408 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [14] 
line is more extensively employed off the Long Island coast and along 
the shores of Northern New Jersey than in any other locality. It was 
introduced into the region at an early date, and for some time was the 
most important method in the fishery. It has been less extensively 
used during the past ten years, and is now chiefly employed by parties 
- fishing several miles from the shore. Large open boats and small sloops 
carrying from two to five men each are used for trolling. ‘The trolling- 
hooks, or “squids,” as they are frequently called, differ greatly. Some 
are made of bright metals in the form of a fish, while others more nearly 
resemble the body of a squid, these being usually painted in brilliant 
colors. The number of hooks varies from one to three, according to 
circumstances. In the absence of manufactured squids, the fishermen 
frequently improvise vefy good ones by attaching pieces of red or white 
cloth to ordinary fish-hooks. In fishing, the hooks are attached to lines 
several fathoms in length, four or five of these being towed behind the 
boat, which spreads enough canvas to drag them through the water at a 
speed of two to four miles per hour. The fishermen are often successful 
in catching large numbers of mackerel in this way. 
At Sandy Hook gill-nets were first employed in the capture of mack- 
erel in 1866, but being “‘set taut,” they were not very successful, the 
fish usually detecting their presence and refusing to enter them. 
When it was found that, although abundant, the fish did not gill read- 
ily, schools were often surrounded by the nets, after which the fisher- 
men attempted to frighten them into the meshes by splashing with oars 
in the center of the circle. The majority, however, would pass under 
the lead-lines, or jump over the cork-lines, and escape, so that compara- 
tively few were taken. Still the nets continued to be used with varying 
success, though the bulk of the catch was taken by trolling. About 1872 
or 1873 it was accidentally discoverd that the mackerel would gill more 
readily in nets set in such a way as to present sharp angles, quite a 
number having been secured in a net that had become twisted and 
tangled by the currents. This fact suggested a change in the manner of 
setting, and various experiments were made by the fishermen of Sea- 
bright with good results. The first “sets” were somewhat crude, but 
experience enabled the fishermen to improve upon them from year to 
year. 
The figures in Plate II represent the principal methods of setting the 
gill-nets for the capture of Spanish mackerel off Sandy Hook from 1866 
to the present time. Figure 1 shows the first method, locally known as 
the “straight-set.” The other figures represent, in their order, the more 
important methods that have since been introduced. At the present 
time the three sets shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8 are commonly employed. 
These are locally known as the ‘“square-set,” ‘T-set,” and ‘“ harpoon- 
set,” the names describing, to a certain-extent, the shape of the nets 
as they appear in the water. In the square-set, Figure 6, two nets 
are employed, one being placed perpendicular to the shore to form a 
