268 MULLETS AND MACKEREL. 



singular. It chanced that cousin Dick and I were passing by this 

 said canal, as we were returning home rather disconcerted and 

 empty basketted, from a small inlet of salt water hard by, in 

 which we had vainly been attempting to catch some of the smaller 

 basse, that usually made their appearance about that time of the 

 year, though not one of them that day favoured us with a nibble, 

 but which, as the sequel will show, was the most fortunate event 

 that could have happened to us ; for as we were returning by this 

 canal, and with our stock of bait but little diminished, observing a 

 motion in the water, but which was too thick to enable us to dis- 

 tinguish what, we put together our tackle, to try to solve the 

 mystery ; I, being the first ready, had scarcely thrown in, than 

 bob bob, went my float, when striking, a tug or two, much 

 stronger than I expected, informed me I had got hold of something 

 worth capturing, and having pretty strong tackle, I soon brought 

 a mullet of a pound weight or more to land ; after which, as long 

 as our bait lasted, we continued to catch them ; not one under a 

 pound, and some as much as two ; and when at last our bait utter- 

 ly failed, we even with a few detached pieces, such as we could 

 collect adhering to the mouths and lips of the mullets we had pre- 

 viously captured, managed still to catch away, till not an atom 

 more bait remaining, we were obliged reluctantly to abandon the 

 pursuit ; and though we took an early opportunity of resuming it, 

 we never found the fish take so freely as on the first occasion, 

 though we often caught our dozen, or dozen and half between us, 

 in the course of an evening ; and occasionally some larger ones 

 than we had before taken. Once I remember catching one that 

 weighed nearly 4 Ibs, and fine sport I had with him ; having made 

 his acquaintance in an excellent place for playing him, and he pro- 

 ving a remarkably game fish, did not very readily give up the 

 contest. We also used to catch basse as well as mullet in this 

 place, but the basse did not seem to thrive so well there, nor were 

 they so plentiful as the latter fish. Unfortunately our success at 

 length got wind ; and first a swarm of anglers from the town, and 

 finally the nets of the fishermen swept all away before them, and 

 so utterly destroyed our future sport, by exterminating the race. 



Another instance of the mullet biting more freely in a state of 

 confinement, was communicated to me by a very scientific and in- 

 telligent angler, I had the good fortune to fall in with very recently, 

 and to whom I stand indebted for much valuable information, on 



