We reach Anand's place 9 minutes late and for a change he is ready to go. However, we need to make a detour to a temple because he needed to invoke the gods to help him with his libido.
I am not making this up!With breakfast on everyone's mind we halt for some honest-to-god South India fare. I tank myself up because I was not sure what or how much the others had brought for lunch. As it turned out, I need not have worried as there was enough to go around and this trip turned out to be a hogfest.
Having reached our destination, R & A push off in the coracle with one sole objective in mind - to get their first murrels. They will fill you in on the details.
Whilst the two of them were busy murreling around, I ledgered for mahseer from the bank and a few hours of patient waiting gets me just one small blighter.
We meet up again at the car after noon and decided to get lunch out of the way. Anand's chicken-n-mushrooms with loads of pickle and chapatis won the best lunch award by a country mile and I promptly went about the task of stuffing myself but I did not eat the samosa!
I then accompanied Ranjeet in the coracle and we set out to get him his first murrel. Shortly into the session I get one and after the usual pic and release we continue in our search for the murrel bearing Ranjeet's name.
At this point, I need to take a break in the narrative to tell you guys that Ranjeet was using a baitcasting set-up. He was completely new to it, infact we spooled the reel when we reached Forbes, and hence at a disadvantage. In other words, his casting was poor. However, he has a good tool for the job and with a little more practice and experience he's going to be glad he shifted to one so early in his fishing career.
To get on with the narrative...Ranjeet makes another of his cockeyed casts, which naturally ends up at the edge of a weedy bank and snags. I pay no attention as by now I am used to this but when he says, he may have a fish at the end of the line I am all attention. I tell him to keep the tension on the line and have the ghillie row up to the snag. I grab hold of the leader and pull and outcomes a murrel spitting invectives. There were congratulations all around and after a few pics, I am delighted to say that Ranjeet was sporting enough to release the fish, rather than take it home.
Here's a visibly delighted Ranjeet with his first murrel. Well done and here's to many more!
By now the sky was getting overcast with thick black clouds accompanied by thunder and I decided to head back to the car. Fortunately, instead of the usual storm, there was only a light drizzle for thirty minutes or so.
After attending to some 'pressing' business in the shrubbery, I accompany Anand in the coracle to get him his first murrel. We row to a part of the lake that hadn't been disturbed that day and to my embarassment, I hook into a murrel first. I hand the rod over to Anand but the dozy blighter does not maintain the tension and the murrel is gone.
Shortly after this I hook another murrel and bring it to the boat.
Next, Anand gets a bite but strkes immidiately and the lure flies out of the murrel's mouth and smacks against the coracle.
I am now on my 99th murrel and then something really rare happens. Anand and I hook into murrels simultaneously (literally a split second apart) but we both go and loose our respective fish.
It would have been grand had we got our 100th and 1st murrel simultaneously.We continue lure fishing for over an hour and Anand is still murrel-less. Not only is this getting to him but to me as well and as the sun begins to set I make a last ditch try in a place where I have always found a murrel or two in residence. Some frantic spinning ensues and then finally, the blighter gets one and we boat it with a huge sigh of relief. Handshakes over with, Anand calls his wife asking her if she would like him to bring the fish back. However, since she is undecided, he lets the fish go.
We now start our trip back to the car and I start casting for my 100th but it was not to be. Perhaps that will happen when I go back with Anand and Iceman this coming Sunday.
Thanks to Ranjeet for driving both ways (I know it's a b**ch, especially the drive back) and to Anand for the delicious chicken-n-mushrooms. Bring it again this coming Sunday.
And yes, I guess I was the only one who enjoyed the way back with a couple of chilled beers, sitting ahead next to Ranjeet 
