Bait Making, for us it’s an obsession of over 40 years, stemming from a trip to India.
In the early seventies, my parents took me on a photographic trip to India, where I lived on a houseboat on Dal Lake in Kashmir.
Dal Lake, known as Srinagar’s Jewel, is a natural wetland with a ten-mile shoreline. It’s home to floating gardens called “RAD,” which come alive with lotus flowers in July and August.
The lake has an average depth of four to seven feet, but some parts can reach up to twenty feet. It’s home to various aquatic life, including many species of fish.
On my first day on the houseboat, I met an old fisherman who would be our chef. Despite not speaking much English, we understood each other perfectly. He told me he had been catching carp in the lake all his life.
The next day, he invited me to follow him to the bow of the boat. He showed me my basic fishing tackle: a bamboo cane rod, line like a tow rope, a float made of reed stem, a small nut and bolt for a weight, and a large hook.
I wished I had brought my two-piece solid glass sea fishing rod and reel from Whitby, but I figured I’d make the best of it. After all, that’s what fishing is all about, right?
The next morning, we woke up early on the boat. My parents wanted to capture sunrise shots over the lake. The fisherman soon got the ingredients. When he returned, we sat on the deck. He opened an old sack and pulled out a wooden bowl. He started taking out the contents, and I knew it was special bait. I recognised some ingredients because my mum is a great cook. We often use unusual ingredients from around the world to make amazing meals. There was root ginger, garlic powder, chilli powder, and other spicy extracts I’d never seen. There were also two types of flour.
While on the houseboat, I caught many small carp, but spotted a few big ones basking in the sun among the lily pads. While filming with my parents, I got to see them up close. Lake Dal holds special memories for me. I’d love to return to the lake, the jewel in Kashmir, India. That’s when I got the obsession to create baits and catch carp.
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4 days ago