THE GAME EISHES OF THE WORLD 



angling, due to the fact that the land has few beaches. The deep 

 water comes suddenly, and the angler is forced to cast from the 

 rocks into the surf, or into deeper water, or go out into the rougher 

 water from the pier. Surf fishing is very popular here, as it is 

 on the long sloping beaches of California, where hundreds of 

 anglers angle and cast for the fine surf fishes of these regions. 

 In 'Nsbtal there are a number of casting teams, which lq 1908 

 competed for the Mcholas challenge cup, the anglers coming 

 from the south coast, Durban and other locaUties. The teams 

 in that competition were named after the fishes angled for : 

 the ' Benders,' a large rod-bending fish ; the ' Crackers,' a big 

 mussel-eating sheepshead-like fish ; and the ' Springers,' named 

 for a leaping fish, calling to mind the ten-pounder of Florida or the 

 lady-fish {Elops saurus). The competition here was most ex- 

 citing, some fishing at night, and landing a most interesting 

 assortment of fish, among which was a variety of white sea-bass, 

 known in Natal as salmon-bass {Sciaena), which tipped the scales 

 at seventy-five pounds, the so-called shad (Temnodon), not to 

 speak of skates, sharks and other game. The sand-shark here of 

 twenty pounds is highly appreciated for its hard fighting pro- 

 clivities. 



The game fishes of B'atal include the barracuda, the kingfish, 

 which attains a weight of over two hundred pounds, and is 

 taken trolling with a live bait. The Cape salmon, though not a 

 salmon, but of the white-fish group, is esteemed by some. Then 

 there is the grunt, which ranges up to twenty pounds, and the 

 mullet, which is taken by the natives with floats and a paste lure. 

 The rock-cod of from ten to seventy pounds is a good fighter. 

 Here, too, is a bream, a white fish with a yellow stripe along the 

 side. 



One would hardly expect to find American rainbow trout 

 in Central Africa ; but, according to Mr. William Wheeler, they 

 have been introduced at Zomba, the fish having grown eight 

 ounces in eight months, proving themselves weU adapted to the 

 rivers. Brown trout are also to be introduced. 

 340 



