PACIFIC COD FISHERIES 429 



In the bow of each dory was fixed a roller that worked on a pivot, 

 over which the ground line was hauled. There are always two men 

 in a dory when a vessel is long-lining, one man to haul the line and 

 shake off the fish, which he does by a dexterous twist of the wrist, 

 while the second man baits the hooks and coils the gear in the tubs 

 again. The men usually brought the line in when returning with the 

 catch, but sometimes when the weather looked propitious the line 

 would be underrun, the fish removed and new bait substituted, and 

 allowed to fish again while the men took their catch aboard. Some- 

 times the lines would be set out late in the evening and allowed to 

 remain down until the men went out early in the morning. 



The long lines were handled in the same manner as on the Atlantic 

 coast. In setting a line, two men go in a dory, one to throw the 

 line and the other to row the boat. Having arrived at the place 

 where the set is to be made, a buoy is fastened to one end of the 

 buoy line and thrown over the side. The buoy line is then allowed to 

 run out until the end is reached, when it, together with the upper end 

 of the long line, is bent to the ring of the anchor. The anchor is 

 then lowered over the side, and the line thrown from the tub until the 

 lower end is reached; it is then fastened to the upper end of the 

 second tub of line and so on until all of the tubs — two, three or 

 more — have been set. The last end of the long line, together with the 

 second buoy line, is bent to an anchor and thrown over the side, care 

 being taken to prevent the buoy line from fouling with hooks of the 

 long line as it is thrown out. To the free end of the buoy line is 

 attached the second buoy. The method of " underrunning " a long 

 line permits the removal of the fish from the hooks and rebaiting 

 them in a single operation, thus saving a considerable amount of 

 labor. " Underrunning " is sometimes performed on ground where 

 fish are plentiful and when the weather is suitable for such operation. 

 A long line intended to be " underrun " is set in the usual manner, 

 with slight variation. A becket is made in the buoy line about 10 

 or 12 fathoms below the buoy. In the becket is bent a small line, 

 which reaches to the bottom, and to the bottom end of this line is 

 fastened a stone weighing about 6 pounds. The ground line of the 

 trawl, instead of being fastened to the ring of the anchor is attached 

 to the small line close to the stone. When thus set there is sufficient 

 distance between the anchor on the buoy line and the stone on the 

 small line to permit of the line being lifted without disturbing the 

 anchor. In hauling, the buoy line is pulled up until the small line 

 running to the anchor is reached, the stone is hauled up, and the end 

 of the ground line is passed over the dory. One man unhooks the 

 fish and the other baits the hooks. In this way the dory passes under 

 the entire length of the line and the fish taken from it and the hooks 

 baited in a single operation. The objects of operating lines in the 

 manner described is to keep them in one position during the time 

 when fish are plentiful. 



On sandy bottom the fish sometimes are eaten by sand fleas, and 

 to prevent this glass balls attached to the ground line at frequent 

 intervals keep the fish clear of the bottom, where the fleas are most 

 numerous. 



While the use of long lines by the Vega's crew was found to be 

 quite successful, so far as catching fish was concerned, the 

 difficulty of pairing off congenial fishermen and the finding of men 



