SEA FISHING IN THE BOCAS ISLANDS 27 
drowned. Aman may get fifty bites in an afternoon, but he 
can consider himself the favoured of fortune if he puts five 
fish in the boat. The tarpon is always caught with trolling 
gear, reel or hand line, rarely taking the hook if any other 
mode of fishing is pursued, and this trolling is carried on 
preferably from a small, fast fishing boat travelling up and 
down the fishing ground, as a rule never more than a distance 
of 50 ft. from the rocks, and often nearer. The tarpon will 
often bite with a full moon, and I have known of very good 
work being done with large fish on the eve of the full moon 
and for three or four nights after, trolling between the rock 
at the head of the First Boca, called “Dent Ma Taitron,’’ and 
the eastern shore or rocky cliffs of Monos. A favourite 
ground for tarpon is from Domus Bay, Monos, round Pointe 
Courante, and down the Monos side of the Second Boca, as 
far as Pointe a Diable. The opposite side at Huevos isalso 
good, but as I have before stated, tarpon can nearly always 
be felt in the season anywhere round the Trinidad Coast, and 
at river mouths like the Caroni, Nariva, and Ortoire, at all 
times and season, but the river fish do not run nearly as large. 
N. B. Always carry a harpoon in the boat; it often is 
indispensable for securing a big fish. 
The Barracouta. This fish, the pirate of the seas, also 
affords fine sport, especially if of large size, but according to 
my experience he is more easily played out or drowned than 
the fish I have just been writing about. He is the possessor 
of a very long and enormously powerful jaw, so when fishing 
for him, a large, preferably steel hook and good tackle, 
whether rod or hand-line, are absolutely necessary, as he 
will take the bait in a most emphatic manner, giving the 
hand-liner who is trolling for him a nice pair of blistered 
hands by the rate the line will travel through them, provided 
he has neither gloves nor a horny epidermis. I have known 
a boat with two men rowing hard to be stopped dead, and 
the troller nearly jerked out of the boat by the first rush of a 
large barracouta. The most tempting bait being a garfish 
or large ballahoo, 12 in. to 15 in. in length, it can be under- 
stood that a big hook is indispensable. When he feels the 
sting he sometimes springs out of the water, but not so high 
