Mahaseer fishing


The Mahseer is a fresh water scaly fish, which can attain a huge size, and shows more sport for its size than a Salmon and therefore is considered the best sport fish in the world. The Mahseer quite avidly takes to bait such as spoon, plug, fly or livefish, an erroneous impression has gained ground that they are carnivorous and rapacious. Careful studies have shown that they are omnivorous and take almost any thing available in water ranging from weeds, snails, crabs and live fish.

The Etymology of Mahseer suggests the word could mean a fish with "lion's gameness", " big scaled fish" and "fish par excellence Mahseer inhabit different rivers throughout the length and breadth of India and the sub continent. Experts have identified about six species in India, but no detailed information on the present status and distribution of these species is available. The different species of Mahseer inhabit various habitats, ranging from tropical waters where temperature in summer goes upto 35 C to sub Himalayan waters where the winter water temparature drops closer to 0 C.
Though Fishermen consider the Golden or Himalayan Mahseer ( tor putitora ) as the main species available on the Saryu & Mahakali rivers, besides the Silver and Black Mahseer. Goonch ( bagarus bagarius ), a fresh water scavenger is also another species that thrives in these rivers. Though accurate data on the catches of Mahaseer for different parts of the country are not available, comparison of figures from isolated surveys and observations of Anglers indicate that in the past Mahseer of 70 - 80 lbs, have been frequently caught in the Indian waters. It has been reported that the Mahaseer can grow to weights exceeding 100 lbs.



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