406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



crystal hook, baited with a piece of this self-same light brown crust, and sup- 

 ported by very small pieces of cork fastened at intervals up the trace to 

 prevent it sinking. When you find them well within your reach, cast lightly 

 and carefully close to the loaf and then ten to one if you have made a good 

 clean cast, you will get your reward. The mullet, as I have remarked, is a 

 " niggly'' feeder, and many times you will see your bait apparently in his 

 mouth, and yet when you come to taughten up he will quietly let go and you 

 will find that all this time he has simply been " pulling your leg.'' But there 

 comes a time when you have the " bulge" on your side. He may, perhaj'S, 

 have closed his lips a little harder than usual upon the crumb, and the hook 

 has responded to your gentle twitch, the barb has gone home, and you find 

 yourself making the acquaintance of your finny friend. 



I have not specifically mentioned, but I take it for granted that my 

 readers have understood that this game can only be played with the finest 

 lackle-rod, reel, line, cast and hook all on a par ; and when once hooked you 

 can easily understand how delicate must be the manipulation if you and your 

 friend are not to part company. For this game I nearly always use a light 

 single-handed trout rod, made for me by F. M. Walbran of Leeds of the 

 pattern known as the " Bickerdyke." It has a long and a short butt, and is a 

 beautifully handy little rod and just the very thing. Keel to suit the rod. 

 Line, an 11 sized American dressed taper line, GO yds. Trace of ordinary fine 

 gut, and the hook — well, generally a round bend, size from 16-20 Milward's 

 scale, tinned, No, 13G1, are what I like best. This may not sound very exciting, 

 but it is surprising what vicissitudes can be experiei ced even in fishing for 

 mullet, and how very absorbed one can become, and alack and alas ! how very 

 often one manages to Irse one's fish. A good large landing net is distinctly a 

 nne qua non, and the larger the better, and as this sort of fishing is generally 

 carried on from a pier or landing stage, your net should have a good long 

 handle so that you may e>perience to the full the benefit of not having to 

 bring the fish too close to the pillars or supports. Pier supports seem to 

 exercise an irresistible attraction for a hooked fish, they rush to them as a 

 needle to a magnet, and when once there it is generally a case of '' Good-bye 

 dear, see you again soon," as your line comes home, clean cut by the minute 

 shells and rough sea growth which is invariably found in these situations. 



Unlike the bahmin, which loves the rushing, tumbling, broken water, 

 mullet affect the still and quieter waters and are more often found in quiet 

 bays near rocks, and also in docks and wet basins among the shipping. The 

 best places I know are Aden, and Port Blair in the Andamans, Perim 

 Harbour, nearly all the bays and inlets about Bombay Harbour, while Suez 

 Roads and the Suez Canal are simply full of them. Favourite spots in Aden 

 Harbour are off the Post Office Pier and the Gunner's landing stage. There 

 used to be two officers stationed in Aden who were adepts at this class of 

 fishing, one especially so, who used always to be very successful among the 



