no MODERN SEA FISHING 



species, which are found in salt water, are by no means the 

 best for baits. Far better are the large mussels which grow in 

 the brackish water of estuaries or among the rocks in inlets 

 of the sea where the water is tempered by the inflow of many 

 rivers. The finest, as I said at the beginning of the chapter, 

 are sold for edible and angling purposes at the shell-fish shops. 

 On parts of the Yorkshire coast, as I have before noted, the 

 fishermen actually use mussels ' made in Germany ' ! Such is 

 their ignorance^ of the law that no legend to that effect is 

 marked on the shells. Thousands of sacks full of these invalu- 

 able fish are sent over to Hull, and distributed along the coast. 

 The fishermen keep small quantities in baskets weighted and 

 placed among the rocks, but the sea water of the east coast 

 is too strong for them, and they do not live very long. When 

 fishing some years ago in Broad Bay, near Stornoway, we could 

 only get mussels by sending right across the Island of Lewis 

 to the sea-lochs of its western side. Those we obtained were 

 large, and lived a long time in pools among the rocks. The 

 sea in that part of the world is less salt than on our east 

 coast. 



Sometimes mussels are scalded or boiled, or put in the oven 

 for a few minutes, or placed in the sun for an hour, either of 

 which processes opens the shell and turns the contents into 

 a more or less solid mass easily adjusted on the hook. But 

 it is far better to use these baits untreated by heat. Some- 

 times they are opened and salted, but I cannot commend the 

 practice. 



For opening mussels there is nothing better than an ordi- 

 nary oyster knife. If a clasp knife is used, it should have the 

 spring catch at the back, which keeps the blade from closing 

 on to the hand. A small mussel is a difficult thing to open ; 

 large ones should be treated in the manner following the 

 Scotch method. The end by which the mussel adheres to 



