THE FISHERIES OF THE FAR EAST 



point of one of the rods he first carefully separates the 

 weeds and leaves on the surface of the water, and brushes 

 aside, or nicks off, the heads of lotos that may be in his 

 way. As soon as he sees a clear field, in goes his first 

 hook, baited with a fly ; or, if ground-fishing, probably 

 with a strip of kid or morsel of paste. Then he places 

 the butt of the rod in a holder ready prepared and pro- 

 ceeds to make his second cast. This holder is a short 

 length of bamboo, the hollow of which will just fit the 

 end of the fishing-rod ; and is driven into the bank, or 

 lashed to the side of the raft, so that it will keep the rod 

 at an angle of about thirty degrees to the water. 



But how this casual individual ever succeeds in catching 

 anything at all is one of the hidden things. Apparently 

 he is asleep half his time ; we do not see him make any 

 attempt at watching bait or float, or at playing his fish ; 

 yet he seldom pulls up the line without there being a fish 

 at the end of it. Above all, as often as not it is a dace ; 

 and anglers do not need to be told that this is an 

 exceedingly sharp biter which requires to be struck 

 immediately. 



Each time John takes a fish off the hook he stoops and 

 seems to put it back into the water at his feet. But if 

 you watch him when he leaves off work you will see him 

 drag out a large bamboo basket that has been kept in 

 the water with only the rim showing above the surface. 

 As the basket comes up, the water naturally is drained off', 

 and the Chinaman has fresh fish for sale or private con- 

 sumption, instead of flabby things that have been exposed 

 to several hours of scorching sun. 



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