528 
THE TROPICAL 
AGEICULTURIST. [Feb. 1, 1904. 
generally attach a largish brass swivel to the 
end of the trace and tie the bullet to the 
same ring in the swivel as the trace. This 
leaves the other ring of the swivel free to 
make fast the hook link to. 1 his arrange- 
ment prevents entanglement, and makes 
a satisfactory tackle for light work. 
The second method of fishing is to spin 
a sardine behind a boat under soil. This 
plan will take the large mackerel six 
to ten pounds in weight, which feed freely on 
the shoals of small fish, as the tide runs in. 
It is no use trolling unless the tide is rising 
and the mackerel splashing about near the 
entrance to the harbour. As a bunder boat 
is very slow coming up into the wind, one 
has to use strong tackle and large hooks. 
The mackerel are very violent when hooked, 
and fine tackle means frequent disaster, 
while small hooks tear away in the first rush, 
before tlie boat can be stopped. The third 
method of angling is from an anchored boat. 
The line can be either leaded or unleaded. 
If unleaded about thirty yards are let out 
from the reel, and the bait allowed to drift 
away with the tide. The hook should be a 
large one and the bait a sardine, put on the 
hook so as to hang straight. When put on 
thus, the movement of the water gives it a 
lifelike motion and it swims in a natural 
position a short distance below the surface. 
This drift line fishing will take the big 
mackerel above referred to, and also 
occasionally a species of perch running from 
your to six pounds. 
If the line is leaded, the weight should be 
just sufBcient to keep it on the bottom and 
no more. When the bait is a sardine the 
perch above referred to and also large catfish 
will be caught. The catfish occasionally run 
large, probably they would be seldom below 
seven or eight pounds, and often above 
twenty. They take quietly, but after being 
struck, nearly always make a tremendous 
rush and plenty of strong line is necessary 
to bring them to terms. Grut is no use for this 
kind of fishing as one is always having the 
bait taken either by small sharks or other 
fish equally wellfurnished with teeth. A shark 
of three or four pounds will cut through 
double gut wthout the slightest difficulty. 
The rod for fishing from a boat should be 
short and stiff with upright rings ; about 150 
yards of strong line are necessary ; of course 
plaited line is muoh the nicest to use but 
twisted line is cheaper and will serve quite 
well. Anyhow, it must be strong. About 60 
yards of plaited silk or cotton line can be 
Bpliced on to 100 yards of twisted backing. 
This would be an economical arrangement, 
and the plaited line would go through the 
rings much more freely, and not tangle np 
when lying about in loose coils in the boat. 
The lead can have a hole through it, through 
which the wire trace can work backwards 
and forwards ; this will make it easier to 
detect bites, and the strike goes direct to the 
hook without having to move the lead first. 
I think thickisli Hercules wire gimp is as 
good as anything for the hook link when 
fishing for large fish. Gimp is stiff and I 
believe frequently arouses suspicion for this 
reason, but the difficulty can be partly gob 
over by having only about three inches 
of wire above the hook and then six or 
seven inches of stout double gut, between 
this short length of wire and the trace. 
I'his gets rid of a lot of the stiffness, and the 
short piece of gimp is enough to prevent 
she line being cut, except when a hungry 
thark comes at the sardine with such a 
gulp that his teeth get beyond the bit of 
gimp, and close on the gut. For paternoster- 
ing with light tackle from the shore prawns 
are far the best bait. Rock perch do not 
care about sardines, but take a prawn readily; 
when fishing from a beat, one can also use 
prawns if desired. The large sea perch of 3 
to 6 lb. often take prawns well ; sharks take 
anything, frequently they go for a hooked 
fish when one is pulling it up. I have used 
an eleven foot labeo rod a good deal for 
fishing in deep water from a boat, but I do 
not think it is very well suited to the 
work. When a really powerful fish is hooked 
one has no command over it at all, and I 
have had my tackle smashed many times. 
The rod for sea fishing from a boat should 
be Stiff and powerful and not more than ten 
or eleven feet long. One rod would do both 
for shore and boat fishing, by having an extra 
short stumpy top. 
For reel nothing can be better than a big 
Nottingham with a line guard. If the works 
are steel they must be kept full of vaseline, 
A big hook lashed to a stick serves excellently 
for landing the larger sized fish. Natives 
fishing from the cranli little "toneys" 
always hit their fish on the head before 
getting it into the boat : they are particularly 
careful to do this with the big catfish. I 
have not mentioned the Sting Rays : these 
objectionable brutes, which are always of a 
considerable size, are constantly being 
hooked ; they are armed with two formid- 
able stings on the tail, and when got into 
the boat they make every endeavour to use 
their natural weapons. The first thing to 
do is to get one's foot on the tail and break 
off the stings with a piece of wood, or 
anything else that happens to be handy. 
" Fleub de-Lys." 
— Indian Field. 
WYNAAD TEA UP TO DATE. 
The latest advices from Home speak of a slight 
pause in the upward movement of shares in tea- 
planting Companies, due to some extent doubtless 
to the appioacli of the Ohristnias holidays. At the 
Ordinary General Meeting of the Wynaad Tea 
Company, held ou the 14th ultimo, the Chairman 
tpoke of a " somewhat improved stale of the Com- 
pany's working " during tiie past year. There was, 
however, a deliciency on the year's trading, due 
to the payment of inierest on the Companies' debt 
and debentures. With regard to the crops, the 
final outturn of tea last season was again dis- 
appointing, he said, but the price was higher. Mrj 
Walker, the Managing Director in India, was 
anxious, he added, to extend the area for pepper, 
and also to plant rubber, but the Company had no 
funds, and its first pare was to reduce its debt, — M, 
Mail, Jan. 9. 
