108 A black palmer fly suggested. Chapt. vn. 



very fine fish, and but little inferior to, and little differ- 

 ing from, the Mahseer. Indeed I have known them mis- 

 taken hy anglers who have looked, not over-critically, 

 at their different takes in different waters. On account 

 of the smallness of the mouth of some of these, I should 

 be' inclined to think that a fly about the size of what is 

 commonly used for sewin in Wales, or for salmon peel 

 in England, would be effective, say a fly on a No. 3 

 sneckbend hook, and as to colour, try the jet black which 

 seems to suit all Indian fish. But I confess I never tried 

 it myself, for with Mahseer to be caught spinning, and 

 with a salmon fly, I am afraid I neglected to pay to other 

 fish the attention which I should, if it had entered into 

 my head that I should ever be so insane as to write a 

 book, and require therein to meet other fancies as well 

 as my own.* 



But at any rate I know there is business to be done 

 with a small trout fly. Though we have not in the 

 Madras Presidency the troutlike fish, we hear of in the 

 cold rivers of Northern India; still we have many game 

 little fly takers. The Barilius Balceri of Dr. Day is found 

 in all stickles of the rivers on the western coast. In the 



* Since the above was in the printers' hands I have tried this black 

 fly, and have found it pay, especially when the water is so shallow that 

 all the large Mahseer have gone down stream to deeper waters, and the 

 Mahseer left at your fishing grounds are consequently all small ones, 

 of a pound and under. I have used a tail fly of this sort, with two 

 smaller drop flies for the Barilius Baheri. The fly I have used with 

 success has been tied palmer fashion, with a few turns of silver twist. 

 And I believe more and more in jet black for colour. 



