72 FISHING INDUSTRY OF PLYMOUTH. 



fisliing is carried on by means of lines held in the hands and 

 let down from the boat, in the case of bottom fishing when 

 the boats are anchored ; or held in the hand or fastened to 

 rods which are fixed, in the case of " railing " or '' whiSing/' 

 when the boat is sailed or rowed through the water. The 

 latter method is used for fish which are feeding near the 

 surface, as do the mackerel when the shoals have broken up. 



Whiting Fishing {Gadus merlangus). — The most important 

 hand-line fishery carried on here is the whiting fishery. 



Season. — It commences about April, or may be earlier, and 

 lasts until the end of the year. 



Boats. — Between Christmas and April, many of the larger 

 hand-line boats are laid up — (in Cawsand at the entrance to 

 the Sound, which is almost altogether a whiting fishing 

 village, nearly all the boats are laid up) — and the hands ship 

 in hookers, or go fishing with crab pots in smaller boats. A 

 few of the larger boats, however, fish for herrings with a few 

 herring drift nets during these three months. 



Ground. — The whiting ground may generally be said to be 

 from seven to ten miles outside Plymouth ; but these fish 

 are caught anywhere from a point outside the Mewstone from 

 which one can see well up Yealm Gut, to twenty miles away. 



In spring the ground frequently taken lies south-east of 

 the Eddy stone ; later on in the year the fish are to be caught 

 north-east of the " Stone." Small whiting are very generally 

 caught in the Sound. 



Time of Year. — The fishery lasts from April to Christmas. 



Bait. — The chief bait used is mussels {Mytilus edulis) , lug- 

 worms {Arenicola piscatorum), pilchards {Chipea pilchardus) , 

 mackerel {Scomber scomber), garfish {Belone vulgaris), and 

 other kinds of fish, such as chad (young of Pagellus centra- 

 dontus^ . 



Eahe Fishing {Merlucius vulgaris). — Great numbers are 

 taken with hook and line during the winter pilchard fishery, 

 when these fish can be obtained readily for bait. It is a 

 frequent occurrence for drift fishermen while their nets are out 

 for pilchards to fish with hook and line for the hake which 

 come in search of the pilchard. These fish feed, and therefore 

 take the hook best, at night. They vary from 5 to 12 lbs. 



