English angler Christopher Tasker has just returned from a year-long fishing adventure which took him thousands of miles from Nepal to Australia and back and saw him land fish over the IGFA world record for the species among a host of giant fish.
The highlight of the trip with his girlfriend Nadine must surely be his magnificent Himalayan golden mahseer estimated at over 50lb. The huge fish fell for a chicken gut bait on a swollen River Sarayu in in far Northern India and measured a massive 127cm in length with a 66cm girth. The fish was a golden mahseer (tor putitora) – and the IGFA world record for the species is 44lb. Unfortunately Chris won’t be able to make a claim – but what a fish!!!
“The bait had only just settled before the rod screamed off,” recalled Chris. “It really did take me by surprise and I quickly tightened my drag as I needed to stop this fish quick from reaching the rapids into the next pool which would have certainly been ‘game over’.
“Luckily the fish turned and I gained a little line, but this fish had some serious weight and used it wisely. There was still the odd log coming through from upstream and if one of these had caught my braid it would have ended my dream, but I managed to steer the fish into the calmer current and landed it safely.
“On landing the hook fell out very easily and at that point I knew how lucky I had been to land this fish,” he told Total-Fishing.com. “My guide’s first reaction that it was the biggest mahseer he had ever seen in 25 years of guiding on the Rāmgangā, and far bigger than his personal best of 42lb. Unfortunately I could not weigh the fish as I made the mistake of only carrying scales up to 40lb. But the measurements show it to be one of the biggest caught in recent years. Using an accurate Mahseer weights formula, this fish weighed 50.7lb.
Chris also managed to catch sailfish and trevally off the Australian coastline during his epic journey, and during a stint at Gillham’s famous fishing resort in Thailand his catches included arapaima to 240lb and a monster Siamese carp that he didn’t weigh but which has been caught a few weeks earlier at 150lb – well over the IGFA world all tackle record for that species.
“The fight from the Arapaima is like no other as it’s a close quarter battle of will and strength, with the Arapaima usually coming out on top.
“A word of warning,” added Chris. “Do not go to Gillham’s Fishery thinking the fish will jump in the net. These big fish are clever, but if you put in the hard work and listen to the guides, you will defiantly catch a few fish of a lifetime.”
Read Chris’s full account of his fishing journey of a lifetime HERE:
