36 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 



Bait-boxes, and the cutting-board, the use of whicb is 

 always advisable when fishing from a boat, have already- 

 been described on page 33. 



Bacon Skin. — Out of bacon skin a very fair imita- 

 tion sand-eel can be made (Fig. 39). The skin should be 

 soaked, scraped, and cut into long, thin strips, about 

 ^in. wide and 3in. or 4in. long. The point of the 

 hook is then put through the end of a strip, and the 

 hook carried right through to the top of the shank, 

 where a couple of turns of twist are necessary to 

 keep the skin in position. Bass and pollack often 

 take this bait freely. 



Cockles. — These little shell-fish have not much 

 repute as a bait, except for whiting pout, but may 

 be tried when nothing better can be obtained. They 

 may be found, in some localities, along the seashore 

 when the tide is very low; they lie a little below 

 the surface, and a small hoe, or rake, is often used 



Bfco^N to dig them up. 

 Skin 

 Bait. Crabs. — The common green crab is so well known 



as hardly to need a description. It abounds among rocks, in 



harbours, and may even be found among the stones of a pebbly 



beach. In its ordinary condition it is not much used as a bait, 



except for lobster pots, and, pounded up, as ground-bait. A 



quantity may easily be obtained by sinking a piece of netting 



stretched on to a hoop, in the centre of which is a piece of 



meat. On lifting up the net, some crabs will usually be 



found feeding on the meat. Crabs are a great nuisance to 



the ground or bottom-fisher in harbours, taking bait after 



bait off the hook. When about to cast its shell — a process in 



which some are engaged at most periods of the year — the green 



crab becomes very valuable as bait, and is then known as 



Soft Crab. In this condition it is found hiding under 



stones and among nooks and crannies in harbours, which afford 



the necessary concealment from its enemies. Mr. Wilcocks 



rtNJommends residents near harbours having muddy shores to 



contrive a number of artificial shelters, by means of old, 



