BAITS FOE MACKEREL. 91 



thirty yards of line is quite enougli to let out beliiiid tlie 

 boat — in fact, a shorter line will occasionally lead to more 

 fish being caught, as winding in a great length of line often 

 consumes valuable time. The only respects in which spinning 

 or trailing tackle for mackerel differs from that used 

 for bass is in being finer, and in the length of gut below the 

 lead being longer — 2yds. to 5yds. in length. A cloudy sky 

 is generally considered best for mackerel fishing, but a 

 bright day will answer nearly as well, if the angler's tackle 

 is fine. 



I have already described what is commonly considered the 

 best trailing bait — the " last " ; but I am inclined to think 

 that a sand-eel, baited as shown on page 28, Fig. 27, or 

 cut in half just before being dropped into the water, 

 the head half only being used, is nearly as good. Any 

 bit of fish-skin will do, if bright, and not too stiff — 

 e.g., a piece cut from a gurnard. When using any baits 

 of this character, unless the fish are biting freely, it is well 

 to jerk the line slightly every minute or so, an action which 

 gives a very life-like motion to the piece of fish-skin. The 

 artificial baits which mackerel will take are legion. Anything 

 that spins, is bright or highly coloured, and not too large, 

 they will rush at eagerly. When unprovided with bait — a not 

 infrequent occurrence — a strip of handkerchief is sometimes 

 placed on the hook, to be replaced by the "last" immediately 

 a mackerel is caught. A piece of clay pipe stem on the hook 

 shank is much believed in by some fishermen. If the Devon 

 minnow is used, it is best to have it either all silver or all 

 gold, and to have th.e hooks mounted on fine gimp. It is 

 ordinarily made with four triangles of hooks; but these are 

 too many for mackerel fishing. A couple of hooks, lashed 

 together at the tail, and a triangle on each side, will be found 

 more than sufficient — in fact, the latter may be dispensed 

 with. If a number of triangles are used, too much time is 

 lost in unhooking the fish. 



It is asserted by fishermen, that when two lines are out, and 

 mackerel are hooked on each, both fish should not be hauled 

 in at once, but that one fish should be left out for the shoal 



