CHAP. xvni. The Bhmm. 243 



tide, set one of these men to work with his net, give him a bait kettle, or 

 an earthen pot as a substitute, to hold the baits, and bid him be careful 

 to sink the kettle in the river each time he puts fresh baits into it, as 

 natives have no idea of the necessity of supplying fish frequently with fresh 

 water to keep them alive. By the time the tide ebbs or flows you should 

 have enough small mullet to last you a day. Other small silvery fish will, 

 of course, do for bait, but the mullet is decidedly the best, being the favourite 

 food of the Bahmeen, and being also very tough and lasting, bearing the 

 same proportion in these latter qualities to other fish, as a gudgeon does 

 to a bleak or a small dace. Should there be any difficulty in procuring 

 baits at any particular spot, small mullet or other fish can be preserved 

 for a short time in a wide-mouthed bottle of spirits of wine or methylated 

 spirits. I have several times used baits thus prepared, while Bahmeen 

 fishing, and found them answer very well. Baits do not get soft in 

 methylated spirits, and their toughness is very well preserved. 



"Having now mentioned rods, tackle, and baits, I now turn to the 

 actual capture of the fish. 



" As I have already said, when the tide steadies into a regular stream 

 you will, if standing on a bridge, soon see the mullet and other small fish 

 darting in different directions and the Bahmeen dashing after them. 

 Commence spinning at one end of the bridge by throwing out as much 

 line as you can control ; let the bait trail and spin in the water, and be 

 careful to spin well over those spots where you have seen fish rising. Hold 

 your rod with both hands across your chest, with the point rather elevated, 

 and without making another cast walk at such a pace as will keep the 

 bait spinning nicely to the other end of the bridge. And now comes the 

 question, which is the best side of the bridge to fish from. This is an 

 important point. The best side of the bridge is that towards which the 

 stream is running, the reason being that mullet always work up against 

 the stream, and the Bahmeen always lie in wait for them on that side of 

 the bridge towards which the stream runs, so that as the shoals of young 

 mullet toil slowly up against the tide and make their way through tlje 

 arches of the bridge they fall an easy prey to the Bahmeen, which are 

 lying in wait for them and hiding behind the piers and piles of the bridge 

 on the other side. When there are a large number of fish about they can 

 be caught on both sides of the bridge ; but the rule I have given as regards 

 what I may call the stream side should be adhered to." 



This is Colonel Osborn's view. I am not prepared to contradict it. 

 But my own idea is that the mullet fry go with the tide both in and 

 out, and that the Bamm hide or rest behind the piles as Trout, Salmon, 

 and Mahseer ordinarily do behind rocks (see page 90). However, 

 the fishing rule here given is equally supported by either theory. 



" In nearly all of the bridges I have mentioned in these notes you will 



R 2 



