428 MODERN SEA FISHING 



is lozenge-shaped ; and it has a barbule in the centre of its 

 lower jaw, which is altogether wanting in the hake. Those 

 teeth of the hake sometimes get him into trouble. On summer 

 nights, when the sea is phosphorescent and the herring nets and 

 herrings are sparkling with silver light, up comes Master Hake 

 from the bottom, where he rests during the daytime, for he is 

 a night feeder, and calmly sups off the caught herrings, until 

 finally, getting too bold, his teeth are entangled in the meshes 

 of the net, and sooner or later he is dragged on board the fish- 

 ing boat and knocked on the head by the joyful fishermen. 



The hakeing season is principally in the autumn and winter. 

 Large quantities of these fish are caught on hand lines from 

 the herring and pilchard boats while the nets are drifting. A 

 whole pilchard or herring is one of the best baits that can 

 be used. There are important hake fisheries in Irish waters, 

 particularly in the south (in olden times Galway Bay was 

 called the Bay of Hakes), and also off Devon and Cornwall. 

 In two nights the crew of a West-country boat once caught 

 eleven hundred of these fish. I have eaten hake in Ireland 

 and rather liked them. They are fairly good salted, and 

 in the hands of a judicious cook are certainly more than 

 passable. 



Fishing for hake is, as I have indicated, nearly always done 

 at night. A few may be caught during the day if the bait is 

 kept close to the bottom. But during the hours of darkness it 

 should be held at about midwater, various depths being tried 

 until the fish are met with. Sometimes, indeed, they will be 

 found only a fathom or two below the surface. They grow to 

 a large size, and the ogreish teeth necessitate stout tackle and 

 an armoured snooding near the hook, which measures about 

 i \ inch across the bend and 6 inches in length. Such a snood 

 as that used for conger will answer the purpose (see pp. 74 and 

 274), but it is certainly desirable to have it served with wire. 



