320 The Barracouta 



capture should not have gone on. Before, however, 

 the wearied arms had rested sufficiently the school had 

 moved off, nor were any more caught that day. But 

 as the fishermen sold them to curers at an all-round 

 price of eighteenpence per dozen, the catch, forty-five 

 shillings worth, could not be called a bad afternoon's 

 work. We, however, found our whaleboat scarcely 

 handy enough for this fishing, and, moreover, as 

 bottom fishing was so good, and the fish caught in 

 that way were much superior to the Barracouta, 

 we did not trouble them very much. 



As with the dolphin, I discovered that after all 

 it was not absolutely necessary to have a moving 

 bait in order to catch Barracouta. It so happened 

 that, during our stay in Stewart's Island (Port William) 

 I was made night watchman, and it was my pleasant 

 pastime every morning to watch for the first breaking 

 of day, and begin fishing. While it was yet dark not 

 a nibble would be felt, then as the first tender streamers 

 of colour spread over the heavens, a stray tug or so 

 would be felt, and by the time the sun himself appeared 

 fish could be hauled up at a tremendous rate. 



One morning, for some reason unknown to me, 

 the fish were slow at beginning to bite, and I determined 

 to let them have plenty of time. So, leaning far over 

 the taffrail, looking down into the limpid depths, 

 I saw several Barracouta stealing along. For several 

 minutes I watched their stealthy movements with 

 great interest, until suddenly I saw one of them swim 

 to a piece of fish I had dropped overboard and swallow 

 it. I was much surprised, but immediately reasoned 

 that as he would swallow a still morsel, there should 

 be no reason why he would not take a quiet bait with 

 a hook in it. So I hastened and got a strip of fish, 

 put it on a hook, and let it drift slowly astern with the 



