290 MODERN SEA FISHING 



the snoods, which on our amateur lines are not very numerous, 

 are soon retied on to the main line. 



Trots or long lines should be coiled in a shallow basket, on 

 the edge of which the hooks can be caught. The main length 

 of line should always be tanned, and should be strong enough 

 to moor a small boat ; for often, when hauling it in, the anchor 

 or stone at one end will catch in the bottom, and the boat is 

 held by it. Professional fishermen are exceedingly expert both 

 in laying and taking in these lines, and will pay out miles of 

 line from a basket without a hitch. The amateur, on the 



KNOT FOR FASTENING AND QUICKLY UNFASTENING 

 SNOODS FROM LINES 



other hand, is likely to become involved 

 in the most fearful and wonderful entangle- 

 ments ; but a little practice will soon make him fairly proficient 

 at the business. 



With a line bearing some twenty hooks or so, it is only 

 necessary to have a weight at each end a stone, a piece of 

 iron ballast, or a heavy leaden plummet with a ring, made 

 specially for the purpose. A few pounds more or less weight 

 on the line does not much matter, provided there .is enough to 

 hinder any large fish, such as a halibut of a hundred pounds, 

 swimming off with it. 



The efficient buoying of the line is very important. It is 



