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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 11 (February 1, 1940)

The Riddle Of The Deep

The Riddle Of The Deep.

Sea-fishing is nothing less than the pursuit of blind faith. In this it differs from other sports. When you shoot a duck you like to see it somewhere about; but when you go sea-fishing you simply sling your hook blindly, sustained by a couple of “quick ones” and a whole heap of faith. For all your eyes tell you the sea may be as devoid of fish as a bullock's breakfast. The fisher merely tosses a challenge to Chance. He may bring up a brace of schnapper or a bottle of Schnapps, a groper or a gridiron, a bonita or a boot. It's this haunting mystery of the sea, this riddle of the deep that gets him. For:

Ten million million fish there be,
Invisible within the sea.
It's very hard indeed to ponder,
With all those flashing fish down yonder,
That seldom, when I drop a hook,
Do fishes give the bait a look.
The schnapper and his salty donah,
Jush flip a fin and gurgle, “Jonah!”
But still, where breakers shoot the
schute,
We stick to this sublime pursuit
For, though some people vote it slow,
Our motto is “You never know.”