SEA FISHING IN THE BOCAS ISLANDS 25 



"gros-yeiix" 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 Calif omian 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 h\ingry 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 Petia 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 



