430 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



who were familiar with the operation of long lines proved too much 

 of a handicap, and in the latter part of the season hand-lining was 

 resorted to. 



A very important advantage in the use of long lines is that the men 

 will fish with them in much deeper water than they will with hand 

 lines. The largest and best cod are found in the deeper waters, 

 and it is from these that the owners would like to get the bulk of 

 the catch; but when hand-lining the men either refuse openly to 

 work in the deeper waters or else secretly neglect the fishing and 

 bring in but few fish when the captain insists upon anchoring on 

 the deeper portions of the banks. 



The experience of the Union Jack in long-lining is described under 

 the section devoted to shore stations. 



For some years long lines were in general use by the station fisher- 

 men but were given up eventually because large quantities of gear 

 and fish were lost because the men were unable to get out to the banks 

 in stormy weather and because the fishing required more skill than 

 was possessed by most of the green hands available. 



As the ground upon which they could fish was somewhat limited 

 for long lines, the fishermen first agreed among themselves as to 

 how the ground should be apportioned. In setting the long line two 

 men went in a dory, but in fishing it the work was done by one man, 

 as the line was allowed to remain on the ground for at least a week 

 and sometimes longer. Before setting the line the bottom was 

 sounded carefully with a hand line in order to be sure of getting the 

 right spot for fishing. An anchor and line with buoy attached was 

 dropped overboard first, then the ground line was paid out in the 

 direction agreed upon with the other fishermen, after which the 

 other anchor and buoy line were set. The ground line was left 

 sufficiently slack so that it could be hauled to the surface without 

 disturbing the anchor, but not slack enough to permit of the line 

 snarling. In fishing it, the fisherman went to the leeward buoy and 

 hauled up the bight of the line until it lay across the bow of his 

 dory: then, by hauling on this line they pulled the dory against the 

 tide in the direction of the other anchor, the line passing across the 

 bow of the dory so that the hooks that came in on one side were 

 freed from fish, rebaited, and thrown over on the other side of the 

 dory until the line was completely underrun or the dory filled with 

 fish, when the line was thrown off again and the trawl left set as 

 before. The ground line of these long lines was 9-thread manila, 

 while the buoy lines were of 6-thread manila, commonly known as 

 " dory rode." The gangings were of 6-pound lines, i. e., 12 lines of 

 25 fathoms each weighed 6 pounds. They were 22 inches in length 

 and were attached to the ground line at intervals of 3 feet. The 

 number of hooks used varied from 500 to more than 1,000, according 

 to the number of tubs set. 



During the season of 1913 the small power schooner Union Jack, 

 with headquarters at the Pirate Cove station of the Union Fish Co., 

 engaged in long-lining on the inshore banks of the Shumagin Islands, 

 mainly in West Nagai Strait. 



As it was the intention later in the season to use the Union Jack 

 in gill-net fishing for cod from the deck of the vessel by means of 

 a net lifter (described elsewhere in this report), the machine was 



