452 MODERN SEA FISHING 



The two varieties of red gurnard which most commonly fall 

 to the lot of the angler are Trigla cuculus, which is the RED or 

 CUCKOO GURNARD, also called the pine-leaved gurnard, soldier, 

 and elleck ; and Trigla hirundo, the SAPPHIRINE GURNARD, 

 the tubfish, tubbot or latchet of the East coast, also called 

 smooth-sides, red tubs, and sea-crow. These two fishes can be 

 distinguished without difficulty, for the Sapphirine has a very 

 beautiful bright blue margin to its huge pectoral fins, and is of 

 a brighter red than Trigla cuculus, which inclines to be rosy. 



The red gurnard is common on the English coasts, par- 

 ticularly those of the south and west, and on portions of the 

 Scotch and Irish coasts. The Sapphirine or Tubfish is the 

 larger of the two species, attaining a weight, according to 

 Thompson, of about fourteen pounds. 



If gurnard are plentiful there is no difficulty in catching 

 them. They will take the ordinary whiting baits, and are par- 

 ticularly partial to a piece of mackerel ; indeed, when the mac- 

 kerel breeze has died away and our little craft has been barely 

 moving through the water, our leads now and again bumping 

 on the sandy bottom, many a time have I hauled up either 

 the red gurnard or a large tubfish. Though these fish are 

 most distinctly bottom feeders, they are found occasionally at 

 all depths, and have a habit of ascending to the surface and 

 throwing themselves out of the water. 



GREY GURNARD, or HARD-HEADS (Trigla gurnardus\ 

 are very common fish on some parts of the coast in certain 

 seasons. In Scotland they are often called gowdies, girnats, 

 and crooners, and the Irish name for them is knoud. As their 

 name indicates, they are mainly grey in colour. There are 

 very few places round the coast of Great Britain and Ireland 

 where they are not found at times, often appearing on the 

 coast for a month or two and then disappearing for the rest of 

 the year. I remember Filey Bay being full of them for a few 



