Flies that will work best are Streamers, Muddlers, Tubeflys and anything that resembles small fry or insects. Then a larger selection is needed that will imitate the small bait fish (chilwa) you will find in the river, these bait fish are normally 2-5 inches long and, have brown / silver scale patterns. Other good patterns are small crabs and large larvae imitations, such as dragonfly larvae that resemble big beetles, and are usually around 1 -2 inches long, and a dark brown skin. But with such a lack of Mahseer fly fishing done today anything is possible, so if you feel a “home tied secret weapon” might work, bring it along and give it a go!!

Fishing the drift, on a swift section of river, just above the rapids is ideal, when targeting the Mahseer, firstly you can cast intoIn many of the river you have in the North of India you will find not only raging sets of rapids, but you also have networks of deep pools that spill down the mountains connected by rapids. These deep pools are a great place for fishing in the heat of the afternoon sun, when the Mahseer can be found in the deeper water. When you fish these deep pools it is best to cast upstream from a good elevated spot, and allow the fly to hug the bottom of the river and bounce the fly along keep as tight a line as possible, sometimes bites are very shy and sometimes not, so always keep in contact with the fly and feel your way around the pool, from here you will be able to quickly pursue a running fish and find good landing ground. eddies of the current, where you get fast moving water meets, slack or even dead water, and allow the fly to work along this crease, here you will find the predatory Mahseer lurking in the quick water waiting to ambush the fly.