CHAP. ix. Fishing in Discoloured Water. 137 



fish, to give him room to swim about if he wishes, and then the end of the 

 fishing line, with bait and bullet, is deposited in any likely place in the 

 river, and the rod is ' set ' on the bank, with reel free to run when required. 

 The best place to put in your live bait is in one of the eddies near the 

 head of a rapid ; a favourite place is in the backwater, of two feet or so 

 in depth, between two channels of a rapid. In the deep pools Bowalis,* 

 a fresh- water shark kind of fish, and eels (I once caught one of the latter 

 1 8 Ibs. weight in this fashion) are likely to take the bait and give trouble. 

 It is not improbable that Mahseer can feel f about well with their leathery 

 mouths, if they cannot see in heavy water. Anyhow the above is a very 

 successful way of catching Mahseer when the water is too thick for spinning 

 or a fly, for, with close upon thirty years' experience of fishing in India, 

 I have invariably found that neither minnow nor fly are of any use in heavy 

 water. I never lose time myself in trying them ; but it is difficult to 

 persuade others till they have tried their own patience in the matter. I 

 have caught very heavy fish with live bait thus used, and this is not 

 surprising, for, as you mention, Mahseer are bottom feeders and I have, 

 moreover, caught nearly as many in a day in muddy water with live bait 

 as I have in bright water by other means. I mention one instance only. 

 Major S. . . . fished a few miles up stream from Naoshera on the Towi 

 River (which is met on the Bhimbur route to Cashmere), and, though a 

 really good fisherman, could not get either run or rise ; before his return, 

 in less than four hours' time, I had caught and landed five good fish in 

 the pool close to our camp ; the water was like pea soup, and the fish were 

 all caught, as above, with live bait. I might probably have caught double 

 the number if I had set a couple of rods. I have caught many large fish 

 varying from 10 Ibs. to 50 Ibs. in this way, and what more could be wanted 

 from the river, when trolling or fly-fishing is impossible ? The bait, if 

 neatly put on, and not pulled about frequently, will live for an indefinite 

 period. I have generally found his existence shortened very rapidly by 

 Mahseer. 



" I give you a sketch of the bait. The body hook is inserted while 

 the point of the shank is held next to the tail, and then turned over so 

 as to let the shank lie on the side of the bait. The bait, of course, 

 must not be curved. The mouth hook is put in last. Attach the bullet 

 with a piece of thread to the line, so that you lose bullet only in case of a 



* Wallago attu of Chapter XIV. 



t I should incline to the conclusion that it is by their sense of smell that they 

 are mainly guided, for a live fish leaves a scent under water as much as a live animal 

 does on land, witness the way in which an otter will follow the scent of a live fish 

 under water, as I have seen. I think that fish are also guided mainly by their sense 

 of smell in taking bait on night lines, for it is very certain that fish cannot see as 

 well at night as they do by day. Native fishermen know this well enough, and 

 accordingly spread their nets at night. 



