[117] HISTOEY OF THE MACKEEEL FISHEEY. 207 



negroes in the Sugar Islands, are caught either by hook, seines, or 

 meshes. Those by hook are the best, those by seines are worst, because 

 in bulk they are bruised. Mackerel will not take the hook unless it 

 have a motion of two or three knots; if quicker they will take the hook^ 

 but their jaw being tender gives way, and the mackerel is lost. There 

 are two seasons of mackerel, spring and autumn; the autumn mackerel 

 are the best; those of the spring appear about the middle of May, very 

 lean, and vanish in two or three weeks." 



36. — DeAILING foe MACKEEEL. 



Captain Atwood writes: "In my boyhood, when I caught my first 

 mackerel, nobody thought of jigging them. We then took them in the 

 same way as bluefish are caught. My first experience in mackerel fish- 

 ing took place when I was a little boy, about 1815. I went out with 

 two old men. One of them fished in the stern of the boat, and when it 

 did not sail fast enough the other and myself — I was eight years old at 

 the time — had to row, in order, by the more rapid motion of the boat, to 

 induce the fish to bite. They would not bite unless the line was towed. 

 Two great long poles were run out, one just forward, in such a manner 

 that our vessel had the appearance of a long-armed spider. The poles 

 were straight, and one line was fastened at one part, and another line 

 on the end of the jiole, in order to have them separated. This style of 

 fishing continued until about the time when I began to go to sea, about 

 1820. Jigging for mackerel then commenced, bait being thrown over- 

 board, and the fish being thus attracted alongside of the vessel, and 

 this soon came into general use." 



Capt. James Turner, of Isle au Haut, Me., who assures us that as 

 late as 1815 the fishermen drailed for mackerel, gives the following ac- 

 count of this method of fishing: 



"While drailing, the sails were trimmed in such a manner that, when 

 the helm was partly down, the vessel would 'jog' along slowly, making a 

 little leeward drift, so that the lines would trend off at a slight angle 

 from the weather side. Each man had one line, the end of which was 

 attached to the end of a i)ole that was fastened to the vessel's rail, pro- 

 jecting out about 8 feet at right angles with the side of the vessel. The 

 fisherman held in his hand a hauling-line which was attached to the 

 middle of the one fastened to the pole, so that he might know when a 

 fish took the hook and be able to haul it in." 



" About a pound of sheet lead was wouyd around the line a foot above 

 the hook. When the vessel was engaged in fishing, the man standing 

 forward threw over a small amount of fine bait (which had previously 

 been chopped with hatchets) occasionally, scattering it along in order 

 to attract the fish, and keep them near the vessel." 



The following paragraphs are quoted from an essay in the Fishermen's 

 Memorial and Record Book: 



"Trailing was one of the means used to catch mackerel in the olden 



