THE EEL. 53 



angle-worms are good bait, though they will bite 

 readily at shad-roe, pieces of fish, or at frogs, entrails 

 of chickens, &c. In salt water, clams, bits of fish, 

 shrimp, &c., are used. They are taken in salt water 

 without a hook, as follows : Take some white horse 

 hairs and work them into a kind of bag, which is 

 filled with shad-roe or soft crab. In swallowing this 

 bait the eel will entangle the horse-hairs in his teeth, 

 and may be landed before he can get clear of them. 

 Bobbing for eels is done as follows : The bob is 

 made by stringing a lot of angle-worms on a strong 

 thread (stout worsted yarn or linen thread is the best) 

 and winding the string into a ball on the end of your 

 line, which is sunk by an appropriate sinker to the 

 bottom. The eels will fasten themselves on this ball, 

 and you can then carefully and slowly pull up the 

 line, while they still retain their hold. After you 

 get them to the top of the water, you may by a 

 steady sudden jerk, land several at once. It requires 

 some practice and expertness to do the thing cleverly. 

 Some fishermen use a fine scoop net, instead of jerk- 

 ing out the eels in the manner described. 



Pot-fishing for eels is a very simple process, and 

 is practiced by those only who get a living by fishing. 

 A long coarsely made circular basket is used, with 

 ends like inverted cones. The basket is usually 

 three or four and a half feet long, and seven or eight 

 inches through. At the end of the cones, which run 

 inward, are holes just big enough for the eel to 

 squeeze through, and when he once gets in he is not 



