194 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



strength, you may detach his hold of the bottom, 

 only to see him let go the bait as it breaks the 

 surface. There is but little sport to be had 

 off the breakwater, but there are lessons to be 

 learned. You may catch an " elf," a sporting 

 little fish, excellent eating, but take care that 

 the eating is all done on your side. Once I 

 landed a little beauty, of about half a pound, 

 and treated him as I would a small trout : I 

 put my thumb in his mouth to force it open 

 and extract the hook. Instead of opening 

 wider, the little jaws closed like a vice, over- 

 lapping, and the tip of my thumb remained 

 inside them, detached from the thumb itself, 

 which was left outside, bleeding profusely. A 

 painful proceeding, avoided by experienced 

 fishers in those waters. 



For the best sport with the sea fishes of 

 Simon's Bay you must use a boat, and for work 

 beyond the shelter of the breakwater the bigger 

 the boat the better. There is grand fishing 

 with a hand-line for Cape salmon near the Light- 

 house, well out in the bay, but it is sometimes 

 a trying experience. During the summer 

 weather it always seems to be blowing hard, 

 and I never yet met a fisher keen enough to 

 count sea-sickness of no account compared with 

 his sport. The skipper of a certain Brixham 



