186 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [96] 



share than any of his comrades. The emulation to be " high-line " for the 

 day and for the season is extreme. The number of barrels caught by 

 each man is carefully noted, for upon his relative success depends his 

 proportion of the proceeds of the voyage and his reputation as a fish- 

 erman. In a single day a high-line fisherman has caught from 10 to 15 

 barrels, and since each barrel contains from 150 to 200 mackerel, the 

 rapidity of the men's movements throughout the day may be estimated. 

 In seven or eight hours' fishing he has probably lifted over the side 2,000 

 to 3,000 fish, to say nothing of throwing over his jig and bringing it back 

 empty almost as many times more. Such cases as this are exceptional, 

 since mackerel rarely continue biting long enough to allow such a num- 

 ber to be taken. At the same time, when a much smaller number is 

 caught, the activity of the fishermen is something to be wondered at.* 



The confusion and excitement is increased by the frequent snarling 

 of the lines and the attempts to straighten them out again. As has 

 been stated, each expert fisherman has ten or twelve lines in his berth, 

 and changes from one to the other according to the rapidity with which 

 the fish are biting, or the strength of the wind. Much experience and 

 skill are necessary to enable the fishermen to make these changes un- 

 derstandingly. Little is said while the fishing is going on; the men 

 lean far over the rail in strange attitudes of expectancy with one or two 

 lines in each hand, the hands moving up and down and constantly haul- 

 ing in and throwing out one of the lines at a time. When it is neces- 

 sary to haul in one of the lines, the others are allowed to drop upon the 

 rail. 



We have described one phase of the life of a mackerel fisherman, but 

 experiences hke this may occur only a few times during a season. 

 Mackerel vessels are constantly under sail, cruising hither and thither 

 over great areas of water on the lookout for fish, heaving to and trying 

 more frequently without than with success, except in extraordinary 

 seasons. At night they are hove to, or, when mackerel are scarce, are 

 making long passages from one ground to another. Information as to 

 the location of the schools of mackerel is passed from vessel to vessel. 

 As they meet, the vessels almost invariably speak each other and com- 

 pare notes upon the position and abundance of fish. 



When a vessel is seeking fish and heaves to for the purpose of toll- 

 ing them up, she will continue in this position, as a rule, for about an 

 hour, sometimes longer, when there is any prospect of success. Some- 

 times the mackerel, however abundant, will not rise to bait; they are 

 very capricious; at other times in the same day they will be exceed- 

 ingly voracious. One of the common tactics of the mackerel fishermen 

 was that of running round a school; when the fish could be seen, the 

 vessel would make a complete circle, surrounding them at the same 



* Large catch of mackerel. — Schooner "Bloomer," of Hingham, with, a crew of 10 

 men, caught on Thursday last, between 10 a. m. and 2 p. m., 5,700 mackerel with the 

 hook and line. — (Barnstable Patriot, May 28, 1861.) 



