158 BAIT REQUIKED. [CHAP. iv. 



clumsy instrument, as after the fish has been struck the rod 

 has to be laid down in the boat, and the line to be hauled in 

 by hand. 



As to bait, it is quite impossible to lay down any strict 

 rule. The bait which is the favourite in one bay or bank 

 is scouted by the fish of other localities. At times almost 

 anything will do : numbers of mackerel have been taken with 

 a little bit of red cloth attached to the hook ; on certain 

 occasions the fish are so voracious that they will swallow 

 the naked iron ! On the English coasts, and among the 

 Western Islands of Scotland, the most deadly bait that is 

 used is boiled limpets, which require to be partially chewed by 

 the fisher before placing them on the hooks ; in other places 

 mussels are the favourites, and in others the worms procured 

 among the mud of the shore. The limpet has this one ad- 

 vantage, that it is easily fixed on the hook, and keeps its hold 

 tenaciously. A very excellent bait for the larger kinds of fish 

 is the soft parts of the "body of small crabs, which are gathered 

 for that purpose at low tide under the stones ; a good place for 

 procuring them is a mussel-bed. The best time for fishing is 

 immediately before ebb or flow. The hooks being baited, the 

 line is run over the side of the boat until the lead touches the 

 bottom, when it is drawn up a little, so as to keep the baits 

 out of reach of the crabs, who gnaw and destroy both bait 

 and tackle. The line is held firmly and lightly outside the 

 boat, the other hand, inside the boat, also having a grip of 

 the line. The moment a fish is felt to strike, the line is 

 jerked down by the hand inside, thus bringing it sharply 

 across the gunwale and fixing the hook. A little experience 

 will soon enable the angler to determine the weight of the 

 fish, and according as it is light or heavy must he quickly or 

 slowly haul in his line. When the fish reaches the surface, 

 he should, if practicable, seize it with his hand, as it is apt, 

 on feeling itself out of water, to wriggle off.. A landing-clip 



