78 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 



time, I took a few coils of slack line in my left hand, and 

 after having pulled at the fish for about a minute, suddenly 

 let go, at the same instant casting the slack line overboard. 

 For a moment or two nothing happened, and then the line 

 commenced to move slowly through the water — the ruse had 

 succeeded, and the pollack, imagining itself free, was swimming 

 away. Quickly seizing the line, I brought the fish, before 

 he had time to find out his mistake, to the surface, where, 

 after a few desperate struggles, he was gaffed. He was as 

 large as any we took that day. 



But to return to fly-fishing. The tackle, as I have said, 

 must be strong. Tor big fish, ordinary salmon-gut is not strong 

 enough — it should be double; but for the smaller fish which 

 are usually caught in harbours and off pier-heads, single salmon 

 gut will do. As pollack usually feed near the bottom during 

 the daytime, the fly rod is only useful in the evening. The 

 fly can be cast from the rocks and off pier-heads, but most 

 fish are taken from a boat, which should be rowed within 

 casting distance of rocky points, reefs, and the places where 

 the fish are to be found. When a big pollack takes the fly, 

 he comes up with a splash, such as a dog would make leaping 

 into the water, and immediately he feels the hook goes straight 

 for the bottom — don't let him get there! Sometimes lazy 

 anglers let out thirty yards or so of line, and trail their flies 

 behind the boat. PoUack and coalfish are often caught this 

 way, as also are bass, mackerel, and, very occasionally, heri'ings. 



Spinning, trailing, whijfing, and railing are carried on for 

 pollack and coalfish in much the same manner as described 

 in the chapter on bass. There is, however, one great differ- 

 ence. During the day pollack feed near the bottom, and 

 therefore the line must be heavily leaded. If the fish are 

 not being caught (I am supposing that the tide is right — 

 flowing — and that the angler is on a well-known pollack 

 ground), the fault will probably lie in insufficient leads. By 

 the method I have explained on page 31, leads can be added 

 to the trace ad infinitum. It is a good thing to keep on 

 adding weight until it is found that the hooks catch occasion- 

 ally in the bottom. All that is then necessary is to shorten 



