FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



substitutes are not, as a rule, to be compared with the natural bait, and 

 they should therefore be used only in emergency. 



Such art as there is in this " plummeting "—and it is very modest- 

 consists in keeping hold of the line and hauling each fish as soon as it is 

 hooked. Ladies (as well as town-bred men with soft hands) should use 

 a wooden toggle on the line, as by doing so they will save themselves 

 many a blister. Failing this, a handkerchief may be wrapped around the 

 line, though, in the excitement of catching a fish, it will probably go over- 

 board. The critical moment, in which many a big mackerel is lost, is that 

 of swinging the fish over the side. Mackerel fight desperately for their 

 size, sheering wildly right and left, and the secret of saving the fish lies 

 in waiting until it is actually swimming towards the boat and then, with 

 a sudden jerk, lifting it over the gunwale. Any attempt to lift it on single 

 gut when it is swimming in the opposite direction will probably bring 

 disaster. The Cornish fishermen keep the line moving backwards and 

 forwards. This makes fishing much more tiring work, and is not strictly 

 necessary, but it has the twofold advantage of making the bait more life- 

 like and attractive, and of hooking many a fish that might otherwise go 

 free. Each fish should be knocked on the head with the blunt edge of the 

 knife as it is removed from the hook. This not only puts it out of its misery, 

 but also prevents its damaging itself in its death dance. It should then be 

 thrown out of the way, either into the boat's well or into a basket. It is 

 not only objectionable to have dead fish lying about in the boat, but it may 

 also be dangerous, since nothing is much easier than to step on one and 

 tumble over the side. 



Two disasters commonly occur in this style of mackerel fishing. The 

 first is when a big pollack is attracted by the gleaming bait, and seizes 

 it, only to carry away fine tackle never intended for a fish of such weight. 

 The second, which is of more frequent occurrence, is when the hook gets 

 foul of the cork or buoy-line of a lobster-pot. When the tide is slack, the 

 corks show conspicuously at the surface of the sea, and may be avoided 

 by careful steering, but when, at high water, they are carried under, 

 there is nothing to mark their whereabouts, and smashes are of daily 

 occurrence. 



Anyone, then, who wants to catch the greatest possible number of 

 mackerel in the least possible time should, as has been said, go plummet- 

 ing in the manner described above. 



Better, however, for the sportsman who does not want quantity, is 

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