198 Fishing in Estuaries. Ciiait. xvii. 



Dash goes another monster, or, perhaps, the same one, and again 

 there is an obvious gap. " Close up, close up," is the word, and 

 so they keep pressing on up stream, apparently very much 

 frightened, but still unwavering in their purpose of pressing 

 on up the river, with all their little strength. What their purpose 

 is in resolutely struggling up stream, and whether they are small 

 fish or fry I am not certain ; but I have a strong suspicion that 

 they are the minute fry of mullet, which, I am assured by native 

 fishermen, ascend and descend for the sake of food with every tide, 

 and which I know are caught in large numbers by taking 

 advantage of this their habit as mentioned in para. 122 of 

 Chapter XXV. When they have passed the fish cease taking. 

 Whether it is because the big fish have followed the little ones, 

 or have turned their attention to other food, as trout will when 

 the rise is over, I cannot say; but that it is no use fishing for 

 them I can say. 



For the brief period that the small fish are passing, you will 

 have excellent sport. Put on a dead fish, and spin as for jack, 

 with stout hooks on gimp. Gut will not do, it will be cut through 

 in a trice. The gimp, too, must be stout. I have had every 

 available bit of tackle broken by successive fish in twenty 

 minutes. But then 1 was learning; I was buying my experience 

 a great deal dearer than you will buy this book. Rut I have 

 made the fish pay for it eventually, for, when a shoal has been 

 passing, I have taken toll of them as fast as ever I could land 

 them and throw in my line. It is "a short life and a merry one." 

 Have good stout gimp and let there be two trebles, besides the lip 

 lumk, on your llighl of hooks, instead of only one treble as for 

 Mahseer. The fishes' mouths are hard, and closely set with 

 teeth, so that it is as well to have the extra chance of an extra 

 book. 



POLTNEMUS. 



But the best fish to be caught in estuaries is the Polynemus 

 telradaetylus, Plate XX, well known to sportsmen on the West 

 ('oast by its Malayalim name, Bd,-m\n, pronounced Bar-meen, and 



all too well known for its tackle-breaking propensities. "They 



"eat an astonishing lot of phantoms," writes a friend, 1 emoaning 

 his tackle. The fish I spoke of in my first edition as the l'amban 



