134 Gram-fishing for Mahscer. CHAP. vm. 



did not suit. I once went down by train to where the railway crosses the 

 Nerbudda, about 20 miles, as well as I can remember, from Jubbulpore ; 

 there was very good fishing there. Up the river above Goari Ghaut there 

 were lots of good places ; one road went along the Rifle Range and let out 

 at a place where there was a village on the opposite bank. I cannot now 

 remember the name of the place, nor have I any map by me to refer to. 

 There was always a ferry-boat waiting on the near bank to carry the 

 villagers across, and this could be hired for fishing from. 



"About four miles out on the Mandla road was the Gaur Nuddee, a 

 small river flowing into the Nerbudda. This river was very well stocked 

 with fish in the early part of the cold weather, October to December ; 

 after that the water got very low, and the big fish retired to the deep pools, 

 whence they could not be enticed. The road crossed the river by an 

 Irish bridge or causeway, and below this, and fishing from the causeway, 

 I have got many a good bag. I don't think the fish ran bigger than 3 Ibs. 

 or 4 Ibs. To have good fishing one had to arrive there at daybreak : 

 and a sharp ride from cantonments on a cold frosty morning in December 

 was invigorating if not very pleasant. Clouds of steam were rising from 

 the stream at this hour, showing how warm it was compared with the air, 

 and it was quite a relief to wade in and warm one's perished feet. As soon 

 as the sun peeped above the horizon your rod and tackle should be ready 

 for the first cast, and if you did not have some fun for the next two hours 

 you had bad luck. There were several good runs up the river, but the 

 causeway was the best place. 



" Where the river joins the Nerbudda was a favourite place for fishing, 

 but it was not very easily got at, there being nothing but a path through 

 the fields ; while proceeding there in the early part of the cold season, 

 just after the rains, and before the ground had become dry and hard, 

 I have often had tc turn back. It is calculated to make you angry 

 if, after having sent your rod on in advance to a certain place, you find 

 you cannot get there on a horse, but could fish some other part of the river 

 if you could only recall the man with your rod. It is humiliating, to say the 

 least of it, to have to ride back the five or six miles, and when asked * What 



luck ? ' to have to reply that you could not reach the river. 



* ***** 



" I took a great fancy to fishing with gram, in spite of the nuisance of 

 having to change the hook so often. The baited hook is not heavier than 

 a salmon fly, and the fishing approached very closely to fly-fishing. By 

 throwing in a single grain of gram every few minutes, and letting it float 

 down stream, you could tell at once when a big fish was on the feed, and 

 where he rose. I think that stalking a particular fish, which you see rising, 

 is much greater sport than flogging a river on the chance of a fish coming 

 to you : you had to throw the gram just as nicely, and let it fall just as 

 gently on the water over a rising fish as if it had been a wary trout, and 

 you exult much more after landing the fish, which perhaps you have 



