about ten o'clock
At night , by the aid of torches made of dried coconut leaf , the women and children capture them in hundreds as they lie on the clear , sandy bottom . In the picturesque lagoons of the Ellice Group -LRB- South Pacific -RRB- , and especially in that of Nanomea , these fish afford excellent sport with either rod or hand-line , and sport , too , with surroundings of the greatest beauty imaginable ; for the little lagoon of Nanomea is perfectly landlocked , except where there are breaks of reef -- dry at low water -- which is as clear as crystal , and the low-lying belt of land is a verdant girdle of coco and pandanus palms , growing with bread-fruit and _ fetau _ trees on the rich , warm soil composed of vegetable matter and decayed coral detritis . And then , too , you can look over the side of the canoe , or from an exposed boulder of coral , and see the fish take your bait -- unless a breeze is rippling the surface of the water . I usually chose the early morning , before the trade wind roused itself , as then , if in a canoe , one need not anchor , but drift about from one side of the lagoon to the other ; then about ten o'clock , when the breeze came , I would paddle over to the lee of the weather side of the island -LRB- the land in places not being much wider than the Palisadoes of Port Royal in Jamaica -RRB- and fish in unruffled water in some deep pool among a number of sand banks , or rather round-topped hillocks , which even at high water were some feet above the surface . When bent on sand-mullet -- _ afulu _ the natives call them -- I was in the habit of going alone , although the moment I appeared in the village carrying my rod , lines , and gun , I was always besought to take one or two men with me . One of the most ardent fishermen on the island was one Kino -- a gentleman who weighed eighteen stone ; and , as my canoe was only intended for two light-weights like myself , I always tried to avoid meeting him , for not only was he most persistent in his desire to see how I managed to get so many mullet , but was most anxious to learn to speak English . On one occasion I fatuously took the monster out in my whaleboat to fish for _ takuo _ -LRB- a variety of _ tuna _ -RRB- one calm starlight night when the ocean was like a sheet of glass .