SURFACE-FEEDING SEA FISH 375 



obtained with the fly rod when he is feeding near the surface. 

 He rises savagely at the fly, like a fresh-run sea trout as yet in 

 ignorance of the wiles of the angler, and if there is a big shoal 

 of them, should one by any accident miss, another will take his 

 place before the fly is lifted from the water. These fish are 

 grand swimmers and full of pluck, and play gamely from first 

 to last. 



The very strong tackle necessary for pollack is hardly re- 

 quired for coalfish, for they can be played in orthodox fashion ; 

 but there must be abundance of line on the reel, as a provision 

 against conflicts with large fish. Whirling you may take them ; 

 paternostering you may take them ; and they pick up a bait 

 lying on the bottom. But a mussel, or piece of fish skin, or 

 lugworm, will be infinitely more attractive if moved through the 

 water. If there is a slight bobble of the sea. and we are fishing 

 from a boat, it is best not to let the lead rest on the bottom, 

 but to wind it up a foot or two, which will cause the baits to 

 dance up and down and keep time with the motion of the 

 boat. When these fish are met with, the angler should make 

 the most of his time, for the shoal may not stop under the boat 

 or close to the rocks more than half an hour. While there 

 they will be caught as fast as the line can be cast in, the fish 

 played and unhooked, unless the angler is a bungler. On the 

 whole, I am almost inclined to say that gadus alias ranks 

 higher as a sporting fish even than the pollack, though the latter 

 takes precedence in this chapter as being more frequently 

 sought after, and better known to sea fishermen. 



SALMON and SEA TROUT are such undoubted sea fishes, 

 coming into fresh water for breeding purposes, and possibly in 

 the case of salmon in very large rivers early in the year for pro- 

 tection from seals, porpoises, and other enemies, that it seems 

 right they should have a place in this volume. In dealing with 

 the subject of fly fishing in the sea I have already mentioned a 



