SEA FISHING IN EUROPE 453 



that they frequent. The sea-fisherman depends in Cornwall cntirch' on the 

 harvest of the red-winged luggers for his bait. The pollack and bass of those 

 waters seem used to a diet of pilchards, and expect it as their due. As a 

 converse, however, of the efficac}' of a bait locally plentiful, I have sometimes 

 found that ragworms or soft crab, procured b}' post from a distance, temjit the 

 most fish on parts of the coast on which the physical conditions preclude all 

 chance of these baits constituting the natural food of local species. In his 

 approaches, therefore, to the palates of his fish, the angler must rel}- sometimes 

 on the charm of novelty, at others on the force of habit. 



As in other forms of angling, season plays a considerable part in deter- 

 mining not only what kinds of fish shall be caught, but also in what manner. 



Thus, to go no further than our own coasts, there are two 



" . Seasons. 



distinct sea-fishing seasons, which may be roughly determined 



as the summer and winter seasons, with this qualification — that the methods 



practised in summer are productive of good results until the end of September, 



while the so-called winter season lasts from October until January inclusive. 



After this, for at an}' rate three months, sea-fishing is, except for the very 



patient or the very fortunate, in abeyance. The fish mostly caught in summer 



are the grey mullet, mackerel, bass and pollack ; and the favourite methods 



are whiffing and railing and the drift- line, terms that will be hereinafter 



explained. In winter the angler looks for cod and whiting, with some other 



less-desired kinds, and he uses the paternoster and leger, or, in rough-and-tumble 



weather, throw-out lines from the beach — a style of fishing particularl)' in 



vogue on our east coast. 



Then, again, there are still wider distinctions between the methods in 



favour on piers or in boats. Finer tackle can, as a rule, be used in the 



shallower water commanded by piers, and the fish are generally 



— thoueh this is a rule with many exceptions — of smaller size „ 



^ /I Boat. 



and less variety. Longer rods are used from piers, and are, 



indeed, often a necessity to clear the wood or iron work ; and float tackle, 



in close imitation of the method familiar in fresh water, is also more practicable 



from piers than in a boat, where the angler sits too close to the surface to 



exerci.se proper control over his float. If the sea were often so calm as 



