740 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIV. 



The patriarch, when hooked, creates a tremendous commotion on the 

 surface of the water. Off he starts at full speed skimming along half in and 

 half out of his element, jaws wide-spread and ugly head beating the air 

 impotently, the incarnation of baffled rage and savage fury. There is 

 always a certain indescribable satisfaction in feeling the gaff slip into his 

 shoulder, for the Koot might aptly be termed "the Hun of the Seas". 



There is yet another family of true surface-feeders that is encountered at 

 Jask ; reference is made to the 



POLYNEMID^ 



of which only one genus Rolynemus is found in Indian waters. Day 

 divides this genus into 8 individual species ; and of these there is but 

 one representative namely the 



Rajgoo. Polynemus tetradactylus. 



in fact the Bamin of estuary anglers. 



As this fish has been previously described in the leading angling books on 

 India, a further description will be redundant. 



The Rajgoo would appear to be a rare visitant to or a thinly scattered 

 resident of Jask waters, and those that came to creel were captured in 1 to 

 3 fathoms. The sporting tendencies of the Bamin are well-known through- 

 out India, more so in tidal estuaries than in the open sea ; but is it possible 

 that his praises have been sung rather too loudly by enthusiasts whose 

 experience of the gameness of the true pelagic fishes is meagre if not 

 entirely ivanting ? Is not, the Bamin's reputation, perhaps, founded on 

 report rather than on hard fact ? The author is fully aware that such 

 sentiments will in some quarters be regarded as rank heresy, and that he 

 is laying himself open to a storm of opprobrium. When all is said and 

 done, however, the Rajgoo is but a mere fish, and is by no means immortal. 

 It cannot be denied that he is a fine sporting fish, and that his first rush for 

 liberty and his subsequent leaps for freedom are exhilarating, but 

 that is no reason why he should be defied. The author's personal 

 impression is that there are many other species that are his equal, 

 and several his superior in gameness. His maximum weight at Jask would 

 be about 25 lbs., but according to Day, 350 lbs. cannot be considered as an 

 extravagant estimate. The writer is quite open to conviction ; and if the 

 goddess of Fortune ever favours him with a three figure Bamin at the end 

 of his line, he is quite prepared to exalt the virtues of Polynemus tetra- 

 dactylus to the very dome of Heaven. 



Let us now pass on to an examination of one of the most multitudinous 

 families of fishes that inhabit the waters of our globe — the 



PERCIDJE. 



It is a moot-point whether the Percidce can be included strictly in the term 

 " surface-feeders," but for the benefit of those species that have proved 

 themselves willing to take a trolled bait, the family in general can be 

 given the benefit of the doubt. Day divides the Indian Percidce into 29 

 genera, of which the genus 



Serranus 



first claims our attention. The genus Serranus is again sub-divided by 

 Day into 30 individual species ; of these the main representative at Jask 

 is the 



