Fishing in the Andamans

[Brandon Khoo]

This is a continuation of the "discussions" we have been having on the thread on GT fishing in India.

First, I have to swallow humble pie - it looks to me like the Andaman Islands (which is for all intensive purposes, Indian territory) has a promising GT fishery there. My views expressed in the other post were meant to relate to the Indian mainland but Indian territory is Indian Territory so I recant my comments with good grace.

One of our new members, Darran Davis actually runs a charter operation there and can specifically cater for GT fishos. Darran didn't want to write this after joining the site as he did not want to be seen to be promoting his operations. That said, I am happy to give him a plug. Check out his website www.gamefishingindia.com and if any of you have the time to go and fish in that area, his operation certainly looks well set up.

Randy - you're our only member who visits India on a regular basis. You're volunteered to go and check out the Andamans!

[lonhro]

I'D love too.

It might take the mighty indian sea gods for me to get a GT.

its wierd it was not too long ago that i was talking about fishing this exact place, now i only have to beg mum to let me go.

[Brandon Khoo]

Randy - you've got it all wrong! What you need to tell her is that you want to go and visit your relations in India. That is your priority but of course, while you're there, you are incidentally going to pay the Andamans a visit. She will be more than happy to pay for you to go then

[Jon Li]

Hi randy ,

I heard good things about the giant mahseers of India , I wish our mahseers grow to the size .

Jon . 

I'D love too.

It might take the mighty indian sea gods for me to get a GT.

its wierd it was not too long ago that i was talking about fishing this exact place, now i only have to beg mum to let me go.

[Darran Davis]

Hi Guys,
Jon it is very sad that there are really very few monster mahseer in India at the moment, the breakdown in the conservation effort, erratic monsoons and only short stretches of protected waters have meant that the catches have reduced drastically from the year 2002 till date, last year there were only 2 fish above 70 lbs landed in a 6 month window so unless something is done about it fast the monsters will go forever 

My last trip in Jan 2006 produced 4 fish between 40-50lbs, The Giant Golden and Black Mahseer have almost vanished, these are characterized by their humped backs, what you are getting more of now if the slender and similar in variety to what you get in other parts of SE Asia, they seem to breed faster even in lakes/ reservoirs and are more resilient.

A few pics of some good Mahseer taken on the Cauvery river in South India.

[Jon Li]

Hi Darran ,

Thanks for the images , it's unfortunate situation with the mahseer of India , just imagine the fish such as those shown in the images you posted on a PE3 line boring down the rapid , you need a few hundred meters to stop it and a few more minutes to subdue it .

Our S.E.Asian mahseers are still abound in a few rivers in Sumatra and Borneo , in some areas they are protected by the local traditional law and nobody can fish them except during the special days which are not often , something like 3 days in a year . However they won't grow as big as those from India , a 10 kg is considered an exceptional speciment although some are thought to reach 25 kg but no picture to substantiate this claim .

We need to start protecting them too , especially in Borneo and I have given my advise to the dayak tribe boatman who took us fishing recently to insist on CnR to his clients but deforestation of the jungle may cause more damages than what a few dayaks can ever achieve in conservation of this magnificent species of freshwater river .

Jon .

[lonhro]

Its Such a shame.

Now if i were PM of India Fish restocking and taking care of the rivers would be a No1 task.

we might have to have a little talk on how to con my mum Brandon i am getting good vibes from you all of a sudden of fishing India.
( NAtion of the world champions of the 20/20 cricket series ) sucked in Pakistan .


Darran whats with the cord they seem to use for fishing line

[Brandon Khoo]

that mahseer, boy, I didn't realise carp grew so big! 

[Darran Davis]

We were talking about the Islands, GT etc and suddenly this has become a freshwater discussion 

Randy its not rope we are fishing with, big Mahseer should not be taken out of the water the way to do it is when the fish is tired to leader it open the gill flap being careful not to get your hands anywhere near the throat teeth and put the nylon rope through, that way when taking a picture you just cradle the fish and lift it out, you can keep a Mahseer for time like this and it helps to revive it as well.
The reason being a lot of the time you are either standing in water or have to make a dash over rocks to chase down a fish so a camera is the best thing to keep on your person.

Yes I agree something needs to be done to protect this fish asap, but when a large fish can feed a village in some places does conservation take first place??

Darran.

[Brandon Khoo]

Darran - truer words were never said.
It's the exact same issue with the Taimen, the biggest salmonid in the world.

[Ken Best]

Gents,

The latest issue of Fishing Wild magazine has an article on this location.
A great read.

[Darran Davis]

Hi Guys,

These are some pictures from our latest catches from the Andaman Islands.

[Jon Li]

Hi Darran ,

Nice catches there , that typhoon which hit Bangladesh did not affect the fishing activities I presume , the monsoon is just about to start in our equatorial areas so time to look up the other areas for fishing .

Jon . 

[Darran Davis]

Hi Jon,
We lost 5 days fishing due to the hurricane, had to cancel a few fishing days but not much you can do, the Little andaman Island was badly hit as it passed directly over.

Darran.

[Jon Li]

Hi Darran ,

It's one of those things in life and there are others in Bangladesh who lost more than just fishing days , my condolences to them . Hope it does not cause anby bodily harm to you and no damage to your equipments .

Jon .