Mehar Virdi & Noopur BhandiwadGoa being home to some of the most beautiful sights and spots makes angling in the state an even more attractive leisurely activity.Thirty-five-year-old Neville Coutinho is a Goan who lives and works in the UK, and when in Goa for his annual month-long vacation, he makes it a point to indulge in poler. Poler is a traditional method of fishing, which is just like angling, but where only a nylon string with a hook and a bait is used to catch the fish, sans the rod.“The shorelines and the tropical environment make Goa a perfect place for fishing. I always feel rewarded and relaxed after a catch,” says Coutinho, who hails from Ribandar.For most Goans, angling is a pastime they are extremely passionate about. There’s even a fishing competition held at Panaji and Ribandar during the monsoon season each year.Waterbodies during the monsoon offer delightful seasonal delicacies like sangtam or thigur. A two-month long ban on mechanised fishing is another motivation to put your angling skills to test.Vivette Gonsalves, aged 65, is among the rare females to have taken a fancy for angling. A homemaker from Aldona, she devotes three to four hours to the passion every day. Gonsalves says she likes to fish alone as it gives her peace of mind.“The catch depends on the tide, water temperature, current, and time when the angling is done. The catch for anglers is better during the monsoons. I started out using a bamboo stick for angling, but have switched to a fishing rod now,” Gonsalves says.To her great delight, she says, female anglers are slowly warming up to the fishing rod.Herman Abreo, a Sinquerim-based musician, took to angling when he was only a child. “Back in the day, you could lay your hands on a good catch within half an hour and could return home to cook it for the day’s meal. Today we could be sitting for hours angling, but can end up heartbroken with no catch to take home,” Abreo says.Pollution and increased activity in water bodies are only some of the many reasons cited by anglers for the reduced catch.Mumbai-based Kieran Athaide has never missed an opportunity to go angling for the last 15 years during his visits to Goa. He sets out early in the morning to get a good haul, and as a rule lets go of fish that are too small, are too big, or are female fish carrying eggs.During the ban, some anglers even choose to sell their surplus catch.“At times, the catch is more than what we can consume at home. Then I sell it. But I always make it a point to eat my first catch of the season,” Athaide says.x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x* Tiracol, Dona Paula jetty, Mandovi promenade, Mandovi and Zuari bridges, Reis Magos, Divar, Agonda and Ribandar are only some of the hotspots anglers converge at* Red and white snappers, catfish, ladyfish, pearl spot fish, mullet are some of the prized catch that anglers vie for* The best time for angling in Goa is from June to August

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