SEA FISHING IN THE BOCAS ISLANDS 25 
“gros-yeux”” seen in large shoals all round the Bocas from 
April to October. 
The King-Fish or Tasard. This fine game-fish is very 
near of kin to the Californian leaping tuna, and may also be 
often seen jumping out of the water, particularly round the 
north coast of Trinidad, where he abounds at certain seasons. 
He also affords great sport with trolling gear, but he has not 
the bulldog tenacity of the carangue, and does not fight as 
long. He is much wilier, however, in his tactics, and if he 
begins to zigzag on the wire, you need all your skill and grit 
to hold him. Unless very hungry he will not hold on to the 
bait straight away like the carangue, but will play “coquin,”’ 
taking little nips and following up the bait. When he does 
hold on he is off with a rush, often leaping out of the water 
when he feels the hook (the carangue never leaps out of the 
water, on the contrary, goes down). After his first burst he 
will often appear to give up fighting and resign himself to 
fate, while the fisherman if he is a novice will go on hauling or 
reeling up his line into the boat, and if he is a hand-liner the 
wire also, and that will be a critical time, as directly the king- 
fish sees the boat he will commence a series of rushes both 
fore and aft like forked lightning, and then woe betide the 
poor novice’s hands, for if he lets go the wire, the fish will 
kink it, no matter how strong it be, and snap it like a piece of 
pack-thread. The king-fish like the carangue must be 
played with until exhausted, and carefully handled when put 
into the boat, as it has teeth like razors. I estimate that on 
light tackle, you must play a carangue of 20 lbs. to 25 lbs. 
for half an hour, and a king-fish of about the same size about 
twenty minutes, as they are sooner drowned. I have al- 
ready mentioned that the best fishing ground for king-fish is 
off La Pefia on the Venezuelan coast, but strong tackle is 
absolutely necessary, as your object is to get your fish in 
the boat as quickly as possible, on account of the predaceous 
fish there, sharks and barracoutas, who will quickly share 
your prey with you often leaving only the head. From May 
to August king-fish are fairly plentiful all round Trinidad, 
and fine sport can be had, particularly on the north and 
northeast coasts from Macqueripe to Matura. It should be 
