FROM YACHTS AND LARGE FISHING BOATS 281 



advantage to have more line out than is necessary, because 

 time is lost in hauling in. But on bright days, when the fish 

 are shy, and particularly if the yacht is a large one, it is 

 desirable to have a light lead, let out a long length of line, and 

 use a rather small hook. 



A common practice of professional fishermen is to have 

 out two pairs of lines, or even more, bearing different weights, 

 and therefore fishing at different depths. Lines are frequently 

 boomed out, and in small yachts it is a simple matter to rig 

 them out at the end of the sweeps. Two lines can thus be 

 worked on each side of the yacht. Four lines will keep two per- 

 sons busily employed if the mackerel are plentiful. In the Bristol 

 Channel, lines which are boomed out in this way are brought 

 into the boat by means of a leader, an extra piece of line made 

 fast to the mackerel line a fathom and a half below the end of 

 the boom and brought inboard. By this means the outside 

 lines can be brought within reach of the hand without inter- 

 fering with the booms, which should be firmly fixed in position. 

 On the Cornish coast, where, as off Devon, this mackerel 

 railing is often termed ' plummeting,' fishermen frequently use 

 a long stick with a hook on the end to get hold of the boomed- 

 out lines. Just such a leader as above described is shown in 

 the illustration of the ocean fishing rod in Chapter IX. 



At Plymouth the usual custom among the professional 

 fishermen who are expert mackerel catchers is to have six lines. 

 From each side of the stem are heavily leaded lines, from amid- 

 ships two lines less heavily leaded, and from each side the stern 

 two with still lighter leads. These stern lines are boomed out 

 and have a tripping line attached to haul them within reach. 

 The boat is sailed two or three miles an hour, and a couple of 

 men can soon haul in a few hundred mackerel. The cigar-shaped 

 gear must be free from the vice of sheering to be used in this 

 way. The spinner (p. 278) is sometimes used without other bait. 



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