280 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



The me tli od of baiting the jigs which has been adopted by mackerel fishermen is somewhat 

 peculiar, aud a description of the process may be of interest iu this place. 



As a rule, when a mackerel schooner first arrives on the fishing ground and is about to begin 

 fishing with hook and line, the jigs, which are to be immediately used, are baited with small circular 

 pieces of pork rind, two or three of these being pat on each hook. Sometimes, however, no one 

 but the skipper uses pork-rind bait, the other members of the crew preferring to wait until some 

 mackerel are caught from which they can procure a supply of bait for their hooks. The favorite 

 way of baiting mackerel hooks is as follows, namely: Several thin strips, about a half inch wide 

 and 3 to 5 inches long, are cut either from the belly of the mackerel or from the lower portion of 

 the body on either side of the anal fin.* When a sufficient number of these slices have been 

 obtained they arc cut into sections, each of which is, approximately, a half inch square. A large 

 number of these pieces are put on the hook, completely filling the bend, after which the baits are 

 scraped with the back of a knife in such a manner as to remove everything but the tough white 

 skin, which, when distended in the water, forms a soft pulpy mass about the size of the end of 

 one's forefinger; but this can be contracted into a very small space, aud thus afford the eager fish 

 ample opportunity to secure a good hold of the hook while seeking the tempting but yielding morsel 

 upon it. A bait of this kind will last more than an hour without being renewed, even when mack- 

 erel are biting sharply. When the fish are "picking" or less inclined to take the hook, a fisherman 

 is often not obliged to bait his jigs more than once iu a whole day. Sometimes the fishermen cut 

 out a small circular piece from the throat of the mackerel, which they place on their hook above 

 the scraped bait. This throat piece is quite firm, and for awhile prevents the soft skins composing 

 the bait below it from being entangled on the point of the hook and thus preventing the latter 

 from easily catching the biting fish. 



In the early days of the mackerel hook fishery the toll bait chiefly used was made of small 

 mackerel, and sometimes of large ones too when small fish could not be obtained. The viscera of 

 the mackerel were also frequently used in the absence of better. From 1835 to 1840 menhaden 

 came into general use, and were subsequently always in high favor. They had, however, been in 

 common use by Gloucester fishermen at the very commencement of the century. They were caught 

 iu gill- rets. It was the custom of the Gloucester people to leave home a little after tea, set their 

 nets off Kettle Island, and lie there till about midnight. They would then haul their nets, pick 

 out the fish, and start off to the mackerel grounds.t 



There can be no question that the custom of chopping up small mackerel for bait was detri- 

 mental to the mackerel fishery in succeeding years, and that the introduction of menhaden was a 

 benefit to the fishery in more ways than one. As a "toll bait" for the mackerel, menhaden is 

 believed to be better than any other fish ; the mackerel seem to prefer it ; aud the presence in its 

 flesh of a quantity of oil renders it especially convenient for the use of fishermen, since in the 

 process of "chumming up," presently to be described, a small quantity of ground menhaden bait 

 will spread over a large area of water. In the Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries, Part V, 

 pp. 143 to 147, may be found a discussion of the comparative merits of herring and menhaden as a 

 bait for mackerel. 



The quantity of menhaden bait carried by a mackerel schooner on a trip of two and a half to 

 three mouths to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence varied, according to the size of the vessel, from 25 to 



"Strips for bait cut from Dear the anal fin are usually preferred, since they cannot so easily be torn from the 

 hook as cau the fatter anil tenderer strips taken from the abdomen. 



t Mr. Earl] writes: " Daniel Cameron, of Southport, states that pogies were first used in Maine about 1844, and 

 by 1846 had come into general use. People of this sr, t ion claim to have introduced the menhaden or pogy, Jlievrortia 

 lymnnus, as mackerel bait, but with whom the practice originated I was unable to learn." 



