SEA FISHING IN THE BOCAS ISLANDS z\ 



this you fix about eighteen inches of No. 22 brass wire, with 

 a hook No. 6 or No. 7 gauged on to it. Where the line joins 

 the wire a small piece of lead, from i oz. to 2 oz. is bent on, 

 and the fisherman after wetting and coiling five or six fathoms 

 carefully, casts it as far as he can. Of course the bait sinks 

 slowly to the bottom, but if fish are about is generally seized 

 or bitten at before it touches. The fish you catch in this 

 manner are small, red-mouthed grunts, walliacke, pargue, 

 grouper, etc., but if you know how to "menager" as the 

 Creoles term it, you can land a fish of 20 lbs. or so. Person- 

 ally I prefer this mode of fishing to banking, as it is much 

 quicker in operation, and you are infinitely less troubled by 

 strong currents. Of course for deep sea banking at depths 

 of thirty to fifty fathoms, you must use the heavy lead sinker 

 and hooks, fixed, if you prefer it, on a "pater noster." 

 The marks of the banks are well known to the boat- 

 men of the different islands, but the best bottom fish, 

 the snappers, are very migratory, and getting good sport is 

 rather a lottery. 



BAIT 



Far and away the best bait, especially for trolling, are 

 what are commonly called "sardines" of which there are 

 several varieties. Their local names in order of merit as 

 fish killers, are : — i. Sardines rouges. 2. Anchois. 3. Sar- 

 dines Dorees. 4. Cha-Cha. 5. Small Coulihou. 6. Sar- 

 dines cailleux. Of these the first two mentioned are irresis- 

 tible, and with either on your trolling line you must feel the 

 surface fish if there are any about. The "sardines rouges" 

 and "anchois" generally enter the gulf in large shoals or 

 schools, about the month of June, beat about the bays and 

 rocks of the Bocas islands in the morning, going out to deep 

 water later, and returning in the afternoon. They are 

 generally caught in small seines in any of the bays that 

 possess a convenient beach (free from large rocks), on which 

 the net can be hauled, and the best times for hauling are the 

 early morning and evening, preferably about half tide. The 

 approach of these shoals can always be detected from afar by 

 the quantities of sea-birds that accompany them, hovering 



