V. POLLACK, GOALFISH & SEA BREAM 



By F. G. AFLALO 



HESE three fish may be considered in one chapter. The first 

 two are so closely related as to be almost identical, the coalfish 

 being a more northern form than the pollack and to a great 

 extent replacing it north of Yorkshire. The bream is no 

 relation whatever to the others, but it is taken on the same rocky 

 grounds, and this, after all, will associate it with them in the 

 fisherman's memory more than if they had been as closely related as 

 the pollack and whiting, which is caught on quite different ground. 



I. POLLACK AND COALFISH 



It will now be necessary to distinguish between these two members of 

 the cod family, for, though the angler may not, perhaps, meet with them in 

 the same localities,* he should be able to recognize one or the other. The 

 pollack, which is known in the more northern waters of its range as 

 *' lythe," is at its best on the coast of Cornwall. It is also found in quan- 

 tities on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland and is essentially an 

 ocean fish, reaching its greatest weight on the threshold of the Atlantic. 

 On the east side of Great Britain it is smaller and less plentiful. In colour, 

 it is of an olive shade, between brown and green, and white beneath. 

 Large, old pollack are darker and in some cases almost black. The lower 

 jaw protrudes beyond the upper, and there is no ** beard " on the chin 

 as in the coalfish. There are three fins on the back, and, unlike those of the 

 bass, they are soft and without sharp spines, so that the pollack can be 

 grasped without danger to the hands. The Cornish fishermen often re- 

 move a large pollack from the water in this fashion. They could not treat 

 a bass so, as it is rarely played out, and its numerous sharp spines need 

 taking into account. The extreme weight of pollack may be between 

 twenty -five and thirty pounds, but the heaviest fish so far recorded on 

 the rod was one of twenty -four pounds, taken many years ago by Lord 

 St Levan. 



The coalfish, on the other hand, is known to exceed a weight of thirty 



* Pollack (Gadus poUacUiu Linn.) and Coalfish {Gadus carbonarius Linn.) are about equally plentiful !n the lochi 

 of the West Highlands, where they are known as lythe and saythe, besides many other local names in their different 

 ■tates of growth.— Ed, 



356 



