130 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL RLST. ,'SOCLETY, Vol. XXV 



certainly be no exaggeration. Before leaving the subject of the Tnjgonidte 

 one word of caution is ofl'ered. In handling a skate let the novice be 

 exceedingly careful of the spine below his whip-cord of a tail. A prick 

 from this weapon of defence, and he is an adept in its use, may develop 

 into an exceptionally unhealthy sore. In addition to the skate the creel of 

 the bottom-angler may be varied by the capture of an occasional soos (family 

 Rhinobatidce) familiarly known as the " ground shark " ; and as for the 

 " gulloo " or cat-fish, the angler is frequently obliged to up-anchor and 

 change his vemte to avoid the vinwelcome attentions of this scavenger of 

 the seven seas. 



Up to the present only the game-fishes of Jask have been introduced to 

 the prospective angler. Let us take a tour, on paper, round the Persian 

 Gulf and delve, metapherically speaking, into the delights of 



OTHER FISHING EESORTS 



and see what treasures live beneath the surface of this vast arm of the 

 Indian Ocean. Starting from Karachi and skirting the coast of British 

 Mekran the prow of the packet is headed for 



Ormara. 



During the cold weather months, sport in the waters of Ormara is report- 

 ed to be of the first quality, the principal fish being the surmai or seer. 

 There is a tale told in the Gulf ports that a gigantic surmai leapt into the 

 boat of a local fisherman, and striking the unfortvmate wretch with his jaws 

 in the pit of the stomach disembowelled him. Such a legend may savour 

 of the proverbial fisherman's yarn, but anyone who has examined the mouth 

 of a large surmai can readily imagine that it is not entirely beyond 

 credence. 



Pasni and Gwadar are the next ports of call on our voyage of discovery, 

 but no definite information is forthcoming concerning their potentialities 

 for sport with rod and line, though dried fish and sparks' fins woidd seem to 

 form the main items of export. In normal times the slow mail will next 

 drop anchor in 



CHAHBAR BAY, 



a large indentation in the coast of Persian Mekran. 



The fishing at this tiny little British settlement, it must be admitted, is 

 disappointing : saran there are during the hot months, but round the 

 shores of the promontory they require a very large amount of coaxing. 

 From local information it has been gathered that on the opposite side of 

 the bight a distance of 8 miles, lie the favourite haunts of the saran, but the 

 accuracy of this statement still requires to be put to a practical test. 

 Passing the low-lying promontory of Jask, where the 100 fathom line 

 curves within 3|^ miles of the Cape, we steer to the moiith of the Persian 

 Gulf proper, and drop our anchor at 



HENJAM, 



a small island about half way along, and lying close to the southern 

 shore of the larger island of Kishim. In the Straits fish are to be caught 

 though of what variety there are no authentic records ; and in this con- 

 nection the sportsman will have to take precautions as the tides run strong. 

 Bunder Abbas, Linga, Bushire are other ports on the Persian Littoral, and 

 the Shatt-al-Arab at the head of the Gulf has become famous within recent 

 times. Still continuing round the Arab coast, we may touch at Bahrein, the 

 centre of the pearl industry, and continuing over the Great Pearl Bank, we 

 once again pass into the tidal race at the head of the Gulf of Oman and 

 seek refuge in one of the fjords of the 



