ROD FISHING IN THE SEA. 71 



the Ammodytes Tobianus, and reaching, when full-grown, 

 the length of 12 or 13 inches. The Manx name for the 

 sand launce is " The Gibbon." At low tide they are 

 obtained in great quantities by being forked out of the 

 sand, into which they wriggle to a depth of three or four 

 inches. At spring tides the boys and girls may be 

 seen by dozens at the water's edge turning up the sand 

 and gathering the gibbons in large quantities ; for, not 

 only are they a bait which almost all sea fish will take 

 greedily, but they are also regarded as a delicacy for the 

 table, and when fried in oil or butter in the same way 

 as whitebait, they are certainly most excellent eating. 

 The natives also cut off their heads, clean them, and dry 

 them in the sun, and afterwards fry them in the ordinary 

 way. They may generally be obtained fresh for 2d. per 

 quart, and of course for bait, the fresher they are the 

 better. Mr. Willcock, in his able and exhaustive book 

 upon sea-fishing, speaks of the killing properties of the 

 live sand launce as a bait, but for my own part I never 

 use a live bait, and I do not care to inflict unneces- 

 sary pain even upon sand launces. The only advice of 

 dear old Izaak's, which I don't care to follow, is, that as 

 to the treatment of a live frog as a bait for pike, and I 

 always think that the Father of Anglers meant to convey 

 some hint as to the cruelty of this when he carefully 

 pointed out how the unfortunate frog has to be put on 

 the hook "as though you loved him." Most good fisher- 

 men are able to spin with the natural bait, and will, 

 therefore, have no difficulty in mounting a sand launce 

 according to their own particular fancies ; but as my 



