SEA FISHING 

 spends much time and money on baiting it all through June with bushels 

 of dead crabs for the sake of the July fishing, the first moon of that month 

 being the best in all the year. Only moonlight nights avail, and the fishing 

 is very interesting. Very large merjan are not, however, as plentiful as 

 they were, and the largest fish I saw weighed only fourteen pounds. 



The tackle is a horsehair line, combining strength and elasticity, with 

 an immense zokka hook, i.e., one with a bright lead soldered on the shank. 

 This is baited with half a dozen crabs, the claws and legs of which have 

 been removed, and the bait must just rest on the bottom. Yanni leaves 

 Pendik an hour before daylight fails, as he cannot pick up the rock 

 accurately enough in the dark. Having got his bearings, he throws out 

 an anchor, with a petroleum tin as buoy to mark the spot, and then rows 

 around till the moon rises. While he is fishing, the boat is not anchored, 

 but is kept on the spot by the boatman, who has to know his work. The 

 first nibble of the merjan is disregarded. Not until the fisherman feels 

 the big bream running off with the hook does he strike, and then he has 

 to handle each heavy fish carefully on such comparatively light tackle. 



365 



