734 JO URNAL, B 0MB A Y NA TUBAL HIST. SO CIETY, Vol. XXIV. 



breaker hard on the tail of its prey ; and just as he imagines that pursuer 

 and pursued will be rolled over and over in the rough and tumble of the 

 surf, the vision is blotted out to reappear in similar fashion in the succeeding 

 curler. At the very same moment, perchance, an angler, a full mile out 

 sea-wards, may have his gaze rivetted on the translucent depths over which 

 he is placidly floating. Following in the wake of the dinghy he will be 

 breathlessly scanning a procession of " greenbacks " ; the smaller and more 

 inquisitive members are almost level with the rudder. Anon they dash past 

 the oar, dive under the boat, and drop back into the queue behind ;' every 

 motion is effortless and rhythmic. On the outer fringe of this drove the 

 gleam of a silvery side denotes that the staider adults are on the qui vive. 

 There is a sudden jerk on the rod, a quick strike, for the Saranis a gentle 

 nibbler as a general rule, and the reel shrieks out a psean that is the sweet- 

 est of music to the ears of the angler. A hundred yards away, may be, a 

 bow of molten silver shoots up skywards ; it is a moment of tension, the tip 

 of the rod is raised instinctively — ah — he is still held fast. Now he is 

 beginning to tire ; the gaze is unwittingly fixed on the spot where the line 

 cuts the water ; it is a matter of habit perhaps, but such is invariably the 

 case until the quarry is viewed. Is that my fish, wonders the angler for a 

 fraction of a second ? Quick — reel in the slack or the prize will surely 

 escape. At length the struggles grow feebler, and the leaps less frequent. 

 There is the finny sprite circling slowly away down in the limpid depths. 

 How his silvery side shimmers in the waning light of day ; but of a truth he 

 has summoned all his kith and kin from far and near. Large and small 

 they dart hither and thither in evident excitement, unable to interpret the 

 cause of the antics of their unfortiinate mate. It is truly a fascinating- 

 sight. The gaft' strikes home, and this game fish leaves his native element 

 for the last time. The gathering still swims in agitation backwards and 

 forwards in a vain search for its erstwhile comrade ; gradually it melts away 

 and the sea resumes its cold inanimation. 



This leap of the Saran is occasionally fraught with a spice of danger. 

 During one outing just as the writer was on the point of gafiing his fish, it 

 settled its own fate by jumping plump into the dinghy. The author was 

 seated on the stern plank, and the Saran fell between him and the tiller. 

 To have a 3 inch forged steel hook driven into the back must be an exceed- 

 ingly unpleasant sensation, but the resultant wound would be immeasurably 

 aggravated if a 10 lb. Saran were practising gymnastic feats on the tail 

 triangle of the flight 



The trait of inquisitiveness on the part of the Saran is w^ell illustrated 

 by the following incident which occurred twice during the writer's fishing- 

 experiences at Jask. A Saran was hooked, and shortly the strain was 

 sensibly increased ; presently two Saran broke water together ; it struck 

 the author at the time that he had a pair of fish on his line, and such 

 proved to be the case ; both were successfully creeled. The explanation 

 is simple. A Saran seized the bait and got hooked; during its gyrations 

 the moran, or a part of it, remained attached to the tail triangle which 

 was looped to the eye of the"tarpon hook by a piano-wire " length." The 

 second Saran evidently thought that this hated rival was chasing this 

 spicy tit-bit, and so he incontinently swallowed it himself. Too late did 

 he discover that he too had caught the proverbial tartar ! 



The staple diet of the Saran is the moran, and during April and May 



' when this carious fish comes in to spawn, the shallows round Jask, of an 



' evening, are turned into a miniature maelstrom. At this season towards 



sunset, the western shore is lined with a score or more of local fishermen. 



, each provided with a hand-line ; some take up points of vantage on the 



rocks; a few enthusiasts \yade waist-deep into the suri ; others again 



