Their gear consisted of a gut mainline about 6-8 mm. in 

 circumference, to the bottom end of which was hitched a small, 

 loosely tied stone weight. At a distance of about one meter from 

 the weighted end was attached a No. 2 snooded hook carrying a bait. 

 The hook was very much bent, the point being directed inward to 

 red\ice the distance between it and the sh an k to the minimum con- 

 sistent with effectiveness. 



In actual operation the line was lowered and when the 

 stone weight touched bottom it was jerked free from the line. With- 

 out the weight, the line carrying the hook gradually floated upward 

 and generally the fish were hooked at that stage. 



Before the outbreak of the Pacific War the Japanese drive- 

 In-netters in the Philippines often supplemented the take of their 

 muro-ami gear by using a multiple handline'for catching coral species. 

 This gear was employed when they failed to find a sufficient con- 

 centration of caesios and surgeon fishes, the two principal species 

 sought by them, to warrant making a set. While scanning the reefs 

 for schools of these fishes they often foiind attractive, large-sized 

 food fishes such as snappers, porgies, lethrinids, etc. which they 

 could catch by this type of handline. When a good-sized school of 

 caesios, for exmnple, was found, the same fishermen took in their 

 lines and began to pay out their more effective muro-ami gear. 



The multiple handline consisbed of a weighted cottom main- 

 line to which was attached at regular intervals a series of wire 

 spreaders. To each spreader there was attached in turn a snooded 

 hook carrying a bait (fig. 3). '^tie mainline ordinarily consisted 

 of 10/193 hardlaid cotton twine varying in length from 40 to 200 

 meters depending upon the dep,th to be fished. The wire spreaders 

 were made of ordinary galvanized wire 3.2 mm. (1/8 in.) in diameter 

 and they were attached to the mainline at intervals somewhat greater 

 than one meter (generally foTor feet). The snoods or leaders were 

 made of Diano or steel music wire and the hooks attached to them 

 were generally size No. 2 with a much bent point and provided with 

 a barb. The line was sunk by a stone which weighed about 2.5 

 kilogrfljns. 



To increase the efficiency of this gear, chumming (scatt- 

 ering chopped fish bait) was also employed. According to reports 

 it was sometimes customary to catch squids or other forms which 

 were chopped very fine and placed in a light cottom bag. This bag 

 of bait was then tied to the extreme end of the mainline so that 

 the sinker v;as immediately above it. The ch\ira was then caused to 

 spread by allowing the weight to repeatedly fall upon it. Catches 

 as great as 800 kilograms of marketable fish per day have been re- 

 ported being taken by two men from reefs 90 fathoms deep by this 

 procedure. 



2/ The ST)ecif ications of this gear contained in this paper sire 

 only approximations based on memory, no actual written description 

 having been ke-ot of the gear. 



10 



