THE PILCHARD THE STURGEON 



In the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas it is sometimes 

 taken by long lines, but the Russian fishermen mostly 

 rely on the spring up-river migration ; at one Volga 

 station alone more than ten thousand fish are often 

 caught during that fortnight. The modern method is 

 by double-walled nets moored across the current at the 

 river-mouths, or by stake-weirs ; but the peasants higher 

 up the river still go in for the mediaeval process of 

 " snatching " the fish sturgeon or sterlet, for the only 

 difference is that the sterlet is smaller with a cork and 

 bare hook. 



As soon as the thaws have finished, quite a fleet of the 

 little home-made boats may be seen dotted about the 

 quieter parts of the Volga, two men to a boat, one rowing 

 and the other fishing. In spite of the sturgeon's being 

 a ground feeder, he can often be persuaded to come to 

 the surface, for he possesses a double portion of fish- 

 inquisitiveness ; therefore long lines are not absolutely 

 necessary. Ordinarily the peasant ties a piece of cork 

 or light wood on his line, and, a few inches below it, a 

 barbed hook as stout as a pot-hook. This he throws a 

 good distance from his boat and waits till a fish rises. 

 In the thick of the season he need not wait long, for a 

 fish quickly comes up to investigate, and a skilful fisher- 

 man will have jerked the hook into some part of its body 

 long before its curiosity is satisfied. The larger fish are 

 also harpooned. 



To a poor Russian the catching of a big sturgeon is 

 almost a fortune, for every bit of it is valuable. It is no 

 uncommon sight to see a peasant-fisherman rowing or 



165 



