“There is only one kind of Golden Mahseer- the Barbus tor putitora and it lives only along the Himalayas- from Uttaranchal and Himachal in the West to Assam and Arunachal in the East.”
“Like all of India’s wildlife, the golden mahseer is in decline, both in sizes and numbers. Where available in numbers, they run small, when it comes to size, some of the biggest have been killed off, especially the great females which grow the biggest.”
Flyfishing for Mahseer’s has been evolving for the last 25 years. Streamers are often used to lure the fish. Most fly caught fish are in the steelhead poundage range. The 60+ pound bruiser above is more often caught in deep pools with hardware of bait. Much like salmon. The Golden Mahseer is becoming endangered and C & R is expected in regions that cater to fly fishers. A 1989 movie, Casting for Gold (Baily/Boot) reportedly highlights fly fishing for Mahseer in the foothills of the Himalayas. This is viewed as a novelty fishery to the West. Euro’s are frequent pursuers of this species with the swung fly with one and two handers.
SwittersB & Exploring 