DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 131 



the surface of the water in mad efforts to escape 

 pursuing pollack, which, as mad themselves in the joys 

 of feasting, added to the noise with furious splashes. 

 Into this seething the three fishers let down their 

 'Natural Spin' baits — lures had been changed at 

 the coming of darkness — and found eager takers. 

 So close were the fish that only a few yards of line were 

 necessary tP reach them, and the fishers had the 

 chance of mastering them before they could get back 

 to the depths from which they had risen. This was 

 fortunate, for it happened -more than once that the 

 three were struggling at the same time with fish that 

 would need the gaff. 



The most glorious moments are the shortest; a 

 cloudy curtain threatened to shut off the grand hght 

 the moon was giving, so there was nothing to do but 

 take cheerfully the captain's order : 'Draw in your 

 lines, we must make the entrance to the bay while the 

 hght lasts.' 



The rowing boats, with their hghter draught and 

 no need for tacking, fished until the changing tide took 

 the pilchards off and the pollack ceased to rise. 



Our first day's fishing pleased every one engaged, 

 and the pleasure of the brothers Vinnicombe was 

 added to by permission to take the spoils to Falmouth 

 market, to which they must have started soon after 

 daybreak, for when the early risers went to bathe the 

 Shag was gone. 



The space to be afforded for this outing — and then 

 there is your patience, too — will only permit me to 

 write of our most successful times with the three 

 principal methods we adopted, and of those but 

 briefly. 



It was after many days of trying that we satisfied 

 the captain with our catch of bream; but then nothing 

 less than what would justify his going to market 

 satisfied him. One of these failures was caused by 

 the inability of members of the party to withstand the 



