Mahseer
name: Mahseer
Mahseer means Great mouth in India, an apt name for the long slim creature known to be the toughest fighter amongst fresh water sports fish. The undisputed king of Indian rivers is the Mahseer. A large, powerful fish, it is the largest member of the carp family in the world. The fish has elongated and fairly compressed body. The snout is pointed while the jaws are of equal length. They have two pairs of barbells. The dorsal fin rises opposite the ventral fin while the caudal fin is deeply divided. The body color is golden along the lateral portion with the dorsal side being a dark gray shade they have large scale covering the whole of their body,. The fins are reddish-yellow in color.
The mahseer is generally found in cold, well-oxygenated rivers, which have rocky and graveled beds. However, during the winter months the fish moves into warmer waters due to its migratory habits. The Mahseer range extends throughout the length and breadth of southern Asia , spreading from Iran in the west to Thailand in the east, and from sultry Sri Lanka in the south to the cooler high mountain valleys of the Himalayas in the north. This incredible range of climates and terrain has forced it to adapt with slight variations in body form, therefore certain fish are classified under their own scientific names, although these related sub-species have some overlapping Territory.
Mahseer eat mainly fish, along with any crustaceans they can forage for. Although they mainly catch their prey live there are not adverse to eating any dead or decaying fish or animals that have fallen into the river. Mahseer relies mainly on its great sense of smell to detect any so called free offerings and can detect possible meals from long distance down current.
Mahseer are able to live in access of 25 years and grow to over 100lb in weight.
Mahseer coupled with the strong currents is going to put both angler and tackle to the limit. It is therefore imperative that your tackle is strong enough to cope with the conditions. Your main rod can be an off the shelf uptide of about 10 foot with a casting weight of 6 - 10oz. A stepped up carp rod for spinning and also a small light rod for catching live bait will complete the set. For reels the main priority is that they can hold large quantities of line, although you do not need to cast far, those fish when hooked are going to take long runs down stream. The best reels are strong multipliers such as Penn international 12lt or Abu Ambassadors are very popular. For line well at least 40lb mono for your main line and you could use a low diameter brain for your spinning. You will need to take plenty of spare line and braid as those long fights and sharp rocks are going to take its toll. The best advice is to take as much as you can pack in. For hooks these also need to be very very strong, try owners or mustard in the 6/0 range. Oh and do not forget a good hook sharper to keep those hooks in tip top condition.
