MODERN SEA FISHING 



CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTORY CHARTS, TIDES, ETC. 



THIS book being a contribution to the Badminton Library, 

 it is perhaps hardly needful to explain that it deals mainly 

 with the sportsman's side of sea fishing. People who are only 

 acquainted with the comparatively rough methods of pro- 

 fessional fishermen may be disposed to declare that there is 

 no sport to be obtained in the sea. But those who do me 

 the honour of perusing the following pages can hardly fail to 

 be convinced that salt water is as sport-yielding as fresh, and 

 that there are many kinds of sea fish so wary and such powerful 

 swimmers that in their capture the knowledge and skill of the 

 sportsman are all important. In the sea, as in rivers, there are 

 certain conditions -particularly thick water or darkness under 

 which fish can be caught with the roughest possible tackle 

 and the most primitive methods. But in the long run the 

 angler who uses moderately fine tackle, an average intelligence, 

 and strikes and plays the fish he hooks with the skill he 

 has acquired on lake or river, will most certainly score the 

 greatest successes in proof of which I will give illustration 

 later on. 



