FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



by the mackerel fishermen, is the ideal craft, for the occupants can move 

 about without any danger of capsizing, and they are just the right distance 

 from the water for either rod or handline fishing. 



Every fishing boat should have a place for everything, and everything 

 should be kept in its place. Pieces of bait, loose hooks, and open knives 

 should not be left on the thwarts, where anyone is liable to sit down, and 

 fish should not be thrown anywhere in the bottom of the boat, lest some- 

 one should tread on them and fall overboard. Seeing that the professional 

 fishermen, who are fishing against time for their living, manage to keep 

 everything spick and span, the amateur, to whom time is no object, should 

 certainly be able to do the same. 



When fishing from boats with a handline, the hand which holds the line 

 should be kept just inside the boat. In striking, the line is pulled smartly 

 down over the gunwale, and if the fish is hooked it is hauled in rapidly 

 hand over hand. This is the right way. The wrong way, adopted by nine 

 amateurs out of every ten, is to sit, half-asleep, with the wrist resting 

 on the gunwale (and in danger of being broken if a big fish should make 

 a sudden rush), and then, after waiting just long enough to let the fish 

 get off the hook, to haul in the line with both hands over the side. 



For similar reasons, the rod (which takes the place of the wrist) should 

 not be left on the gunwale, projecting a few inches over the water. I have 

 known big yellowtail, out at Santa Gatalina, smash two tips in one day 

 in their last rush, merely because they succeeded in breaking the rod 

 against the gunwale of the launch. Save when " still fishing " for tarpon 

 or bass, as subsequently described, the rod should always be held in the 

 hand, and anyone too tired to keep hold of his rod when trolling should 

 fish for eels in a pond. 



It is easy, with a little care, to use several lines from the same boat, 

 whether moving or at anchor, without fear of entanglement. This is best 

 done at anchor by using the special Cornish leads, which have to be thrown 

 out in a peculiar manner referred to later. When out sailing for mackerel, 

 the lines are of different length, and carry leads of various weights, the 

 heaviest and shortest being kept forward, and the longest and lightest 

 astern. In this way, as many as five lines can be used from an ordinary 

 sailing boat without the least fear of one getting fouling of the rest. 



Bass, pollack and mackerel rove up and down the sea's highways and 

 byways, seeking their prey, and their whereabouts can be found only by 

 keeping a sharp look out for seafowl sharing in the plunder, or, failing 

 290 



