198 MODERN SEA FISHING 



removing the drum of the reel and turning it so as to make the 

 line slip off it the other side. This reverses all the twists in 

 the line, but involves winding the reverse way, which requires 

 some practice. An improved pivot is now used which, so 

 the maker alleges (I have not had an opportunity of trying it), 

 prevents the reel from wobbling when a heavy fish is being 

 played. 



When fishing from high piers, casting is anything but a 

 convenient method of working the bait, owing to the distance 



MALI.OCII R F.F.I., 



of the rod from the water. For bass and pollack it is not, as a 

 rule, necessary to cast from such places, because these fish are 

 found close to the piles of pier, jetty, and the like, and many 

 of them are caught by simply sinking and drawing the bait 

 through the water, or even by walking up and down the pier 

 and trailing the bait. A live ragworm has been the death of 

 many a pollack in such places, and a small sand-eel, a strip of 

 mackerel-skin, or a few oyster beards are all killing baits for 

 midwater or surface fishing. 



