SPEAKING GENERALLY 9 



a hook, throwing the line out from a pier-head, 

 and leaving it to take its chance, trying it every 

 few minutes to ascertain if any fish is fighting 

 for its liberty at the other end. Most of us have, 

 it must be admitted, fished in this unsportsman- 

 like manner in unregenerate days, but there is 

 very little more skill or sport in such ways than 

 in the setting of night-lines. 



Yet the existence of such practices should no 

 more condemn sea-fishing generally than some 

 ways in which poachers use guns should cast dis- 

 credit on shooting. The old style of fishing with 

 handlines, which may be found in caricature in 

 back numbers of Punch, is no longer in general 

 favour with those who make a study of the sport. 

 The variety of ways in which, for example, the 

 bass may be caught by the fisherman will com- 

 pare favourably with that associated with any 

 fish. I do not for one moment contemplate in- 

 stituting comparison between the bass and the 

 salmon, for I know far too little of the latter fish 

 for such comparison to carry any weight. Of the 

 bass alone it suffices to say that it may be taken 

 on a fly, on live bait, with dead bait, or on a spin- 

 ner. The dead bait may be used with float- 

 tackle in mid-water or with a heavy lead on the 

 ground. The fish may be sought from piers, 

 from rocks, from beaches of sand or shingle, in 

 sheltered estuaries or in the open sea, at high tide, 



