In the days of British control of India, the freshwater fish of the country gained a legendary reputation.

Many a hardened salmon angler would try, and fail, to catch such species as the awesome Himalayan Golden Mahseer, and the ferocious-looking Goonch Catfish. These fish gained such a reputation for smashing salmon rods, mangling the strongest hooks available and running at speeds previously unheard of, that specialist tackle was invented to allow anglers to cope with such brutes.

With the break-up of the Empire, these fish became either forgotten or hunted for food, until the last quarter of the 20th Century when they were re-discovered as sporting species.