FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



some few local exceptions, done from some sort of boat. Tarpon, tuna, 

 and most other big game of the sea can be caught only in this fashion, 

 and the largest pollack and bream are found in deep water accessible 

 only by boat. Grey mullet, it is true, are more commonly taken from 

 quays or bridges, but the only other fish of consequence that is rarely 

 caught from a boat is the sargos or sheepshead, a black bream angled 

 for, mostly at night, from the rocks of Madeira and the neighbouring 

 islands, or from quays and wharves in seas as far apart as those of 

 Florida and Asiatic Turkey. Sargos are very shy fish, and a boat would 

 probably scare them. 



The boat may be anchored, sailed, or rowed, according to requirements. 

 Bass, pollack and mackerel are caught either moving or at anchor; bream, 

 skate, conger, and flat-fish at anchor only. Tarpon can, as described 

 later, be taken either at anchor or by trolling; tuna by the latter method 

 only. It is just a question of the habits of each fish, and the angler who 

 studies these and makes his plans accordingly will get infinitely more 

 enjoyment out of his sport than if he merely did what the books tell him. 

 He will find that some fishes, like bass and mackerel, are freebooters, 

 chasing their prey close to the surface at times, and always on the look 

 out for victims. Therefore they take moving baits, even if trailed after 

 a sailing boat going quickly through the water. Quiet feeders, on the other 

 hand, like the grey mullet and conger, suspect a bait that does not lie 

 perfectly still, though in Portsmouth Harbour mullet can be caught from 

 a moving boat. The huge black sea-bass of California is equally nervous 

 of a moving bait, the hook must lie quite still on the ground. 



The advantages of boat fishing are obvious; its drawbacks, hardly less 

 so. Fishing from a boat, it is possible to reach deeper water, which usually 

 (though not without exception) means better fishing, to find and follow 

 the shoals of bass or mackerel or tuna, and to try another spot when the 

 ground fish cease to bite. In short, the fisherman in his boat goes to 

 the fish, whereas those who fish from pier or beach must wait for the 

 fish to come to them. As regards the disadvantages, boat fishing is clearly 

 more expensive, and it entails the undeniable risks of accident and, for 

 some, the discomfort of sea sickness. 



The size and shape of boat best suited to sea -fishing purposes is to some 



extent a matter of taste, and much depends on what is required of it. 



For sport in estuaries, or other calm and landlocked waters, an ordinary 



rowing boat, roomy enough to give the occupants some little freedom 



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