SEA FISHING 

 to run down till it touches the rock, and then smartly withdrawn just far 

 enough off the ground (in the case of two fathoms being between the lead 

 and hook, the lead may be raised about eleven feet six inches) to allow 

 of the bait lying quiet. This is one of the secrets of success with conger, 

 that the bait shall lie undisturbed, for these fish are exceedingly sus- 

 picious, and the least movement on the part of the bait would be quite 

 enough to send one elsewhere for its supper. 



Another factor in success is to have the bait both soft and fresh. The 

 conger, for all its efficient teeth, detests hard food, and does not fancy 

 it *' high." The objection of the conger to hard food is amply proved by 

 the fact that, though a big conger would have no difficulty in biting through 

 the shell of an average lobster, the eel never attacks the lobster until it 

 catches it soon after casting its shell. Squid, then, must be well hammered 

 to make it soft, the ink must be washed out of cuttlefish, and the parrot- 

 like beak and bone must also be removed. Squid is not always to be had, 

 it is true, but if there are trawlers fishing in the district, they generally 

 catch a few in the nets, and if squid are very plentiful, as in many parts of 

 Cornwall, the angler can catch them for himself. He will soon be apprised 

 of their presence, for they have a knack of stealing bait off the pollack 

 hooks with a peculiar sucking action, different from that of any fish. 

 A " squid-hook " should then be put out. It consists of three or four 

 hooks, with the barbs filed off, lashed back to back in the form of a 

 miniature grapnel at the end of a line. A pilchard is then made fast 

 about a foot above the hooks. As soon as a squid is felt worrying the bait, 

 the grapnel must be jerked smartly upward so that it may foul -hook the 

 intruder. 



Pilchard, herring and mackerel are also good baits for conger, but 

 these, again, must be perfectly fresh, and the backbone must in every 

 case be taken out. A small rockling is the only livebait I have known 

 used with success, and on some parts of the coast it is the most killing 

 of all. 



Catching conger cannot be regarded as very difficult. All that need be 

 done, once the right tackle and bait are in readiness, is to anchor the boat 

 over the rocks, picking up the " marks " while there is yet light, and then 

 waiting for darkness to set in. The hook is baited, the lead allowed to run 

 out, and then withdrawn, as described above, and the line finally made 

 fast to a thwart or rowlock. It is then best left alone, as only a practised 

 fisherman could hold it in the hand without risk of disturbing the bait. 



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