110 AN ANGLER'S YEAR 



The mackerel having been seen shoaling in the neigh- 

 bourhood induced us to get our spinners out and try a 

 little railing, although our boatman thought that as the 

 nets were still getting fair quantities the season was, as 

 yet, not sufficiently advanced. " For," said he, " early 

 in the year the mackerel have a skin over their eyes, 

 and swim low, and are then taken in the nets ; but later, 

 having cleared their eyes, they rise to the surface and 

 chase the fry, and are no longer taken in the nets, 

 because they can see to avoid them. No, sir, August's 

 the month for railing." However, being short of fish 

 bait, we persevered and managed to get three fish, quite 

 enough to give us some good baits. 



Arrived at the ground, we anchored, and tried our 

 luck with soft crab, mussel, lug, and mackerel as bait. 

 One angler had all the sport, while the others looked on 

 and applauded. First came a small conger as the tide 

 slackened towards the high water flood; then another 

 succumbed to the mackerel bait a better one this 

 time, running about 51bs. Then a period of inactivity, 

 varied by a fair sized pouting or two, and then the 

 conger-catcher again was fast in something which 

 eventually turned out to be an eleven-pounder, which 

 struggled gamely in the water and rather more fiercely 

 after its arrival on board, until the boatman's Russian 

 bayonet (kept especially for conger killing) had pierced 

 his brain and other portions of his anatomy. Then came 

 another long pause, and then another game of '* pull 

 devil, pull baker," and the champion induced a fourteen- 

 pounder to come on board. 



For some little time after peace reigned, and pouting 

 only accepted the cordial inducements to breakfast 

 which we held out to them at rods' length. As the tide 

 strengthened again, just as our champion was lifting his 

 rod point, he got a pull that nearly took the line through 

 his fingers (a wire line, one may add in parenthesis, 

 which would most certainly have cut down to the bone 

 had it commenced travelling). 



Now a game began, and a good game, too ; wind up ; 

 let run ; wind again ; let out again ; for at least ten or 



