Would You Believe It?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 439, 21 November 1947, Page 33

Would You Believe It?

O kill two birds with one stone is a remarkable feat, but to catch three fish on the one hook sounds like a miracle-or a fisherman’s tall tale. Yet this has happened more than once, said Frank Lane, speaking in the BBC's North American Service recently. In his book A Doctor's Odyssey, Victor

Heiser tells how a man was fishing from a boat off the Philippine Islands when his line was taken by a small fish. The fisherman had almost reeled in the line when it suddenly shot away from him. Again it

was reeied in, and this time, just as the fish was about to break surface, the line yet again whipped out, this time more furiously than ever. After an hour’s hard fight the fisherman did eventually land this fish, this time a large shark. Naturally he was interested to see what was the history of this queer catch, so he cut the shark open. Inside was a three-foot mackerel and inside the mackerel was a ten-inch fish. So that is what had happened-

first the little fish had taken the bait, only to act as bait itself for the mackerel, which again acted as bait for the shark. Although incidents like these are the high spots of angling lore, a number of other queer captures are worth recording. An angler who was fishing at night in the west of England hooked a small fish and suddenly felt the weight on his line increase enormously. The reel screamed and the catch became unplayable. Then the angler saw why-he had a full-grown otter on the end of the line. Eventually the otter made off with fish, fly and line. Of all angling stories, oscil Lane, I think my favourite is the one George Graves tells of an experience of his while fishing from a pier. He caught a fair-sized crab but, not wanting it, he threw it back into the sea. He Page ey his hook, sat back in his chair, and nt to sleep. How long he slept he did not know, but on waking he was surprised to find himself surrounded by fish of all shapes and sizes. He got up to look at his line, and there, clambering up claw over claw, was the grateful crab, bringing up yet another fish to lay as a thankoffering at his preserver’s feet.