304 TiMEHRI. 



enters into the occupation of our people ; wherever 

 you go you see hundreds of people fishing. On the 

 East Coast you may see thirty people fishing in one 

 place; and as you travel by the Mail to Berbice, at every 

 trench, every overflow, wherever the bush water is 

 making its way to the sea, there you find men, women 

 and children fishing. All our waters swarm with fish 

 which can be caught with the rudest appliances ; but it is 

 not of fishes as food that I wish to write about, but of 

 fish that afford sport to the Angler. 



I cannot remember in what book, or newspaper I saw 

 it, but before 1 came to the colony, I saw some mention 

 of fly fishing in Demerara, so amongst my outfit I brought 

 a dozen of Farlow'S best Salmon Flies. This was 

 nearly a quarter of a century ago, but I have still two of 

 those flies left, and with the other ten I have killed hun- 

 dreds of fish. It was some time after I arrived before I 

 made the acquaintance of any pra6lical Angler, but since 

 that time I have known many gentlemen in the country 

 who were expert fishermen, and I have also heard many 

 yarns from others as to their prowess with the rod ; we 

 have many *' Mining Experts" in our midst, but even they 

 are not in it with the fishermen. 



In my official travels up the Demerara River I used to 

 whip its upper waters with indifferent success ; a few 

 dog fish and an occasional — very occasional — lukananni 

 were all I got, and it was not until the Lama stop-off 

 became a fait accompli^ that anything like satisfa6lory 

 sport was obtained. 'I wenty-five years ago fly fishing 

 was virtually unknown in the colony. It is true that the 

 native Indian used to lure out of the waters the golden 

 iukananni, by skimming over the surface a hook to which 



