The Result of the all India angling competition is in!

In November 2009 I competed in the All India angling competition organised by Indianangler.com and am pleased to say that yours truly managed to bag first prize with a lovely Mangrove Jack of 9lb.

The best fish of the weekend; a 9lb hard fighting mangrove jack ( Lutjanus argentimaculatus )

The competition was held in Maharashtra and around 30 people travelled from all over India to join in. Unfortunately fish were a little hard to come by and relatively few were caught compared to the number of competitors. By saturday afternoon nothing of note had been caught until Neil took a small MJ and then a little later two small groupers, all on soft plastics. I fished hard and carefully covered the whole section of rocks that we were allowed to fish, casting in all the likely looking spots. My general plan was to search out the more territorial species such as jacks and cod, and in the process hopefully intercept the more mobile barramundi.

Towards evening I was starting to think that it might end up being an all nighter when all of a sudden I had a violent take. The soft plastic lure I fished was engulfed and the line literally screamed throught the rings, and by the time I registered what was happening at least 15 metres of braid had been taken.  The fish stayed deep and after a few more moments it decided to dive behind a rock. My heart quickly sank as the line grated on the rough underwater terrain.  Trying my best to subdue the instinct to pull I gave a little slack and gently coaxed the fish from its hiding place. This catch was badly needed and I knew should it escape I may well not hook another so tried hard to go easy. After another screaming run and quite a tussle close to the rock Pierre helped me land and photograph one of the most beautiful Mangrove Jacks that I have had the good fortune to catch. Everyone has his favourite species for fighting ability but until a good MJ is caught he or she should definitely reserve their opinions; they are undoubtedly in a class of their own!

Although very tempted to release such a beautiful fish we finally decided to keep the fish as it would feed a great many people that evening. With sunday morning still to fish things weren't anywhere near decided but I had a sneaky suspicion that I had just caught the best fish of the competition.

After a quiet sunday morning with nothing of note caught 1st prize was in the bag!

The mangrove jack that really got the adrenaline flowing. A very powerful fish  taken in  rocky  terrain so I was  pleased to have Pierre nearby to help me land the fish safely. It was touch and go until the fish was finally lifted onto dry land. The fish was caught on a shimano exage travel rod with an 8000 sized shimano reel loaded with 20lb fireline and finished off with a flourocarbon leader and a rubber shad as bait. The leader was in a bad way from rubbing on the oyster encrusted rocks but thankfully held out!

Recieving the shield for biggest fish of the competition. Thanks guys!

The competition team who travelled from as far as Assam in far eastern India.

After the competition I caught this good looking mangrove jack on a  floating sardine section.   I had noticed some large swirls in the area we fished and upon inspection saw some of the discarded sardines were floating A large but shy fish was gulping tem from the surface but continued to stay deep if it sensed anything above the water.  Rigging a couple of sardines on a super sharp hook I positioned them on the waters surface and sat back out of sight, ready to jump and grab the rod should the fish take the bait. And sure enough it wasn't long before the rod arched over as the fish turned to dive. I grabbed it fast and started to play the fish, much to the interest of a local guy who sauntered over and grabbed the line beyond the rod tip.  Amazed at what was happening some stern words were needed to send him away so the fish could be played in peace. A lovely jack was the result which was released after a quick photo.

A beautiful estuary on the Maharashtran coastline. Home to species such as  threadfin salmon,  barramundi,  ox-eye tarpon and  mangrove jacks.  The estuaries along the west coast of India are the main breeding areas for a large number of species and this should be taken into account when fishing these areas. Large sexually mature barramundi can release 3-6 million eggs and sometimes considerably more, so it make a lot of sense to release these larger specimens.  A few of these big females left to swim will help maintain a healthy population for years to come and will mean there are fish for your kids to catch.

The undefeated Janjira fort seen from the rocks in Murud,  Raigad district,  Maharashtra.

Canoes deliver catches of fish from the large fishing boats, to the market in Harnai. A colourful  and slighty smelly scene but a good indication for the angler of what swims in the waters of the Arabian sea.

Abbey and Rajat join me for a photo of an 8kg Barramundi caught from the shore  in  Mumbai.  Surprisingly for such a large and polluted city a healthy population of these fish still exist, but with an increasing number of anglers fishing the prime spots it's probably only a matter of time until the small transient pods are reduced to unsustainable numbers.

Markus with a small but extremely pretty rock cod caught trolling from Harnai.

The 8kg Bombay Barra that fell to a shallow diving minnow.

Ashok with two Lure caught Mangrove Jacks that ended up as the family curry.

Ashok and his two kittens that quickly developed a strong taste for fresh fish.

Abbey admires the range of flip flops available in India, washed up in a cove  somewhere on the Maharashtran coast

A great flock of seagulls take off from Shrivardhan beach, Maharasthra

Janjira fort, Murud, territory of Threadfin salmon, Barramundi and mangrove jack.

Abbey looks pretty excited about the day ahead!

Naveed casting lures for barramundi from the Murud rocks.

Flower seller, Colaba market, South Mumbai

Mumbai fish market, Sassoon dock, South Mumbai, where virtually every species that swims in the surrounding seas can be found.

Large trevally for sale at Sassoon dock

Having been at sea for a week or longer fisherman unload their catch early morning at Sassoon dock in south Colaba in Mumbai. A vast amount of fish and other sea life passes through the market daily making for a very vibrant scene. Arrive too early and the squeeze can be a bit much for all but the most seasoned dock worker, arrive too late and the pick of the fish will have left the flagstone floors. A huge variety of species can be found here so a visit is essential for any keen sea angler.

Markus shows off a lovely crimson mangrove jack that took a liking to  a soft plastic lure.  After an interesting fight that involved some swimming on my part, the fabulous fish was finally landed in the warm light of the setting sun.

Judging by the teeth and colour, it's not hard to know why the local name for this fish is red snapper!  

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Pike Fishing

When the phone rang and Rhys asked whether I could join him for a session of lure fishing on the Thames, the plan was quickly fixed without too much thought. At five to six Sam and I waited patiently for Rhys to appear and two minutes later we were off in the direction of the River Thames at Weybridge ready for some predator fishing. Rhys had recently purchased a small boat ideal for lure casting and he had already put in a few sessions with some good results. Jerkbait and light spinning rods were packed in the hope of some pike and perch hitting our lures, but also with the hope of other species such as Chub gracing our net along with the aforementioned species.

The traffic was non existent so early in the morning so we made good time to our chosen destination. Now early September with clear skies there was a cool edge to the cloudless morning. As we sped along, plump woodpigeons dashed overhead in search of a autumnal acorns and magpies foraged in the fields by the side of the road beneath the trees that had recently begun their seasonal change. Golden and brown leaves drifted to the ground as we passed by with Pike on our minds. We hoped the autumnal weather would mean the fish would be feeding-up ready for the cold season ahead.






In no time at all we had the boat in the river and were off in the direction of the weir pool that lay upstream from our launch site. Things were still quiet on the river apart from some carp fisherman who were setting up their stalls, undoubtedly ready for a long wait. Three very happy anglers headed off up the quiet river extremely glad not to be stuck under a bivvy for the day.

The weir looked perfect for some good fish and we were convinced we couldn't fail. Two weirs running down onto shallows which led to deep areas of 15 feet looked exactly right, so we started casting in earnest. With a lot of water to explore and the possibility of some big fish I started by fishing a big brightly coloured rattle trap before I spied a lovely looking jelly perch in Rhys' tackle box (nice one mate). It didn't take long for the perch to get well and truly nailed by a good pike which we quickly photographed and released.

Over the next hour or so some small Perch hit our spinners but nothing of any size came our way so we decided to head down stream to explore some other spots. I now had confidence in my rubber perch and was hopeful that some other fish might find it irresistible. Moored boats along the edges of the river provided likely looking cover for Thames predators. The closer the lure landed to the boat the more likely I figured a hook up would be. The river had now become busier as pleasure boaters, kayakers and canoeists had arrived for their mornings sport. As we drifted down stream the lures flew but nothing obliged until we reached a nice looking gap between some moored boats. I flicked my rubber perch under the bow of a barge and let it sink for a moment before starting a slow retrieve. After just a a couple of turns of the reel I felt the lure get well and truly eaten. Not a hard bite, but rather a gentle and determined munching of the lure. I struck into a solid fish that showed below the surface after a few seconds. We all assumed it was a pike until it surfaced and showed itself as a lovely big Zander! The race was on to net it but considering the lure was not even visible it seemed unlikely that the fish would be lost.

Safely netted we jumped onto a pontoon and admired and photographed our prize. A first for all three of us! Estimated at 9Lb it was a very good first fish and of course I couldn't wipe the cheesy grin off my face. Now everyone was keen for more fish and as I tossed my lure off the far end of the pontoon I saw a fish appear and grab the lure, only to drop it and vanish. It looked like another zander but I couldn't say for sure. After we had stretched our legs we climbed back aboard the boat and set off. Rhys couldn't resist a cast into the "zander area" and as he pulled his lure out of the water at the end of the retrieve the water erupted as a very lively pike tried to grab the artificial bait. Before Rhys could compose himself my lucky perch was flying to the white water only to instantaneosly get nailed by the obliging pike!

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