2 8 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



or often as the tarpon. After the first rush, which is fierce 

 but not so long as the carangue, he will sulk and shortly make 

 a second and third rush in spurts, not so dogged and deter- 

 mined as the carangue, who fights hard to the bitter end. 

 After his third rush, if the boatmen pull hard he will soon be 

 exhausted (on account, I fancy, of his excessively long jaw, 

 which must cause him to swallow a lot of water) , and can be 

 gaffed, or if too large, beached on the shore. Like the tar- 

 pon, the barracouta is always fished for near the shore, and 

 his best season is November and December. He sometimes 

 takes the bait when fishing with "ligne dormante," but is 

 generally caught trolling. Plentiful on the northern and 

 eastern coasts, and also the Bocas Islands. A favourite 

 ground is Scotland Bay, and between there and L'Anse Poua 

 on the mainland, the eastern side of the First Boca. In 

 Scotland Bay, trolling from a small boat with one boatman, 

 I hooked, played and beached, a barracouta 8^ ft. in length. 



In closing my description of fish that afford good sport to 

 the angler in these waters, I must not omit the "Bonite," a 

 chunky built fish, little used for food, but greedily looked for 

 as bait to catch other fish. He is almost as gamey and 

 strong as the carangue, and puts up a good fight on the troll- 

 ing line; the "mackerel" which when large, (lo lbs. to 15 

 lbs.), pursues similar tactics to the king-fish, only more 

 " coquin" as the natives express it (Anglice, wily) . I know of 

 no fish such a confirmed bait stealer as the mackerel, the 

 " pargue-dent-chien" which, especially when of large size, 

 affords splendid sport either to the man with the rod or 

 "ligne dormante," as its rushes are exceedingly swift and 

 powerful, and lastly the "sorbe" which though not quite so 

 powerful or swift as the " pargue" is well worth the catching. 

 There are other good game fish such as the cod and pompano, 

 but they are exceedingly rare and not often caught. 



The hunter after the mighty monsters of the deep will 

 not be disappointed in Trinidad waters, as the Giant Ray, 

 Sea-Devil or Manta, is far from uncommon, and can be both 

 seen and heard on most nights at Pointe Baleine, the western 

 end of Gasparil. These huge beasts (often weighing over 

 1,000 lbs.) hurtle themselves out of the water to a height of 



