TALES OF FISHES 



up myself and saw one over to my right, of about 

 five pounds, sneaking along with his nose to the 

 bottom. When I made a cast over in his direction 

 he disappeared as suddenly as if he had dissolved 

 in the water. Looking out to my left, I saw half 

 a dozen bonefish swimming toward me, and they 

 came quite close. When I moved they vanished. 

 Then I made a cast over in this direction. The bone- 

 fish came back and swam all around my bait, appar- 

 ently not noticing it. They were on the feed, and 

 the reason they did not take our bait must have 

 been that they saw us. We fished there for an hour 

 without having a sign of a bite, and then we gave 

 it up. 



To-day about flood-tide I had a little strike. I 

 jerked hard, but failed to see the fish, and then when 

 I reeled in I found he still had hold of it. Then I 

 struck him, and in one little jerk he broke the leader. 



I just had a talk with a fellow who claims to 

 know a good deal about bonefishing. He said he 

 had caught a good many ranging up to eight pounds. 

 His claim was that soldier crabs were the best bait. 

 He said he had fished with professional boatmen 

 who knew the game thoroughly. They would pole 

 the skiff alongshore and keep a sharp lookout for 

 what he called bonefish mud. And I assume that 

 he meant muddy places in the water that had been 

 stirred up by bonefish. Of course, any place where 

 these little swirls could be seen was very likely to 

 be a bonefish bank. He claimed that it was neces- 

 sary to hold the line near the reel between the fore- 

 fingers, and to feel for the very slightest vibration. 



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