402 MODERN SEA FISHING 



Sutherlandshire, a man appeared at our evening repast in a 

 most downcast mood, having lost an enormous halibut. He 

 had been fishing for cod, and hooked the big creature, which 

 he played, or rather it played him, for over an hour. At last, 

 he and his men succeeded in bringing it up to the surface, 

 and found themselves unable to get it into the boat. Vainly 

 they tried to stick fishhooks into it so that they might tow 

 it ashore, but the hide of the creature was too tough. Last of 

 all they decided to get a running noose round it, and while all 

 three were on one side of the boat endeavouring to do this, an 

 unexpected wave caused the little craft to give a sudden lurch, 

 which jerked the snooding a man was holding, snapped it, and 

 the big fish slowly sank out of sight. I forget how many 

 hundred pounds the creature weighed. 



Up in the far north of Scotland halibut are fairly plentiful, 

 but are not often caught in the Channel. They are not un- 

 common on the east coast of Scotland. A number of enormous 

 fish of this species have been recorded from time to time. One 

 weighing seven and a half stone, and measuring five and a half 

 feet long, and two and a half feet broad, was brought into 

 Yarmouth in 1873. ^ n ^76 one was caught on the East coast 

 of England which weighed over 300 Ibs., and was more than 

 seven feet in length. In 1829 one seven and a half feet long 

 and weighing 320 Ibs. was caught off the Isle of Man. In 

 more northern seas beyond our shores these fish sometimes 

 attain a weight of 500 Ibs. When the first steamer left Hull 

 with a Grimsby crew on board, to fish the Faroe waters as an 

 experiment, they took with them nine miles of line. They 

 returned with over a thousand halibut, weighing from one to 

 nine stone each. 



The TURBOT (Rhombus maximus) spends several more 

 weeks of its childhood on edge than do the other flat fish. It 

 is found all round our coasts, being particularly plentiful in 



