76 How, When, and Whereto fflsh for Mahteer. Ciiait. vi. 



If he lias already suspected your bait, you will not mend matters 

 by letting it fall dead before him. But if, on the contrary, he is 

 simply eyeing it, to see if it gives him a fair opportunity for 

 surprising it at a spring, tlien let that opportunity appear, by 

 continuing its listless dawdling motion in the same direction, 

 and the chances are he will make up his mind with a promptitude 

 that will astonish you; and so sudden will be his dash that, 

 before you have well seen him move, you will feel he has taken 

 your bait. But if he does not, try him again with another throw 

 or two, bringing your bait by him in different ways, but not too 

 obtrusively. I remember one of the first times I tested these 

 tactics. Two decent fish of the perch family (Lutiamis roseun) 

 were deliberately following my bait. They were side by side, 

 and about a yard behind my bait, but they kept on following 

 it deliberately, and eyeing it intently without offering to come 

 a bit nearer. " Oh, my heart went pit a pat, pit a pat ;" but 1 

 screwed it down resolutely, and I bethought me what should I 

 do now if I was a nice little fish, with two great ugly brutes like 

 that behind me. Why, if I knew it, I should bolt like mad 

 instanter, and if I did nut know it, I should just go quietly 

 paddling on exactly as 1 am doing now, and then I should 

 probably get masticated for my listlessness. So the end of my 

 cogitations was that my bait was made to act out this little 

 pantomime, to pursue the even tenor of its way seemingly 

 unconscious of the devouring element behind. But oh, tin' 

 agony of suspense! This spin can't last for ever. Will they 

 never take? In another yard or two the bait will have come so 

 home to me, that I shall have to pull it nut. 1 was rewarded : 

 one (if the two, probably the unsuspecting and inquisitive female, 

 had made u]i her mind that it was "O.K.," and had dashed 

 so suddenly on the bait, that all I was aware of, was her disap- 

 pearance from the side of her companion, and a tugging at my 

 rod. The consequence was that she and I became very much 

 attached to one another, and my rod kept on bowing elegant 

 approval, while we had a lively dance together, at the end 

 of which 1 led her to a seat in the boat. So ended this 

 ■ spin." 



Fishing in bright water as one does, and as 1 have explained 

 should do, in India, many a little pantomime of this sort is seen 



