History of HUMPBACK MAHSEER

The mahseer, Queen of the River, is indeed royalty in the world of sports fishing. A fish that was capable of making an Englishman regard the "lordly salmon's sporting qualities as inferior, in comparison" is certainly high praise from Mr. H. S. Thomas in the year 1873 – the Isaac Walton of Indian angling literature.

In 1903 the term "Mighty Mahseer" appeared for the first time, incorporated in the title of a book on Angling in India by a man, who used the nom-de-plume "Skene Dhu" – but even generations before this, the mahseer found its place as a highly treasured game fish, because of its superb fighting qualities.

One of the first recorded biggies was caught in 1870, a fish of 110 lbs, caught on hand-line by G. P. Sanderson in the Kabini River, as tributary to the Kaveri River. The first mahseer to enter the book of records of fish caught on rod and reel, was caught in the Kaveri River near Srirangapatnam in 1906 by Mr. C. E. Murray Aynsley. This mahseer weighed 104 lbs, and a commemorative stone was reportedly erected on the bank of the river, where the fish was landed.

In the following 40 years, up to 1947, more than 10 fish over 100 lbs were recorded from the Kabini-Kaveri system. One of the most famous catches was by Major J. S. Rivett-Carnac in 1919 in the Kaveri River, with a mahseer weighing 119 lbs. This fish headed the record list for more than 25 years, until J. Dewet van Ingen beat it by only 1 lb. 120 lbs of sheer dynamite – a record, which still stands today. Since then, there has been only one record of mahseer over 100 lbs, but the locals have landed giants of 100-112 lbs on hand-lines.

Before the ABU team in 1978 "refound" the mighty mahseer, the fishing had declined rapidly, when the British left India in 1947. But after these three anglers adventurous story, more French, British and Germs got their appetite for mahseer wetted, and suddenly the mahseer was found in many sports fishing magazines after having been virtually forgotten for 30 years.
Even though there has been only the one 100 pounder during the last 50 years, several fishermen have had wonderful catches; for example, John Wilson who had the distinction of catching a 92 and an 81 pounder on the same day. Other known British adventure anglers have conquered the big mahseer, namely Paul Boote with 75 lb, Jeremy Wade with a 95½ lb, John Watson with an 88 lb, and Andy Davison with a 95 and an 88 lbs.

Mahseer biology
The humpback mahseer, being closely related to barbel in the big family of cyprinids, is scientifically named Tor musullah. The name mahseer, itself, is not without relevance, as it roughly translated means "great mouth" (maha meaning great, hence Maharaja). The huge protrudable, vacuum-cleaner like mouth is an impressive instrument, and equipped with closely packed pharyngal teeth, it is able to crush water-snails, crabs and other crustaceans, aswell as most of the hardware from an anglers tackle box. The mouth is also muscular and very powerful, the lips resembling hard rubber, and with this device the mahseer is capable of killing fairly large fish by sheer compression. Still, the lips are extremely sensitive, and the mahseer can actually pick up single rice grains, and that at an incredible speed. The mahseer looks much like a huge cross between a roach and a barbel.