394 Fishing Localities. CHAP. xxvi. 



" 6. Murral. I have never caught these here, but saw two small ones 

 about five inches long taken by the natives (Kachins) in a casting net. 



"7. A labeo of some sort. I caught one small one last summer with 

 worm. One other that I got on March I5th last of 6 Ibs. 2 ozs. was foul 

 hooked on the off pectoral fin. I thought at first it was a monster Mahseer, 

 but it made no first rush to speak of, and played altogether differently, 

 spending its time moving slowly but strongly about the bottom. It took 

 about half an hour to land, and the top of my rod broke off clean at the 

 ferrule just at the end of the struggle. By a great piece of luck the hook 

 ,held, but fell out as soon as the fish was in the landing-net, a minute or so 

 after the breakage. The pool this labeo came from is full of them, many of 

 a good size, up to twelve pounds I should say. Just about sunset they move 

 about near the surface, often showing a broad back out of the water. At 

 this time of the day, too, they rise as if they were taking something from the 

 top of the water, but I have never been able to see what they were after, and 

 am inclined to think that the pretended rising is only a part of the evening 

 entertainment, and has nothing to do with the evening meal. I should 

 much like to know how to catch these fish in a river, for they are decidedly 

 worth catching. Except in the case of the little one first mentioned, I have 

 not caught any fairly ; the foul hook must have been an egregious fluke, and 

 cannot count. I have tried them with paste of rice and of atta without 

 avail. Thomas, in the 'Rod in India,' only says he had no luck with labeo 

 in rivers, but I imagine they are to be caught if one only knew how. 



" Besides the above fishing with worm one gets an eel here occasionally 

 in the quiet water beasts with very small mouths, and ventral and dorsal 

 fins extending to the tail. 



"At this point I must confess that the much-despised worm has been 

 responsible for nearly all my fish here. I gave spoons and spun dead bait a 

 fair trial when I first came here, and use them now occasionally, but whether 

 it be from my want of skill in spinning, or from some other reason, the worm 

 in my experience is far the most paying bait for this river. A cricket is 

 nearly, perhaps, quite as good, but crickets can only be procured in any 

 numbers in May and June. A grasshopper is good sometimes. I know a 

 good many men are of opinion that anybody, fisherman or no, can put a 

 worm on a hook and forthwith catch fish galore. This is assuredly not the 

 case, not even as far as putting on a worm goes. Others say that it is dirty 

 work. Well, it is ; the virgin whiteness of one's hands is somewhat sullied 

 by meddling with worms, but if this matters there is generally sufficient 

 water in the immediate neighbourhood of an angler to render an occasional 

 wash the simplest matter. Catching Mahseer spinning is the nicest method 

 undoubtedly, but catching them with worm is better than not catching them 

 with a spinner, and is of itself a very pleasant sport. I have used here 

 continually a 12-foot fly rod, not too whippy, a light line and single trace 

 of stoutish gut, both for spinning and worm ; nothing bigger is necessary. 

 Some anglers will get all the exercise possible, and, to my mind, more than 



