1 30 MODERN SEA FISHING 



as bait, and I know no bait lugs excepted which gets 'high' 

 quicker. At the same time, if cleaned, opened, wiped, and hung 

 up in a very dry, airy place, these baits will sometimes dry hard, 

 and can be kept for an indefinite period. They require to be 

 soaked before being used. Slices can also be placed between 

 layers of salt, and there is a belief whether well founded or 

 not, I do not know that salted squid is all the better for being 

 kept in the dark. It is often a good plan to place a small piece 

 of squid on the shank of the hook, covering the bend and point 

 with a mussel, so that, should the mussel get sucked or washed 

 off, as is so often the case, the squid remains, and may lead to 

 the capture of a fish. The tentacles and strips of squid or cuttle 

 are excellent whiffing baits. The largest bass I ever hooked was 

 on a piece of squid. The fish so astonished the little Welsh 

 lad who was with me that he stood gaping at it with his mouth 

 open instead of using the gaff, and the bass took advantage of 

 the opportunity to kick off the hook. 



Tripe. More than once I have heard of this stuff being 

 strongly recommended as a whiffing bait, long narrow strips of 

 it being cut about the size of a large ragworm. It comes in 

 the same category as pork-skin, pig's bladder, and the like. 



Whelks are not greatly used as bait by the amateur sea 

 fisher, but are simply invaluable to the long-liner owing to their 

 toughness, a hook baited with a whelk being very seldom robbed. 

 They are taken in large quantities by dredging, in lobster pots 

 baited with soft crab or offal, and also on lines laid along the 

 bottom, on which are fastened rows of small crabs threaded on 

 twine. I need hardly say that with both snails and whelks 

 the shell must be broken off before the bait can be used. A 

 large whelk can be cut up into several baits. 



Whitebait. This young of sprats, herrings, and, occasion- 

 ally, other fish, is most excellent bait. In fact, it is a large 

 item in the daily menu of whiting, codling, mackerel, bass, &c. 



