SHHH! An angler waits at Bara Lake (Animesh Sengupta)

Jamshedpur anglers are rediscovering a fundamental fishing maxim — the fish bite in clear waters.

The newly cleaned-up Bara Lake near Sidhgora, one of the three favourite haunts of city anglers — the other two being Jayanti Sarovar and Beldih Lake — is netting a handsome catch for Jamshedpur Angling Club members.

“Before this, I had rarely been satisfied with my catch at Bara. This time, there’s a marked change. I caught a 3.5kg carp (katla) only last week,” said member Aftab Alam.

Bara Lake’s daily yield is now over 150 fish, significantly more than the average haul of 100 at both Beldih Lake and Jayanti Sarovar. The catch at Bara — the reservoir has rohu, carp, mrigal and some local variants — is also healthy and mature in size.

Angling club secretary Subroto Das said that if the water was clean, the fish could see the bait and bite it.

“The water at Bara Lake is very, very clean. We dredged it last week and removed huge amounts of algae and grass. Our members are noticing the difference. Their patience is getting rewarded with a better catch,” he grinned.

“Yes, the fish are biting the bait here. This wasn’t the case earlier,” Mantu Ghosh, a Bara regular, added.

According to club rules, a member can catch up to 10 fish per sitting. But he must release the fish weighing less than 500gm back into the water.

The new lake listings point to Bara making a clean sweep to the winning slot. But Jayanti Sarovar will also catch up, as it is the only reservoir in the city where water is not stagnant, something that the fish love.

Sadly, matters are still murky at the iconic Beldih Lake. It was in the news recently for reduced oxygen levels and hooliganism. It is still not very clean.

“Dhatkidih residents bathe near the lake. Vehicles are also washed with water from the lake. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to keep the water clean,” a senior JAC member said.