Team Himalayan Outback hits Mahseer Jackpot on
the Yammuna River
by Misty Dhillon

The first couple of days at the Yammuna were more or less a blank - with the exception of a 5 lb Mahseer. It continued so till we decided to move camp to some of the remoter pools, which took us half a day with the Italian fly fishing team. Camp was moved on mules to a location far from the reach of most.

We reached this remote location the evening of the April 28th, 2005. The evening session yielded an unexpected 13 lb Mahseer, caught, on the fly, by Mauro one of our Italian guests. The fish took the “Misty Mahseer Killer”, much to my delight. This was a moment of celebration, as this more than doubled my record of six pounds, on fly.

At night, around the bonfire, we celebrated the day’s success. This Mahseer was taken on a 10wt rod and stout tackle. What a sight it was - seeing that beauty come in. I had the pleasure of landing it!

Latter that evening, after dinner, I asked the Italian fly fishermen to accompany me for some fishing at night. My offer was turned down as they had a long day and wanted to turn in early and besides spinning, as they said, was not their cup of tea.

I staggered down the dodgy path to one of my favorite pools in pitch darkness, along with on of our guides, Surendera. I was casting into pitch darkness as there was no moon. Twenty minutes latter, a hard blow to the rod was followed by a very loud – deep – blunt splash on the water! Surendera and I knew, from the first moment, that I was onto a good one! The Mahseer took off into the second pool down the rapid, I managed to stop her before the third pool (thanks to the stout Pro line I had on) and had landed her in after a 20 minute struggle. I sent for the weighing scales immediately. She weighed in at 35lbs - I expected more, but never-the-less a great catch!

We’d had enough that evening as I was dragging myself around on a bad ankle from the previous trip. I decided to be a good boy and thanked the Lord of the Fish and turn in for the night. It was an exhausting task landing this fish, with it running from pool to pool.

The following day there was no action on the fly; the weather went all wrong in the evening - and as usual - later on (in spite of the results the previous evening on spinning) our Italian guests opted for the fly, purists in the best sense of the word.

This evening was even better, in just four hours I had, 10 lb, 13 lb, 23 lb, 18lb and a 20 lb. All fish took off down river like a runaway train, fighting every inch of the way and living up to its name …The Mighty Mahseer!

All the larger fish were taken on all different plugs. I do not think I was doing any thing special, or out of the ordinary, just perhaps 'at the right time and at the right place'.

All fish were released safely back into the river after we finished photographing them.

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Tight Lines

Misty Dhillon