54 



ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 



whiting pout will abound, in others wrasse, and in others, 

 again, youthful coalfish, known in Scotland as cuddies — ^which 

 little fish, by the way, take a fly very well. In the south of 

 England, bass will often be taken; and there is always the 

 chance of a large pollack off any rock round which the tide 

 sets strongly, for pollack delight in a good flow of water. 



Fish may sometimes be caught from the beach by throw- 

 ing out a line a considerable distance. An ingenious plan is 

 adopted by fishermen at Deal, and other places on the East 

 coast, by which many fish are taken ; it may hardly be termed 

 angling, but merits a description. The tackle (see Fig. 42) — to 



Fig. 42. The Deal Shore Tackle. 



begin at the far end of the line — starts with a button; then comes 

 a short piece termed the sling line, then a lead, and, following 

 that, the main line — with a few hooks, either on short snood- 

 ings or on the wire chopsticks described on page 57. An 

 essential part of the apparatus is a springy, ash stick, about 

 3ft. long, tapered, and with a two-pronged fork at the end. 

 The hooks being baited with squid, mackerel, or any bait 

 sufficiently tough, the fisherman coils his line carefully on the 

 shore, except the portion with the hooks, lead, and sling line ; 

 these he lays out in a line along the beach. He next places 

 the button, which is at the extreme end of the line, in the fork 



