LINE-FISHING. 147 



wire, and is more easily applied to hooks with the 

 ordinary form of shank. It is not so much in nse now, 

 however, as formerly, and the snood is now generally 

 fastened directly to the hook. When fish are very 

 abundant as many as five or six hooks are put on each 

 snood, but on ordinary occasions there are only two 

 hooks to a line. Whelk-bait is here used as with the 

 longlines. 



Whilst handline fishiug, the smack is hove-to, and 

 each of the hands works one line, keeping the baits a 

 few inches from the bottom, unless the herrings are 

 about, when the cod come very near the surface, and it 

 is only necessary to put one or two fathoms of line 

 overboard. It is found that the fish do not bite very 

 freely during a great part of the day, so that it is not 

 necessary for everyone to be at work till towards 

 sunset ; then all hands are kept fully employed. The 

 fish are put into the well as soon as caught. A con- 

 siderable number of the cod taken within a few miles 

 of the shore are only half-grown fish ; there being a 

 marked difference in size generally between those 

 caught 10 or even 15 miles from the land and those 

 brought from the Dogger. They are not caught at the 

 two localities at the same season, however; but when 

 the inshore fishing ceases, and the herring season is 

 pretty well over, the young cod then having attained a 

 considerable size, and become fat on the abundance of 

 food provided for them in the shoals of herrings, 

 appear gradually to work their way off the land, and 

 are looked for on the Dogger by the longline fishermen. 

 It has been charged against the handliners, fishing 

 inshore, that two-thirds of the cod they bring in are 

 not more than half-grown. There can be no doubt of 

 the truth of the charge ; but it is replied by the 



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