too much,
that we did not cast far enough and wait long enough, and that by all
means we should not have cracked bait on the bottom of the boat, and
particularly we did not know when we had a bite! But it is one thing to
be sure of a fact and another to be able to practise it. At last we gave
up in despair, and upon paddling back toward the launch we saw a school
of bonefish with their tails in the air. We followed them around for a
while, apparently very much to their amusement. At sunset we got back
to the launch and started for camp.

This was a long, hard afternoon's work for nothing. However, it is my
idea that experience is never too dearly bought. I will never do some
things again, and the harder these fish are to catch, the more time and
effort it takes--the more intelligence and cunning--all the more will I
appreciate success if it ever does come. It is in the attainment of
difficult tasks that we earn our reward. There are several old bonefish
experts here in camp, and they laughed when I related some of our
experiences. Bonefishermen are loath to tell anything about their
methods. This must be a growth of the difficult game. I had an expert
bonefisherman tell me that when he was surprised while fishing on one of
the shoals, he always dropped his rod and pretended to be digging for
shells. And it is a fact that the bonefish guides at Metacumbe did not
let any one get a line on their methods. They will avoid a
bonefishing-ground while others are there, and if they are surprised
there ahead of others, they will pull up anchor and go away. May I be
preserved from any such personal selfishness and reticence as this! One
of these bonefish experts at the camp told me that in all his years of
experience he had never gotten a bonefish bite. If you feel a tug, it is
when the bonefish is ejecting the hook. Then it is too late. The
bonefish noses around the bait and sucks it in without any apparent
movement of the line. And that can be detected first by a little sagging
of the line or by a little strain upon it. That is the time to strike.
He also said that he always broke his soldier crabs on a piece of lead
to prevent the jar from frightening the fish.

Doctor B. tells a couple of interesting experiences with bonefish. On
one occasion he was fishing near another boat in which was a friend. The
water was very clear and still, and he could see his friend's bait lying
upon the sand. An enormous bonefish swam up and took