Chapt. XXIV. "Pal !■'■ '- Fishing Grounds. 335 



"Mini last mentioned By for this river; upto51bs. is thensnal weight, 

 "ba( fisli of L5 to 20 lbe. have been oaughj in it. Snipe are very 

 "fond of tlii' edges of this river when going np or down country. I 

 "havi n tin' large fish at tin- I'ounta tomple on the Jumna; 



"they are to be had with atta 1 believe. This is a Sikh temple, and 

 "so is thr llm-si' ilwiini at Dehra. A large trout 4J lbs. was oanght 

 " in the A r the mouth, when I was there; it was the largest 



" by 1, lbs. thai I have ever seen. 



" The Luswa is a splendid stream for By, and also the Song. I 

 "have taken many dozens out of these two streams, the average of a 

 "good day in the cold weather, is from 15 to 25 fish, average 1 lb. 

 " each. I once bagged in ono hole 18 trout, averaging nearly a pound, 

 ' and one small Mahseer; 5 lbs. is about the largest one can hope for, 

 " until May, but during -May and June, large fish are caught in both 

 " streams, but lever is said to be very prevalent in those months. The 

 " Song is the only decent sized stream I know of in these parts 

 "that is not subject to floods; it principally drains Jhils, so the 

 " supply of fish is steadier than elsewhere, and the water even in 

 " the cold season is comparatively warm. 



"The Ganges, 'The Mighty' has the monsters. Ask ' Moun- 

 "taineer' to tell you how to catch them, as he manages to fetch 

 '"them out when others don't. He tells me the great art is to 

 " pitch the bait as far out as possible. He also uses only small 

 " Mahseer, about 2 ozs., when he can get them, in preference to any 

 "..tlier bait. The natives catch large fish with a very cunning 

 "dodge; the line is wound on a roundish wheel; the end of the 

 " line is weighted with a small stone, say 2 lbs. weight ; the hook is 

 " tied to a snooding about a yard long, and baited with a small lisli ; 

 " sufficient line is unwound, and the stone swung round and round 

 " until let go with a jerk, it flies into mid-stream ; the line is then 

 litened, and tied with a bit of thread to a forked stick, and all is 

 dy, the snooding allowing the bait to lay down stream. The fish 

 " when taking the bait has to break the thread before he can run, and 

 " that hooks him, and he is left to play himself, as most fish are caught 

 "in this way at night. 



"Fish may be caught with atta in the Granges readily, Mahseer 

 " generally, but at times another fish, something like a cross between 

 "aSauliand a Goonch, is to be had. I saw ' Mountaineer ' catch 

 " time at Rikhikaro. Trout can be taken with fly and Mahseer also. 

 '• Trout in all rivers like a muddy bottom. One year I saw tho 

 nges dry opposite a village, except in the pools, and I had great 

 "success with the fly. Mahseer aro caught by the natives as 



