Very much like the tiger, the Mahseer or Barbus Tor has attracted anglers from all over the world. By unanimous vote, "it is the greatest fresh water fighting fish in the world”.  The Mahseer is a beautiful fish which comes in different sizes, colors and hues. It cleans out the bottom of rivers from tree-droppings and agricultural waste. At the same time it controls the population of other fish and its prey species. The Mahseer is found in the Himalayan rivers of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and in the smaller rivers feeding the mighty Brahmaputra in Assam. The main criteria affecting the size and lifetime of the fish is the size of the river, for a large river provides greater quantity and variety of food than smaller rivers. A large river also ordinarily allows greater opportunity for evading capture.  The Mahseer in the Cauvery River in South India is at the head of the food chain, and here it grows to its full capacity.

Anglers from around the world have described the mahseer as the greatest fresh water fighting fish in the world.  The name “Mahseer” is supposedly derived from the Hindi word “Maha” meaning great and “Seer” meaning head. The Mahseer definitely has a big head but the name could also have originated from Maha Sher or the Great Tiger - for it truly is the great tiger of the waters. It may be compared to a tiger in the forest for two reasons: it controls the population of its prey species, and its apparently soft mouth  can straighten a steel hook or crush the hardest of crab shells into small pieces. This is similar to the soft paws of a tiger which can dislocate the neck of its prey with one swipe.

High Points of India offers several locations for fishing the great mahseer, on Catch-and-Release basis.

Tips from Past Masters
"One must know where to cast and retrieve lures in order to increase the probability of catching a mahseer. I found the best method or approach was to find a large submerged rock in the rapids, cast upstream and slightly beyond the rock, and then retrieve the lure through the still water just downstream of rock. If you do not get a strike after a few casts you should move onto the next large submerged rock.....Immediately on catching a mahseer you will realize why people travel halfway around the world to fish for it. As soon as the mahseer hits the lure it takes off and there is nothing you can do to stop the fish. They are powerful and you had better have plenty of line on the reel. As soon as it stops you start working the fish back towards you. You must never allow any slack in the line as I can guarantee that you will lose the fish as it will take off and snap the line. As you work the fish in it will take off again when it gets too close to you or the shore.  This will happen repeatedly until the fish is completely tired and you can finally shelve it on the shore. As you play the fish you may have to move up and down the river bank with the fish.  Always keep the line between you and the fish perpendicular to the flow of the water. There are two reasons for this, one is the fish has to continually fight to keep proper position with the direction of river flow and gets tired more quickly. The second is that the angle this causes the fish to make with the river reduces the water flow through the gills and thus reduces the oxygenation and tires the fish more quickly. The rule of thumb for the total time it takes to “play” a mahseer is one minute for each pound that it weights. So if the mahseer weighs 30 lb. it will take 30 minutes to land the fish from the time it takes the lure...." Timothy Larson - born in Jorhat, Assam and fished the rivers feeding the Brahmaputra as a boy. Presently faculty member in the Department of Wood and Paper Science at the University of Minnesota.

"I was using a 40 pound line with a Daiwa multiplier. Within minutes of my first cast at 9.15 a.m. the nibbles started. They were very small nibbles and seemed like a small fish. Than at 9.20 a.m. the line sang and I struck.  The fish dragged the line for 4 seconds before it went behind a rock. I still thought it to be around 30-40 pounds. How wrong I was. Subhan, who knows the Mahaseer like the back of his hand, had a helper swim across and pull the line from the other side. I must confess that the first hour and a half the fish controlled us and we had to pry it out of rocks 16 times.  Once the fish came out it initially swam upstream and then plunged down river for its incredible run. My back was killing me and there were certain times I thought the fish was snagged but Subhan knew the game and forced me on - for he said that if I allowed the fish to rest it would head for the big rapids where we would have no control at all. Head for the big rapid it did but I was lucky that there was a deep pool just before a monster rapid...it allowed me to control the giant. With the multiplier burning my thumb I slowly bought him round and landed the fish after 110 minutes of battle. The fish weighed 107 pounds! "...Nawabzada Saad Bin Jung, owner of the Bush Betta Camp

Great Fishing Retreats on the Cauvery and Kabini Rivers:

Kabini River Lodge: Once the hunting lodge of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore, Kabini has been rated by the British Tatler's Travel Guide as one of the top 5 wildlife resorts in the world. Accommodation  here is in colonial-style bungalows, modern cottages along the river, and cottage-tents.

Bheemeshwari is located at a distance of 100 km from Bangalore. There are 8 ethnic log-huts on stilts, blending beautifully with the surrounding trees, four of them air-conditioned. There are also 9 well-furnished tented cottages for those who prefer a more rustic existence. Galibore is located 16 km away from Bheemeshwari. Galibore is in the midst of sheer wilderness hidden under gigantic Terminalia arjuna trees, with the river flowing in front, forested hills lining both sides of the river, and wild elephants moving around. There are 10 tented cottages, all with attached bath, clean, illuminated at night with hurricane lamps, and no electricity. There is an attractive barbecue corner, around which you can have a beer while the meat gets grilled. Doddamakali is situated 6 Km upriver of Bheemeshwari. There are two ways of reaching this natural paradise -a direct road route, the final part of which is steep and needs 4 WD jeep to negotiate the last bit; or trek 6 km from Bheemeshwari to Doddamakali.  There is a large pool of water from river Cauvery in front of it, suitable for water sports. Six tents are located here.

The Bush Betta Gorge and its famous fishing camp:
The road from Bangalore to the Bush Betta Camp passes through pretty South Indian villages with houses on raised platforms and open courtyards inside them. The valley is dotted with hillocks of beautiful granite. Later, the road will suddenly descend into a sparse jungle of scrub and acacia. This area is dry and parched with a rugged, desolate beauty. The first view of the river is stunning, a beautiful  blue ribbon cutting through the brown valley. At this point the river is just knee deep and needs to be crossed. Another jeep will be waiting on the southern side and then we take off to the gorge. This is Mekedatu, the “Goat’s Leap”. The river narrows dramatically, pushing against solid granite walls. The pink, black and green walls of granite fail to contain the river and it plunges into the mighty Bush Betta Gorge. A couple of minutes later we are at the lip of the gorge. Then we use an elephant track made of bamboo wedged across to come up to a sandy beach 150 feet above the river, which at this point, has spread to about 50 yards. The tents have thatched roofs and are situated on pure white sand.

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