244 Fishing in Estuaries. CHAP. xvm. 



find projecting planks outside of the hand-rail, or balustrade, on both 

 sides of the bridge. Climb over the railing and get on one of these planks 

 and spin away wherever you see the fish breaking. This is the best way 

 of all to fish from these bridges, as you have full command of the water 

 and of your fish when you strike him. 



" If the Bahmeen are feeding you will not be long without a run, and 

 should the fish run away from the bridge into clear water, get to the 

 nearest end of the bridge as soon as you can, leave it and run up the bank 

 as far as possible, so as to prevent the fish from running through the bridge 

 or among the piles. Having got into a safe place play and land your fish 

 as you best can. 



" It is a good plan to have a canoe with a man or two with it moored 

 on the most convenient side of the river, and on striking a fish, should 

 he run through the bridge below your feet, run down to the bank letting 

 out line all the time, get into the canoe, follow, and either play him from 

 the canoe or from the bank below. This is the reason why I recommend 

 a long line, it enables you to do all this. If you are steady and do not 

 get flurried, and your tackle is as strong as it ought to be, even if the fish 

 should run through the bridge below you, you can often, with careful manage- 

 ment, work him back again gradually to your side, and send a man down to 

 the nearest pier to gaff him ; this only holds good with a masonry bridge. 

 Should a fish behave in this manner at a bridge built on piles a canoe is 

 the only thing to get you out of your difficulty, and even then you may 

 lose your fish and tackle by his running two and three times round a pile, 

 as they are sometimes fond of doing. 



"You may, if lucky, find a place frequented by Bahmeen where you 

 can spin for them from the bank, in which case proceed in exactly the 

 same way as if you were spinning for Pike. There is such a place about 

 five or six miles from Cannanore, in the Billipatam backwater, and just 

 at the end of the village on your right as you face the water ; the tide at 

 the place I mean makes a deep and swift run between sunken rocks ; and 

 at this point Bahmeen congregate and sport is to be had. 



" The places I know of where Bahmeen fishing is procurable are 

 Billipatam village, near Cannanore, just mentioned ; the three bridges on 

 the Cannanore side of Tellicherry, of which three the centre one is the 

 best ; Yellatoor bridge near Calicut, the backwater at Beypoor, Currulhoondy 

 railway bridge near the camp platform and troop rest house, about a mile 

 and a half down the line from the Beypoor station ; and there is another 

 small bridge, up the Tellicherry backwater, about three miles from the 

 central bridge, that I have already spoken of as being a good place for sport." 



Near the mouth of the Kallei River, in Calicut Town, between the 

 mouth and the bar, is mentioned by M. as another place. 



" About the best place I know of for Bahmeen is the Mand river, where 

 it runs through the little French town of Mahd, about 20 miles south of 



