Ch apt. xii. A fluke. 151 



runs up to 6 or 7 lbs., if I remember rightly, but the latter 

 I never caught over two pounds in weight. You must 

 fish deen for them, and close to rocks, amongst which 

 they lie. 



This last gentleman is the same as I have already 

 mentioned in Chapter XI., as acclimatized to fresh water, 

 along with Hyder's fine fish Chanos salmoneus. You may 

 also get other sorts of sea-fish, some of which pass in 

 shoals. 



If you try the same tactics at, or close to, the mouth 

 of a river, you may get the seer fish which is a splendid 

 fellow. I do not think they ever come far into a river. 

 Indeed I am pretty sure of it. I once saw a fine one of 

 15 lbs. killed in a funny way. A friend and self were 

 spinning for them. I left my friend spinning at a pro- 

 jecting sand spit, at the mouth of the Mangalore harbour, 

 which is cut abruptly away by the current, and is very 

 little above the water level. He threw out his bait, and 

 spun it home to him, and had just pulled it out when, to 

 his astonishment, and I believe alarm, a 15 lb. seer fish, 

 in dashing after it, sprung clean on shore, at his very feet. 

 There he was, a fine fellow, flopping about, and in immi- 

 nent danger of getting into the water again. All hands 

 punched his head, with the butt of the rod, with boots, 

 and any thing handy, and with any amount of excite- 

 ment. Meanwhile, others of us were in a boat trying the 

 mid stream, and coming back we were shewn the fish, as 

 if it had been a legitimate bag, with a long yarn about 

 the line it had taken out, etc. But I had happened to get 



