20 . SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



but I should Strongly advise the angler in place of the gimp 

 and steel wire arrangements he will probably bring out, to 

 fix his hook on to at least five fathoms of 22 brass wire (fish- 

 ing king-fish he will require 8), and this he can tie on to his 

 reel-line whether silk or linen, both of which I have found 

 very good in these waters if carefully washed and dried after 

 using. (Both gimp and steel wires are absolute failures.) 

 The nimibers of brass wire generally used range from No. 18, 

 the thickest and strongest, to No. 27, the finest. I find that 

 No. 24 is the most preferable to use for general trolling, as it 

 is not too coarse to frighten the excessively wary mackerel, 

 and is at the same time strong enough if dexterously handled 

 to capture a 2 5 -lb. cavalli or barracouta. 



Another mode of fishing much in vogue at the Bocas is 

 the " ligne dormante." A large No. i hook is gauged on to a 

 piece of stout No. 18 brass wire, about 2 ft. long. A goodly 

 piece of mackerel or other tempting bait is put on the hook, 

 the tackles then attached to the end of sixty or seventy 

 fathoms of stout line, the fisherman gets on a convenient 

 rock (a favourite site being the lee side of a point where big 

 fish do congregate on the rising tide), and the hook and bait 

 is taken out in the boat, until the major portion of the line is 

 paid out, leaving from fifteen to twenty fathoms for man 

 and fish to play with. The fish caught in this manner are 

 usually grouper, pargue and sorb (two species of red snapper) 

 and run from 12 lbs. to 80 lbs. and over 100 lbs. in 

 weight. The two last-named fish are game and give great 

 sport, care and skill being required if the line jams in one of 

 the numerous reefs. Of course the same mode of fishing can 

 be pursued with rod and reel, in fact, I have caught several 

 sorb with the rod, the largest being 17 lbs. weight. 

 With the hand line, my best records have been, a red grouper 

 weighing 120 lbs., and a " pargue-dent-chien" of 108 lbs., 

 both caught off Pointe Baleine, Gasparillo. 



A favourite mode of "pot" fishing, which can be prose- 

 cuted at all seasons and all tides, with more or less success, 

 is with the "ligne voyante" or "ligne volante," and must be 

 carried on in the boat near the rocks. For this you require 

 from ten to twenty fathoms of fine, but strong line, and on to 



