OYSTERS, PILCHARDS, AND PRAWNS. 41 



tongue, will be noticed. Into this tlie point of the hook should 

 be stuck, taken right through, round the mussel, and in again 

 through the gristly part by which the shell was fastened to 

 the rocks. When fish are repeatedly robbing the hooks baited 

 with mussels, it is an excellent plan to tie a piece of cotton 

 or thread round the bait. Mussels, or portions of them, are 

 the common bait for dabs. "When fishing at anchor for 

 mackerel they are sometimes used; they are good baits for 

 haddock, and, as I have said, are taken well by most sea fish. 



Oysters, as fish baits, I have no personal experience of, but 

 their beards are used with great success, for bass and other fish, 

 by Mr. T. R. Sachs, an accomplished salt-water angler. Any 

 fishmonger's assistant would, no doubt, be able to supply the 

 beards by the hundred for a small consideration. I see no 

 reason why the other portion of the oyster should not be 

 equally killing, and imagine it would prove to be better than 

 mussels. 



Pilchards, or Cornish sardines, as they are sometimes called, 

 are not often to be obtained far from Cornwall and Devon. 

 The flesh of this fish is an excellent bait for whiting, cod, 

 conger, haddock, and skate. The entrails, however, are better, 

 and will take almost any fish that swims in the sea. When 

 fishing for mackerel at anchor they should always be used, 

 if available. As they give off a large quantity of oil, they 

 form a valuable addition to any ground-bait mixture. In 

 cutting up a pilchard for bait, it is usual to scale it, cut 

 off the head and tail, split it up the back into two pieces, 

 remove the backbone, and then cut each side into as many 

 strips, a little iinder lin. wide, as it will make. When using 

 half a pilchard for conger or other large fish, the bait should 

 not be cut in half until the moment it is required, as the 

 oil which comes away from it when fresh cut, seems to 

 attract the fish. Pilchards are only taken in nets by pro- 

 fessional fishermen, from whom they are to be obtained. 



Prawns are well known to every visitor to the seaside. They 

 may usually be obtained from the fishmonger, or by searching 

 with a hand-net in the pools, among the rocks, at low tide. 



