SEA FISHING IN THE BOCAS ISLANDS 27 



drowned. A man 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 ahvays 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 k Diable. The opposite side at Huevos is also 

 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 homy 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 



