Unforgettable: Fishing the jungles of India

Bangalore, India — What looked like a log floating nearby was, in fact, a crocodile. What looked like a large, round cereal bowl was, in fact, a boat. What looked like a carefully molded chunk of cookie dough was, in fact, bait for the giant mahseer.

And what was a visit to the jungles of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on the Cauvery River in the state of Karnataka, India, was, in fact, an unforgettable fishing experience.

Were it not for obvious differences, this could have been a fishing trip anywhere … a river, tree-lined shores, the sound of birds, a whisper of a breeze and the wait for the one big tug on the tip of the rod.

The appearance of crocodiles and anticipation of a 100-pound fish, however, made this a different story. This was not a fishing trip to just anywhere.

The Bheemeshwari Fishing and Nature Camp is located deep in the Cauvery preserve.

It's particularly popular among Germans and English but is little known to Americans. It's a long flight from the United States to India, halfway around the world, to begin with.

This trip began in Bangalore, India, a city in the southeastern area of the south Indian state of Karnataka, with a population of around 5.3 million and recognized as one of the major economic centers in India.

From there it was a five-hour drive — two to get out of Bangalore and three driving the 63 miles at night through villages and roads that were, at times, very narrow and turny — to the camp.

The first hint that this was not just anywhere, aside from very dense vegetation and road signs along the way, was a large pile of dung in the center of the road left there by an elephant.

There are elephants in this preserve, but the jungle has become their shield. Telltale signs like this created a rather anxious awareness that these were wild elephants and that they could very easily be close by.

Bheemeshwari is one of three government-run camps within the preserve. The other two are Galibore and Dobbamakali.

The Bheemeshwari camp is located on the banks of the Cauvery River. It is, as remote fishing camps go, on the upper end of comfortable.

Among the available lodgings were eight "ethnic log-huts" or suites. There was also a large, round open pavilion, called a "ghol-ghar," for meals, as well as offices, staff accommodations and small gift shop.

The huts had a large room with comfortable beds, couch, chairs and coffee table. The bathroom was typical India in design — toilet, sink and open shower that yielded hot water on demand.

The 6 a.m. wakeup call for fishermen included coffee, tea, water and biscuit. At 7 a.m., promptly, the guide, called a "gillie," arrived. In this case, it was 10-year veteran Renukha Naik.