Chapt. xiii. N ■ ■ Chitala. 17:'. 



" weight, I am told, of abonl l" lbs., but the average size they are 

 " cniiL'lit by theDhooms, in their nets, would be probably about 18 lbs. 

 " It is not usually thought much of for the table by Europeans, but tho 

 " natives think highly of it; and I think they are right, for I know 

 " nothing better in the fish line than the thin or belly part of this fish 

 " fried ; the baek or thick part I will admit to be uneatable. The thin 

 " part, when in condition, is covered with Eat, and very rich and tasty. 

 " This fish you will take with the live bait, and in the same kind of 

 " water and manner of fishing as mentioned by me in my last letter;* 

 " but he has a habit, directly he is struck, of running up right under 

 " your boat, and you wind up, and wind up, thinking you have lost 

 " your fish, until you are agreeably astonished with a ' whir,' ' whir,' 

 " of your winch, and a glimpse of his bright silvery side as he goes off 

 '• with his grand rush. Take him all in all, he is a gallant fish, and 

 " fights bravely. The only fault I find with him is, that he has such a 

 " small mouth, consequently you strike but few. Probably, however, 

 " with smaller hooks and bait, better sport might be had with them than 

 " I have had ; but, as a rule, fishermen naturally use such tackle in 

 " fishing a certain water as is best suited to the majority of the fish they 

 " expect to catch, and therefore the tackle I spoke of in my last is, I 

 " think, the best suited for live bait fishing; and with such tackle, anil 

 " in such pools (' Dhoobies ') you will probably take three each of 

 " ' Kors ' and ' Poongha ' to one ' Seetal,' for the reasons previously 

 " given. I have never fished for him, so to say, exclusively, but if 1 

 " did I should use much lighter tackle, say strong salmon gut trace, 

 " two medium size triangles, and a live bait not exceeding 6 inches; 

 " he has no teeth on his gills to cut your tackle. I have never known 

 " of a ' Seetal ' being caught with a spoon." 



" I pitomized alx>TC under Kors and Poongah. 



