CHAPTER XVII. 



FISHING IN ESTUARIES. 



1 There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune, 



• « * » * 



And we must take the current when it bi rvea 

 Or lose our ventures." — 



Julius Cesar. 



All fishing in estuaries is very much, and I am inclined to think 

 entirely, governed by the tides, except, perhaps, when monsoon 

 floods somewhat modify calculations by overpowering the tides, 

 and except in the months when the tides of putrid-smelling sea 

 water set in ; then the fish are sickened. But the tides seem to 

 affect different fish differently, so that it is a very difficult matter 

 to work out to a satisfactory conclusion. I have noticed fish 

 taking freely at the very commencement of the flow in an estuary, 

 while not a few fishermen agree that certain fish take best during 

 the latter part of the ebb tide. 



I am inclined to think that the former are chiefly the rock-fish 

 /.ii'ianus rose//-.', and C/n-i/^i/i/iris ihitnin, and C. berda, and some- 

 times Lates calcarifer. The latter are the well-known Bdmin of 

 the Malabar coast, Puli/nrmus tetradaclylus. The latter go to sea 

 with every tide, I believe, whereas the former do not leave the 

 estuaries, 1 think; and this difference in their habits may well 

 account for a difference in their time of feeding. 



Watching an estuary I noticed that when I first came to the 

 spot all was iptiet, not a lish was moving. Then the tide turned 

 to flow, and I saw all along the edge of the river, between me and 

 the sea, heavy fish rushing at smaller fish, and making great 

 swirls on the surface ; when they came opposite me, the place was 

 alive with hig fish striking Little ones; but it did not last more 



