THE CONGEE. 97 



on a single strand of gut, I do not see wliy anything stronger 

 should be necessary for cod. Squid is, undoubtedly, the best 

 bait, though pilchard, sprat, sand-eel, and herring are all good; 

 whelks can be tried if the other baits are not obtainable. 

 The hooks should be No. 19, or even larger, for the cod likes 

 a good mouthful, and usually disdains anything small. Pater- 

 noster or leger tackle is as good as any, and if hand-lines are 

 being used in very deep water, the Kentish rig, described at 

 end of Chapter IV., of suitable strength with large hooks, 

 answers admirably. OfE the North coast of Scotland, large 

 numbers of cod are caught on hand-lines, but in the English 

 Channel the most the angler must expect are codlings. Still, as 

 I have said, there are places — Ilfracombe, for instance — where a 

 fair number of large cod are caught from the shore during the 

 year. 



The Conger is a marine eel, and the largest of its kind. 

 It grows to an immense size, and I have heard of them being 

 taken over a hundred pounds in weight. "When at Ilfracombe, 

 one winter, I saw the upper half of a conger brought in by 

 two jB.shermen. The fish was so strong and large that they 

 were unable to get the whole of it into their boat, and were 

 forced to cut it in half, and let the tail portion drop back 

 into the sea. From the weight of the portion brought in, it 

 seemed likely that the eel would have weighed about a hundred 

 pounds. I saw no reason to disbelieve their story, as a fish 

 of that weight would be immensely strong. Anglers from piers 

 and jetties rarely catch conger over six or seven pounds weight, 

 so that the tackle required need not be extraordinarily coarse. 

 A paternoster, or leger made of stout gimp, is advisable, and 

 between the hooks and the main line should be a swivel {see 

 page 23). It is not a bad plan to lay out a conger line when 

 angling for other fish. Gimp cannot be knotted to an eyed 

 hook. The best plan is to put ^in. of the gimp through the 

 eye, and then lash it strongly to the shank of the hook with 

 well-waxed thread or hemp. Conger rarely take a bait during 

 the daytime, except in very deep water, where the light 

 hardly penetrates. They are not often found on a sandy or 

 muddy bottom, their home being among rocks. To get really 



