102 MODERN SEA FISHING 



and from each half cut off diagonal pieces as they are required 

 about a quarter of an inch wide. The illustration will assist 

 the understanding of this method. The dotted lines show 

 where the knife should cut the uncut portions. Of course, if 

 large conger or cod are being angled for, the baits must be cut 

 larger. I generally put the hook in at the thin or belly end of 

 the bait from the scales' side, then twist it round and put it again 

 through the scales at the thick portion, the point coming out 

 through the soft flesh. I have already referred to the use of 

 bloaters as a bait for bass and eels. 



Horse Mackerel. This is a coarse kind of mackerel which 

 is little used as bait, though, when flounders are wanting, it 

 sometimes does service in lobster, crab pot, or in some prawn 

 net. (See Chapter XL) 



Lampreys and Lamperns, Lampreys are first-rate whiffing 

 baits, equally as good as small eels, and should be used in 

 exactly the same manner. They have much the appearance of 

 eels, but a very curious sucking apparatus takes the place of a 

 mouth. There are several varieties of these creatures, some 

 of which are found in the sea, while others appear to live 

 permanently in fresh water. They are, or used to be, used 

 alive on the long lines as baits for turbot, that fish being 

 particularly partial to them. I have caught large numbers of 

 the lesser lamprey in early spring, when they have been spawn- 

 ing on the shallows of a trout stream. 



Limpets. These humble little shell fish, which appear to 

 pass aimless existences adhering to rocks, are a good deal used 

 for baits in places where mussels are scarce or wanting. They 

 are highly esteemed in the Orkneys, and are deemed most 

 serviceable if scalded out of the shell, but not boiled. I 

 confess I never had much respect for these shell fish until I 

 learnt from a scientific work that they were cyclobranchiate 

 gasteropodous molluscs of the genus Patella. The limpet is 



