118 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol, XIII, 
The principal fun in catching these fish consists in the fact that they 
are provided with an excellent set of teeth, that they generally manage 
to bite through any ordinary tackle, and even when you get them into 
the boat it is quite an open question, by the time you have the hook clear 
of the fish, which of the two of you has come off best, what with his 
spiky dorsal and ventral fins and his particularly sharp teeth, which he 
will certainly embed in your fingers on the slightest provocation, I have 
at different times caught hundreds and have hardly been able to use 
my fingers, some times for days afterwards, and have enjoyed myself 
immensely at seeing my chums green at this game being taken in in the 
same way. 
You want for this sport a medium light rod, fine line, and best of all 
a very fine single wire trace with a long fine shanked hook. Bait the 
best I know is a piece of the body of ashrimp, The fish are naturally shy, 
and as they are in clear water see everything, so that the wire must be 
fine if you wish to succeed, On the other hand, their jaws are so powerful 
and their teeths are so sharp that it must be something tough and strong, 
Guts would be of no use, and I have many a time lost my fish before 
I could get him into a net simply by his biting through the wire, Natives 
get very excited over this fishing, and think no end of themselves if they 
have managed to get a good haul. One peculiarity of this fishing is that 
you can see nearly every fish as he comes up to your bait and so far you 
are never taken by surprise. 
While on the subject of this fish, I would note that there is another 
place where they can be got, and where the average size of the fish is 
generally larger. About three-quarters of a mile straight out to sea 
from the light-house there is a bank with about 6 fathoms of water, and 
here, sometimes, the fish are to be had in great numbers. The local fisher- 
men all know the places and a stranger cannot help noticing the different 
fishing boats at anchor, and their occupants busily engaged. He has 
only to join this merry throng and take his chances along with the rest, 
Sometimes it happens that the perch is not at home, and then one is very 
likely to catch nothing but young sharks or dog fish, The native fisherman 
almost invariably uses shrimp and whitebait, They take a handful of the 
latter, squash it all up, and put this paste round a piece of coral or rough 
stone, fix it with a slippery hitch just above their baited hook, and lower 
the whole carefully into the water, When the line has reachd the 
bottom, they give it a jerk, the hitch that they have made comes adrift, 
the stone falls away with the ground-bait, and they are all clear with their 
baited hooks for whatever may come. It isa very effective way of ground- 
baiting, and they seem never to do much without it. I have had many 
good days in both places, but if one goes to the outer ground you should 
goin a larger boat as being safer, I, personally, often went in a fisherman’s 
