CHAP. xiii. Seasons for Fishing. 203 



Season. I was told by what was considered the best authority 

 that the season for this fishing in Tirhoot is from July i to November 15, 

 the very best months being September and October, and the time 

 before September being better than that after October, though it was 

 also possible to have sport in the cold season. For the Punjab I was 

 told, again on good authority, that from April i to the end of October 

 was good. The natives about Calcutta mostly leave off fishing at the 

 end of September. I had sport myself at Rohtak in the middle of 

 November with Mirgha; but all fish had a good deal gone off the 

 feed, Rohu and some others entirely, and it certainly was past the 

 season. 



For the Madras Presidency, March to October, with May and 

 June for preference. Only on occasional warm days will you do any 

 good in December, which is rough, as that is when Madrassees get 

 their annual holidays. 



For Okhla the following were given me as suitable times, and were 

 taken by a good fisherman not from lax memory, but from a written 

 record of his bags. Mahseer commence at the end of February, the 

 earliest noted being the i2th, 2oth, and 26th of February. Batchwa. 

 A few by the end of February, March better, April shows heavy bags. 

 Moh. End of April and beginning of May. Tengara. Middle of 

 March. Bouli or Bawali. End of February. Silund and Catla. 

 Middle of March and beginning of April. Kalbans. Beginning of 

 April. By the first week in June the river generally gets flooded, 

 when fishing ceases. 



I quote the following exactly as it has been kindly written for me, 

 without any personal knowledge of my own : 



" Take a bamboo sufficiently long for the thinner part of it to project 

 three or four feet above water while the lower part is firmly stuck into 

 the bottom of the tank at a convenient casting distance from the place 

 where you propose to fish. At a suitable depth, say half way down the 

 bamboo, bind water weeds round it so as to form a cushion. Outside this 

 put a handful of worms, wrapping soft string round so as to bind them 

 firmly to the cushion. You have then a ball with worms outside and weeds 

 inside which keep the worms from being crushed against the bamboo. 



" Now adjust your line so that the baited hook shall be exactly on a 

 level with the ball of worms, and have the bamboo stuck into the place 

 previously selected by you. It will at once be surrounded by shoals of chilwas 

 and other small fish, but it will not be long before the Rohu make their 



