THE GAME FISHES OF THE PERSIAN GTJLF. 723 



appear to be equally favourable. Yet why is Jask the Rome of the finny 

 tribes to which all the watery ways would seem to lead P There is a law of 

 Nature with regard to the fishes of the open sea which is as unalterable as 

 the ancient law of the Medes and Persians : — 



•'Where the minnows are there will also be found the Tritons." 



To the west of Jask stretches a broad bay of shoal water, with a sandy 

 bottom, the maximum depth of which would be about 30 feet. This bight 

 furnishes an ideal spawning-ground for the minnows. From October till 

 March the mullet comes in in its troops to spawn ; and acres of white-bait 

 (locally termed matoot) blacken the surface of the sea. These pigmies are 

 harassed mercilessly ; they are attacked by the Tritons beneath the waves ; 

 they are slaughtered from the air by the gulls and terns ; they are 

 massacred from land by man in millions in his drag-nets. In March the 

 remnants vanish, split up into scattered bands ; yet year by year about 

 the close of September they return in their trillions. So it is with the 

 the sardines ; as far as the naked eye can see the surface is one continuous 

 shimmer as if it were being stirred by a gentle zephyr. Anon they 

 have vanished from mortal ken. Similarly in the first mouth of spring the 

 " moran " (a species of fish that will be described later) arrives in countless 

 hosts. Of an evening in mid-April from the extremity of Cape Jask for three- 

 quarters of a mile along west bay and to the breadth of a couple of furlongs 

 stretches a chaotic turmoil of leaping and splashing fish and flitting 

 shimming "moran." The sea is thick with " moran "-spawn ; it clings to 

 the line in glutinous masses, to be removed when dry with the aid of a pair 

 of scissors. By the close of spring hardly a ring breaks the placid surface 

 which a few days previously resembled a seething cauldron. The 

 "moran" are lying further off-shore. By the end of summer they have 

 vanished, their places being taken by another species of the same fish but 

 in far fewer numbers. Thus it is with them all ; whence they come 

 and wither they go no one knows, except that they come from and return 

 to — "the open sea" ; an indefinite enough term in all conscience ; for the 

 open sea is practically limitless ! 



To prove successful as a sea-angler four important maxims must be 

 closely studied : — 



(1) Get a firm grasp of the habits and nature of the particular fish in 



quest. 



(2) Determine the method which will present the lure in the most 



natural way. 



(3) Ascertain what pattern of lure is most deadly. 



(4) Select the most suitable tackle. 



The pioneer starts with an enormous handicap ; he sets out in a fog, for 

 he has to discover for himself these four fundamental principles. This initial 

 lack of knowledge entails the adoption of one of two plans. Either the 

 nomad must maintain a stock of tackle ranging from a trout-fly to a 3 

 inch forged steel tarpon hook, or he must be prepared to cable for requisite 

 articles as his exploration progresses. Both courses are shockingly expen- 

 sive, but the former expedient is the most advantageous from the point of 

 view of sport, for if the latter line of action be followed the cream of the 

 fishing may be missed and the entire raison rVetre of the expedition render- 

 ed abortive. 



It is proposed primarily to introduce the reader to such of the game 

 fishes of the Persian Gulf as have come within the personal cognisance of 

 the author, and subsequently to discuss the remaining three truisms already 

 enumerated. 



To facilitate investigation the fish will be divided into three groups : — 

 («) Surface-feeders. | (/>) Fly-takers. | (c) Bottom-feeders. 



