SEA FISHING FROM PIERS. 169 



Two methods which are popularly adopted are the "chop- 

 stick" and the paternoster. The " chop-stick " is the cross-piece 

 of whalebone (about fifteen inches is a good length), suspended 

 from the line by the centre, and having depending from each of 

 its two extremities a length of gut with a~hook at the end. Other 

 materials beyond those mentioned are employed, but these give 

 the best results. People who know no better, laugh at fishing fine 

 in the sea, but experiments have proved that under certain condi- 

 tions, which are not controllable by the angler, fine tackle beats 

 the coarse. Depending from the centre of the "chop-stick" is a 

 line with a heavy lead attached, which lead is held a foot or 

 eighteen inches from the ground. As the lead will weigh a 

 quarter of a pound or so, we see at once the necessity for a stout 

 rod. Some anglers adopt a four-ended " chop-stick," made by 

 binding one piece of whalebone at right-angles across another. 

 In this way four hooks are used at once, and no doubt greater 

 chance is given of a bite. Nothing is more mysterious than the 

 way a hook is denuded of its bait when sea fishing, without the 

 slightest indication of any molestation of it being afforded, and it 

 is very annoying when hauling the line in, after a protracted period 

 of quietude, to find both baits gone. Contemplation of the 

 length of time during which the angler may have been waiting 

 with a baitless hook is never a satisfactory occupation. The 

 angler with four hooks instead of two is less liable to this 

 irritating episode ; but he requires a stouter rod. 



The paternoster fisherman requires a heavier lead in the sea 

 than he does in fresh water, the depth being so much more con- 

 siderable, and, consequently, the weight of water against the line 

 so many times increased. He may have as many hooks as he 



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