HOW TO CAPTUBE GRAY MULLET. 115 



HOW TO CAPTTJEE GEAY 

 MULLET. 



OFTEN I have stood on the fluvial portion of a riv- 

 er and watched the gray mullet freely sporting on the 

 surface. Numerous were the efforts I made to catch 

 these wily gentry with hook and line ; but all over- 

 tures were rejected, and the fish preferred declining 

 the bait to leaving their element. The gray mullet 

 feeds principally on the surface, more particularly in 

 warm weather, and as they are remarkably shy and 

 gifted with but small mouths, with a preference to 

 sucking in the bait, to freely swallowing like trout or 

 others, the difficulties in the way of capturing them 

 are obvious, and hence I will explain a method some 

 might call poaching, but really no more so than 

 trimmer fishing ; in truth, it is much more excusable, 

 for by the latter you capture fish that freely take 

 the hook, while on the other hand you ensnare 

 rogues that all your skill and patience will fail 

 otherwise to bring to bag. Obtain a piece of flat 



