4i 8 MODERN SEA FISHING 



in the drift nets. It is a common thing for a small fish to be 

 caught on a long line, for a cod to come swimming by and take 

 the small fish, and there is always the chance of a huge halibut 

 absorbing the cod and going off with line and all. Truly the 

 sea is a place of marvels, which is one great charm of it. 



Just such another incident minus the halibut came under 

 my notice in the north of Scotland. Some friends and I were 

 out in a fishing boat moored over a famous haddock ground. On 

 the flood tide boat-loads of crofters came off and laid their short 

 long lines if I may use an Hibernianism all round us, leaving 

 them down about an hour, then taking them up with something 

 like a haddock for every three hooks. Eighteen a shilling these 

 excellent fish were selling for in the clachan. I was fishing 

 with a single gut paternoster, just such a one as I have described 

 on p. 238, but of fairly stout gut. Our bait (mussels) ran short, 

 so, leaving them for the ladies who were on board and anxious 

 to have good sport, I cut up a haddock for myself and fished 

 with the pieces. 



One of our crew at once said that I was not likely to 

 catch haddocks with that bait, but if there was a cod about I 

 should surely have him. But I did catch a haddock or two, 

 and presently there was a heavy weight on the rod which was 

 irresistible. There was no rush such as a lythe or saithe would 

 make, simply a steady march-along motion, which took my line 

 off the reel inch by inch. I played the fish as hard as I dared, 

 and after a while, to my surprise, he suddenly came to the 

 surface a good many yards away, and turned over on his back. 

 It is a way with cod ; whenever they exert themselves something 

 appears to go wrong with their air bladder, and they can no 

 longer keep near the bottom. Perhaps it is a good thing for 

 anglers who fish with fine tackle that this is the case. However, 

 there was the fish, and without difficulty we now reeled him in. 

 The scumma, as Murdo called our landing net, was placed 



