We left Bangalore on Thursday evening and reached Sakleshpur at around 11:30 pm, an hour late courtesy a protest. Neither me nor the bus driver knew where the farm was so he dropped us off at where he thought the farm house was and drove away and we later got to know that we had been dropped a kilometre and a half beyond our destination, surprise surprise. It was pitch black with almost zero visibility. The biggest problem was that this was a ghat section that and a major road link for oil tankers that are usually driven by exceptionally rash drivers with an affinity towards drinking and driving. After a mildly panic filled walk, we reached the farm had dinner and slept.
Got up early the next morning to commence collecting in the stream within the property.
The stream. The depth ranged between half an inch in some spots and close to 6 or 7 inches in some spots. The water temperature was around 24 C. Substrate was primarily gravel with lots of small pebbles and rocks strewn around. There was a lot of overhanging vegetation on the banks as well.This stream eventually joins the Hemavathi River.
The catch.
Bhavania australis
Schistura sp. These were plenty in number and size ranged between half an inch to an inch. Haven't found time to identify the species yet.
A lone Puntius bimaculatus was collected and released immediately. No picture unfortunately (sorry Rupert
). There were some Garra sp. as well.Walked for a kilometre to reach another bigger stream.
This spot had more flow and the water depth ranged from a foot to around two feet in places.
Mesonemacheilus petrubanarescui - Adult specimen. Mesonemacheilus is my favourite group of loaches. Gorgeous patterns on every single species and a feisty character to top it up.
Schistura semiarmatus
Mesonemacheilus petrubanarescui - Juvenile specimen.
A very weird Schistura semiarmatus. It had the characteristic tear drop and the speckling on the dorsum for this species plus bands that were close to fish from the Schistura denisonii complex. This fish was bright pink when collected and I first thought it was a S.denisonii until I saw the tear drop. The fish has settled down well and is exhibiting the patterns. I should take some pictures soon.
Other fish collected here were fish from the S.denisonii complex, a really pink variant. I saw the most stunning Puntius fasciatus too. They were more red than the specimens from Valparai (http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 26&t=28738). Unfortunately, the stream was fairly wide and a single push net was not good enough to catch them. My friend was busy catching up with his reading (philosophy,life,time, etc
) and wasn't too keen on collecting. Oh these non-hobbyist types. The Railway Track Trek was ruled out as trains had started plying on the route and the thought of a train sneaking up on us from one of those sharp curves didn't sound amusing at all. So I arranged for a bike so we could travel to other places.
Stopped and trekked for a little while and collected in a small stream that joined the Kumaradhara River about 60 kms away. The river was strangely bereft of life. The streams were dammed and the rocks and pebbles removed so the local farmers could get water for their lands. This damming has taken its toll in a few places. None of the species this river is so well known for were found other than this little fella.
Schistura nilgiriensis. A single specimen collected. It was bright red (Crimson loach colour almost) when collected. Beautiful species.
Other fish collected here were Bhavania australis,Barilius gatensis and a Rasbora sp.
It was close to dark and we decided to head back as we didn't want another encounter with the darkness. Reached early to take pics of the fish.
The alleged guard dogs. They had a rather amusing habit of taking and hiding footwear wherever and whenever they found it. The manager who works there was victimised most of the time. Unfortunately for me, they also tried to chew through my nets.
The real guard dog. Stunningly well behaved for a mongrel.
Whats a fish trip without some whisky eh??? Since it was a very suddenly planned trip, I didn't have time to arrange for anything special and so we had to make do with 'make do' whisky.
A big herd of cows came out of nowhere at around 2 am when we were seated outside. They started munching on the coffee plants and paddy. My friend with a little bit of whisky in his head by now, got up,called out to the dog and pointed the cows. In the next 5 seconds or so, the cows were cleared out. I was frankly quite shocked by the dog's behaviour. I have never seen a mongrel 'understand' so well.
The farm land.
We were joined by a bunch of friends the next morning who also wanted to trek and hence, we headed out towards the Kumaradhara again. This was the region where Etroplus canarensis was reported from although my interests lay only in the mustachioed fish of this river.
We trekked for about 6 kms along the river. Not a sight of any fish other than the ubiquitous Rasbora and Garra. This could be seasonal or because of all the damming and sand mining in this region.
The Kumaradhara
The only fish collected. Two M.petrubanarecui that were released back.
We decided to head back to Bangalore as all of us were quite tired by then.
I hope to go back sometime during or after the monsoons so get a glimpse of the catfish from this river. There is a lovely Garra too from this river that I really want to see in person. Hopefully, the next time
To part with,
The Two Amigos.
