38 The leading points. Chapt. iv. 



crunched up by the Mahseer's power of compression, 

 and the treble hooks had suffered more than the single, 

 because they had offered resistance, while the single hooks 

 had turned in the mouth and evaded it. When further 

 considered from this point of view the object of the mouth 

 being soft instead of bony is apparent, for it would be 

 easier to hold a struggling slippery object between two 

 compressing sides that yielded enough for it to partially 

 embed itself, than between two unimpressibly hard sides 

 that could get no grip on the object. 



These three main points then being borne in mind, 

 the necessity for fishing in clear water, the Mahseer's 

 love of small fish, and his power of smashing by com- 

 pression, we shall be in a better position for arranging 

 to circumvent him. 



There is yet another point which may as well be re- 

 verted to before proceeding further, and that is the bot- 

 tom-feeding habits of the Mahseer. This was deduced in 

 the last chapter from the evidence of the contents of the 

 stomach, an organ not given to telling fibs, and from 

 the formation of the outside of the mouth. I lay stress 

 on this habit from a fishing point of view, because I am 

 convinced that a due appreciation of and allowance for 

 it will lead to better sport. I lay stress on it also 

 because I know it is commonly disregarded. It stands 

 to reason that you are more likely to catch a fish by 

 seeking him on his feeding grounds, and there offering 

 him his natural food, than by requesting his attention 

 in a somewhat unusual direction, the surface, and 

 there too to a novel object, not much like any thing in 



