198 THE SALT OF MY LIFE 



his boatman's, then, if there are no ladies on the 

 river at the time, it is desirable to offer very frank 

 explanation of your opinion. If the man is a 

 visitor, ignorant of ]ocal usage, see him ashore 

 and point out to him that his man, knowing noth- 

 ing of bass fishing, is taking his money under 

 false pretences, and recommend him to one who 

 will fish less jealously and with more result. With 

 the boatman, if he raises objections, let your argu- 

 ment be quite brief and to the point, only, if there 

 should be a sudden appeal to more primitive logic, 

 make quite sure of being the first to reach the point 

 of the chin. 



Since this retrospect of bassing in the Teign 

 has, somewhat more than the rest of the book, 

 assumed the didactic form, frankness compels the 

 admission of a third handicap, the frequent diffi- 

 culty of procuring live bait. Sand-eels, the only 

 lure for bass in that river, are usually abundant 

 throughout the summer months in the sand banks, 

 but they take catching. A few may be raked, 

 preferably on the night ebb tide, with a good deal 

 of exertion, but this exhausting and sleep-robbing 

 work is not popular, and, even if successful, the 

 raking injures the delicate little creatures and 

 does them no good as bait. For this reason, the 

 ground-seines are the best source of supply, but 

 they are not always worked. Some of those who 

 work them claim the birthright of starving in 



