By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar

Panaji, Aug 19 (IANS) Here's a chance to know what Santiago, the old fisherman from Ernest Hemingway's novel "Old man and the Sea", felt like while battling it out with the 18-foot marlin fish. Close on the heels of water sports, fishing has emerged as an off-beat sport in Goa.

It is generating increasing interest among the local people and those tourists in Goa who want to 'reel' in a new experience other than the beach-sun-booze routine.

Ask Antony Estrocio, who's been running a game fishing operation in Goa for the last couple of years. He is a professional diver, for whom fishing has always been a passion.

"We provide boats, all the fishing tackle, bait, lures and ice to store the fish. Anglers are welcome to bring their own gear if they wish so," Estrocio, who runs www.goa-fishing.com, says.

While the waters around Goa are unfortunately not home to the marlin fish, whose grit and strength so captivated Hemingway's attention, the sea abounds in other varieties, which are equally feisty.

"Frequently caught fish include a variety of red snappers, groupers, cobia, crevalle, barramundi, threadfin salmon, barracudas, mackerels, doruado (dolphin fish), bonitos, perch, reef cod," Estrocio says, adding that the deeper you head into the sea, the bigger the game.

"The rule of thumb is - the deeper the water, the bigger the fish. We use hi-tech equipment like GPS (Global Positioning System), fish-finder depth sounders, compasses covering lots of ground to locate the desired game fish," Estrocio adds.

And, of course, apart from an ice box packed with beer, the deep sea fishing expedition also comes with an amnesty clause.

"There is also a catch and release option. In case the angler does not want to claim the fish, it can be released back into the water without causing it much harm," he says.

If sea is not your poison, the abundant marshes and mangrove vegetation near Goa's numerous rivers are also rich fishing or crabbing haunts.

"Around mangroves in backwaters and estuaries, one can cast or troll for the leaping, tail-dancing barramundi, also called the big threadfin salmon. By using live bait like a large prawn, mullet or sardine rigged to swim in the current, you can entice the cunning mangrove jack," he says, adding that setting crab traps around dusk and dawn can net several mud crabs at one go.

While Estrocio has made a commercial venture out of a hobby, there are purists like Eric da Silva, a bespectacled septuagenarian who uses fishing as a therapy and an altruistic means to ensure that when he heads home for lunch there's fresh fish for the curry pot.

"With sufficient expertise, one can even fish with bare hands and a line," he says, expertly balancing himself easily in his slim wooden canoe.

That fishing is catching on in popularity can be gauged from the fact that several line fishing competitions are held in the state in July and August, considered ideal for casting a line.

Valet D'Souza, who is part of a local Colave parish youth association, is organising a fishing competition for youth in his village.

"Besides generating interest in the skill, we also hope this contest will bring about togetherness among youth in the village," Valet says.

Needless to say the person who hooks the biggest fish wins!