SAUL IN MY SOUL
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
17/VIII/2023
Vegetarians and the weak hearted kindly avoid reading this article.
A fish called “Saul” has a place deep within my soul. Some call it Sawal, some call Murrel or Snakehead. My memories got revived when I caught a saul after ages today. It was unfortunate I couldn’t land it.
This fish is found in most of the Indian rivers and lakes. People love it because it is boneless, rather just with a central bone. In North India it is a delicacy.
My Dad introduced Angling to us. For many years I couldn’t pursue this hobby. However, the angler within was always alive. Army postings provided ample opportunities to be at places where one could rekindle the love for this hobby.
In Ladakh, it was ‘Brown Trout’ in the Lukung River. In the Kashmir valley at Gangabal lake ahead of Narayan Nag it was ‘Rainbow Trout’. All along the Indira Gandhi Canal, opportunities to fish were aplenty. One caught Carp, Singhara, Malli and Saul. During long operational deployment close to the canal, it was Partridges or Fish on the table.
I accompanied a friend of mine to Kailana Lake for the second time today. He is a professional angler with state of art rods and reels. His lures are artificial frogs and spinners. My style is “desi”. Just a hook, a little weight and live bait.
We also had live earthworms, (gill/gandoya). Saul just cannot resist the temptation. It was funny to see that as we threw atta balls in the lake, small ‘saulets’ were nibbling on them. It wasn’t rocket science to understand that people here feed fish with so much Atta, that they have turned vegetarian.
First cast from my friend and he hooked a saul. It was a small one, so we let it go. My first cast was with Atta. It was ‘fish on’ straight away. A ‘Tilapia’ was lucky, as it was returned to where it came from. Thereafter there was no stopping us.
I changed my bait to earthworm. The line went taut and gave a massive pull. One jerk and it was ‘fish on’. It fought like a fighter. I almost ran out of reel letting it take the line. Then retrieved it slowly and steadily, tiring it out. My line was old. It was being aired after almost a decade plus. I knew, any jerky movement may snap it.
‘Ms Saul’ was in the shallows along the bank when I saw this huge thing staring at me. It gave one last desperate jerk to free itself. Before I could lift it out of the water, it leaped and splashed its tail, snapping my line and dived deep inside. I promised her that I shall return and catch it again. In the meantime, another gang of anglers landed up and presented to me with their catch of saul. It was fried and served for lunch. Nostalgia set in.
During summer holidays, just before the rainy season, it used to be time to go saul fishing in river Kanjli in Kapurthala, Punjab. We caught bait under the street lights which used to attract a lot of moths which the frogs relished. We would ambush frogs, wearing socks in our hands and shut them in a small ghee tin. Socks were worn to keep their slime off. Live frogs were alluring bait for Saul.
Dad would paddle his cycle with me on the carrier till Sultanpur Lodhi gurdwara. Short of that there was a track leading to the river. From there till Kanjli river bridge it used to be a long and tiring walk along the ‘bein’ (rivulet).
Father would look out for Kingfishers. They gave enough clues where small fish congregated. Saul having spawned would guard their little ones fiercely. A bunch of saul babies would stay in a cluster of about a meter in diameter with their parents encircling them. They looked like a collection of algae. That was the time a hook was attached to the back of a frog and the line was cast towards the school of saul fingerlings.
Frogs swam to save their lives. The length of the line was kept just enough for the frog to swim to the centre and then it was reeled back towards the home bank through the sarkanda. In between, there used to be a bite and then a fight between saul and the angler. Invariably the angler won.
Into the gunny bag it went and we would continue to walk along the river and halted wherever there were chances to catch some. That walk used to be awesome for me as a school kid. Those lessons are still fresh in my mind. It will take time for me to re-master those skill again.
The ‘Keeda’ of catching a big Saul is wriggling within. When will be my next trip? I wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
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