The annual fishing competition was finished, and the fishermen of Mostleigh Harmless gathered in the bar of the Sober Newt to await the verdict of the judges.
"That's very curious," Reid suddenly remarked.
"What is?" asked his friend Wilson.
"The number of fish that I caught is exactly the same as the number of letters in my surname."
Wilson thought for a moment. "Me too."
"And me," added Jones, who had been buying a round and had returned to the table bearing the fruits of his labours.
"Rubbish!" scoffed the landlord. "You fishermen always tell tall tales! I've seen the score sheet, and it does show that one of you caught four fish, one caught five, and one caught six. I'm not committing myself as to who caught what, because the final say belongs to the judges. But I did notice that among you three, the average number of fish caught by those who are lying about their catch is exactly the same as the average number caught by those telling the truth."
Of the three fisherman, who caught the most fish?
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The answer
Reid caught the most fish. If the numbers 4, 5, 6 are to form two sets with the same average, then one set must be (4, 6) and the other must be 5. Now (4, 6) can't be the numbers of fish caught by those who are telling the truth, because the fishermen concerned would have to be Reid and Wilson—leaving 5 fish for Jones, so he would be telling the truth as
well. Therefore Reid and Wilson are lying, and Jones is telling the truth. So Jones caught 5 fish, Reid caught 6 fish, and
Wilson caught 4.
The winner is Matthew Vincent, Gravesend
