red maggot was the only bait we could get bites on. I finally managed a crucian out of the blue and worked my socks off for another one about 40 mins later. By now it was 11 am....very bright and the bites were starting to peter out. Typical of a hot,bright day down there. We really should have anticipated this and fished the opposite side of the lake which offers more shade in the morning....but we didn't !

The next couple of hours were real gruellers. We both picked up the odd fish here and there. I had a nice crucian which went 1-10 [weighed] simply because we dont normally weigh them and we wanted a benchmark. I think maybe we've been selling ourselves a bit short as I guessed it a few ounces lighter and I had 4-5 fish last week considerably bigger. Probably 2lb or so rather than my estimated 1-12.

Anyway....after a very lean hour with only the odd scriber roach Phil decided he'd had enough and started to pack up. I was about to follow suit when I managed another crucian which prompted me to stay on a bit longer. 10 mins later I had another tench which lead me a merry dance and turned out to be best of the day at around 4-8 or so. It completely snotted up my rig so I decided to give it best with the sun blazing down and the M25 on a Friday to negotiate.

Crucian wise I only managed 4 to Phil's 6. I probably had around 15 tench most of which were proper ones averaging 3lb or so with a couple of 4 pounders and a best of 4-8. Phil had slightly fewer tench but more silvers. We both pulled out of tench....him more than me as he fishes a heavier elastic. Honours probably about even but boy....did we have to work for them. Very much harder than last week but we really should have expected this given how bright the day was. You really need cloud cover and a bit of ripple for the crucian to get their heads down on Milton as its quite a shallow lake with little cover this time of year.

Going home,despite the early finish, was a nightmare. I basically crawled all the way home with traffic backing up on the M25 as soon as I joined it. Took 45 mins to get there this morning and over 2 hours to get home this afternoon. Howl !