550 



THE MACKEREL. 



which they cannot see, on account of the thin twine of which it is made, 

 and the large meshes, which are about two and a half inches in diam- 

 eter. The head slips through the meshes, but the middle of the body 

 is too large and cannot pass. When the fish attempts to recede, the 

 open gill-covers become hitched in the meshes, and so retain it in that 

 uncomfortable position until the net is hauled in. 



This is a delicate and difficult operation, especially when the take 

 of fish is heavy. Mr. Yarrell mentions that in June, 1808, the nets 

 were so heavily loaded that the fishermen could not haul them in, or 

 even keep them afloat, so that they were forced to cut the drift-ropes 

 and let the nets sink and be lost. The nets on this occasion were worth 

 nearly sixty pounds, not including the value of the fish. 



In the seine-net the fish are taken by surrounding the shoal with 

 the net, which is made with very small meshes, and either gently 



-^^g^gs^^ — — _ hauled to the sur- 



] face, so that the 

 ' enclosed fish can 

 be dipped out, 

 or even drawn 

 ashore and then 

 emptied. 



Fishing for 

 Mackerel with a 

 line is also a 

 profitable mode 

 of taking these 

 , fish, although 



they cannot be caught in such multitudes as with the net. The 

 Mackerel is a very voracious fish, and will bite at almost any glit- 

 tering substance drawn quickly through the water, a strip of scarlet 

 cloth being a very favorite bait. A tapering strip of flesh cut from 

 the side of a Mackerel is found to be the most successful of any bait 

 and the method of angling is simply to pass the hook through the 

 thicker end of the strip-technically called a " lask "-and to throw it 

 overboard from a boat in full sail, so that it is towed along without 

 trouble. The hook is kept below the surface of the water by means 

 ot a leaden plummet fixed to the line a short distance above the hook, 

 and the mackerel, on seizing the flying bait, is immediately caught. 

 ^>L , llT I' t'^' ''^f '^' '^^ '' °^^ ^«« b^^ght and the wind is 



^:^ui^:::z:^^' ^^^^ ^^^ '^'^ ''- '^^ - '-' - *^^^ -^ 



wiScen'hlf '^l f^""'^'"'} '' '''^ g^^^^ "P^» '^' back, variegated 

 males but in. Tr '''^''f\^^'^ cross-bands of black, straight in the 

 males, but undulating m the females. The abdomen and sides are sil- 



The Mackerel {Scomber scomber). 



