Golden mahseer

A huge, powerful carp-family fish with big golden to bronze scales, a dark olive back, orange-gold to reddish fins, thick rubbery lips, two pairs of barbels, and a long head (the head is often longer than the body is deep). Called the 'tiger of the river.'

5–30 lb.

About 9 ft (275 cm) and about 120 lb (54 kg) published; fish that big are almost never seen today.

Small fish, crabs, insects, snails, algae and fruit or seeds that fall into the river.

Lives in cold-to-warm, fast rocky rivers and migrates upstream to spawn on gravel in the monsoon. Famous for blistering runs downstream through rapids.

Found from India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan. Himalayan foothill rivers from Afghanistan and Pakistan across India (the Ramganga, Kosi, Mahakali/Sarda, Ganges tributaries, Brahmaputra tributaries), Nepal and Bhutan, plus some lakes and reservoirs.

Himalayan foothill rivers from Afghanistan and Pakistan across India (the Ramganga, Kosi, Mahakali/Sarda, Ganges tributaries, Brahmaputra tributaries), Nepal and Bhutan, plus some lakes and reservoirs.

3–25 ft in pools, runs and the tails of rapids.

Pool heads, tails of rapids and confluences where two rivers meet.

Before and after the monsoon: about February to May and October to November, when the rivers are clear.

Early morning and evening.

No tide — clear water with good flow is best; the monsoon floods (about June to September) make rivers unfishable.

Settled, clear weather; snowmelt or rain turns rivers cold and muddy.

Traditional atta (wheat-flour dough) paste and ragi balls, fished on the bottom where camps allow bait.

Heavy spoons (the classic mahseer lure), spinners, minnow plugs and big streamer flies.

Strong 9–10 ft spinning rod with a 4000–6000 reel and plenty of line, or an 8–10 weight fly rod.

Barbless single hooks (camps require them); swap trebles for singles.

30–50 lb braid.

30–50 lb monofilament or fluorocarbon for the rocks.

Cast heavy spoons across the head of a pool or the tail of a rapid and let them swing in the current near the bottom. When a mahseer takes, it will run downstream — follow it along the bank if you can.

Fish the 'confluence' where a clear side stream enters a bigger river — mahseer gather there, especially in spring.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Do not keep — protected.

Do not eat — catch-and-release only.

Himalayan rivers rise fast and are icy and powerful; wade carefully with studded boots and a staff. Wild elephants, tigers and leopards live along some mahseer rivers — follow your guide.

Listed as Endangered by the IUCN. Fishing is by permit from state forest departments, angling associations and licensed camps, which require catch-and-release with barbless hooks; many stretches are protected or closed. In India, river fishing rules are set by each state, and many mahseer rivers are run by forest departments, angling associations or camps that sell permits and require catch-and-release; Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan have their own permit systems.

Dams, sand mining and dynamite or poison fishing have wiped out many mahseer rivers. Every fish matters — keep it in the water, revive it facing the current and let it go.