10 
Sea Fishing <&c., at Bermuda, 
The information furnished by the B.A. Institution to 21 Co. W.D. before 
leaving England in April last was somewhat misleading where those notes 
mention sea fishing as “indifferent.” 
An officer of the Worcester "Regiment between the 3rd March and 16th June, 
1898, has taken 2,815lbs., largest fish 821bs.; it is to be hoped he will give 
the public the benefit of his experience as his knowledge of the fish here, their 
habits and how to capture them, is unique; this bag includes 58 different fish. 
My own experience fishing from a boat is as under :— 
1st afternoon, 8 lines, 901bs. weight. 
2nd afternoon, 3 lines, nil. 
3rd day, 5 lines, 400lbs. weight. 
4th day, 5 lines, 601bs. weight. 
5th day, 9 lines, 2501bs. weight. 
6th day (Challenger Bank) 8 lines, 4501bs. weight. 
Nearly everybody sea-sick and steamer not properly anchored or else the bag 
would have been big. 
The “ ground ” fish are not of a very sporting nature but the floating 
fish play well ; unfortunately as far as experience goes they do not 
take an artificial bait freely. Very seldom is fishing without its drawbacks ; 
here owing to numberless reefs, &c., a pilot is a necessity, bait is also troublesome 
to obtain. The general proceedure is to capture fry with a casting net or buy 
crayfish and with light lines catch fish from 2oz. to 2lbs. for bait: this, however, 
causes delay and the “rise” may be lost. 
Generally speaking the fish are on certain small rocky patches or runs, marks 
have to be taken carefully also set of boat from wind and tide to be considered. 
It is emphatically not a place where you can row or sail out in any direction, 
drop killick and expect a big bag. The bottom is mostly jagged or fan coral and 
is very destructive to gear and enables ground fish to “ rock ” you and get off. 
I am not in a position to mention all the species and confine myself to those 
ordinary taken. 
Floating fish. — i.e., those taken above the bottom and which do not make for it 
when hooked and which afford sport with a rod. Amber fish (go up to lbs. 150), 
gruelli, horse mackerel, bonito, barracouta, gar-fish, barbers, yellow tails, snappers, 
chub, bream, blue fish, &c. 
Ground fish. —Bock fish (up to lbs. 120), salmon rock fish, gropurs also called 
rock hamlet, hog-fish, Spanish hog-fish, angel fish, hind, nigger, moray, porgi. 
The extraordinary hedge-hog fish is also occasionally caught. A tarpon rod and 
sea reel are suitable for floating fish $ for ground fish the bait rests on the bottom, 
you can give no line or you are immediately “ rocked ” or your line severed. 
Ground fish when caught sweb out and have to be “ winded,” they are generally 
kept in ponds till required for use, Porgi fishing with rod is good especially in 
winter. 
Small sharks are often a nuisance. A siwl hatchet is a necessity in the boat. 
Eor ground fish, let your lead which is about 8 inches from bait rest on the 
bottom easing off line for rise and fall of boat, do not shake lead or bait or you 
will not get a good fish. 
Another description of fishing which officers and men enjoy at Ireland Island 
is for bream and chub from the rocks with rod or hand line. These run 
in shore, to about 61bs., but the average about 2lbs. The bream bite firmly but 
are exceedingly difficult to hook owing to hard seed-like bones insides the mouth, 
the chub gently suck the bait off and it is extremely difficult to strike at the 
right time and the only way I have been at all successful is when using a sen¬ 
sitive float similar to that described in Thomas’s TanJc fishing in India . An 
