FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



nuisance that we occasionally have to put up with at home, but a terrible 

 scourge, swarming round the boat in such ravenous hordes as at times 

 put a stop to fishing altogether. Handlines, with heavy leads, are used 

 for snapper fishing. Loyal to the ideals of the British Sea Anglers' Society, 

 I did try a rod on my first outing, only to demonstrate beyond all doubt 

 that the natives knew best and that a rod was quite out of place when 

 drifting rapidly over rough ground in fifteen or twenty fathoms of water. 

 The snapper rushes oft with the bait in splendid fashion, and fights 

 doggedly all the way, and it is best, as in all handline fishing, to let the 

 gunwale of the boat bear the brunt of the struggle. The fish, moreover, 

 is much less likely to break away than if the hands are held out over the 

 side. Most of the fish taken on the snapper grounds are good fighters. The 

 best, after the coveted snapper itself, are the silvery morwong and many- 

 hued sergeant -baker. The last was presumably named after some N.C. 

 officer of other days, and Bermuda has its sergeant-major, a title of 

 probably analogous origin. A few of the Australian fish are only caught of 

 small size, like the crimson nannygai. Yet the nannygai is always welcomed 

 on its first appearance, for it is known to feed in company with snapper, 

 and the better fish is not, as a rule, very far off. All other fish, however, 

 no matter how well they fight, are hailed with a shout of derision and 

 dubbed "wrong colour." This fishing is very hard work, as the baits are 

 frequently removed by fish too quick for the fisherman, and the line must 

 be hauled in and quickly baited again. The steamer is put at right angles 

 to the shore and allowed to drift north or south, as the case may be, and she 

 takes a heavy list owing to the fact that all the party necessarily fish over 

 the same quarter, with their lines streaming away from the side. 



On the same coast, though amid very different scenery, the black bream 

 attracts a select brotherhood who make a speciality of this fishing, and 

 take themselves as seriously as chalk stream anglers at home. The 

 Australian black bream is a fish of more restful haunts and more fas- 

 tidious appetite than its red cousin. It is found in the silent creeks of Como, 

 Botany Bay, and elsewhere, and the manner of catching it is peculiar 

 and interesting. There is no reason in this case why a light rod and minute 

 float should not be used, but Australians have acquired extraordinary 

 skill with their fine handlines, and would probably refuse the alternative 

 of a rod. Their lines are of very fine silk twist, with a yard or two of single 

 gut and a small sharp hook baited with a peeled prawn. A fragment of 

 lead weighing an ounce, and no more, is pinched on the gut some way 

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