260 fishing in Estiiaries. CHAP. xvm. 



and introduced fifty in the Karkal Lake, bringing me back specimens 

 in spirits that I might be satisfied there had been no mistake. 



The full grown fish are caught in the pond in a singular manner. 



Ordinary drag nets are connected till they are together long enough 

 to stretch right across the pond ; but not a single fish of this description 

 is by any chance ever caught in this net ; its sole use is to frighten 

 them. Behind this net comes a long row of small canoes tied to the 

 drag net at short intervals, so that the hauling of the drag net shall 

 keep them in their places close behind the drag net. On the thwarts 

 in these canoes stand men extending a similar net in the air, at about 

 the angle of 45 from the water, to the greatest height they can reach. 

 Thus arranged, the line proceeds, and the fish, frightened by the drag 

 net in the water, endeavour to leap over it, and in so doing fall into 

 the net spread in the air. It is a sight to see a silvery salmon-like fish 

 of 20 pounds or thereabouts face the line with a spring that clears boats 

 and standing men and up-raised nets. Sometimes he leaps against the 

 net close to the boatman, or even hits him and brings him down like a 

 nine-pin, a sort of tumbling that the fishermen seem to enjoy if the fish 

 is secured, and the eventual victory lies with them. Altogether it is a 

 pretty and somewhat exciting scene to witness, especially if the spectator 

 be himself under fire. 



They are such magnificent fish that it is a thousand pities they 

 cannot be taken with a rod and line. I have tried spinning and fly 

 in vain, and only know of one having been taken with a prawn. They 

 have a mouth like a grey mullet and might, perhaps, be similarly 

 tempted with a rag-worm. But I should not be hopeful, for the grey 

 mullet also are very difficult to take with a bait, as is well known. 



It may be noticed in passing that the acclimatization of salt water 

 fish to fresh water is no uncommon occurrence. There are ponds in 

 the sand strip between the sea and river at Mangalore in which the 

 water is fresh, and yet they contain several distinct species, of purely 

 sea fish that have lived and spawned there for more than eight years. 

 The salmon, shad, and hilsa, for instance, change every year from sea 

 to fresh water, and trout are found at sea. So there is nothing extra- 

 ordinary in the Chanos salmoneus taking kindly to fresh water. 



