o* SEA FISH J 



serving the first foot of line with copper wire, as at the 

 tail, the first fourteen inches from your bait, and your 

 arrangements are complete, Let out your line, and 

 keep your bait moving through the water, and occa- 

 sionally jumping from wave to wave ; and if our active 

 friends are in the neighbourhood, the fisherman will 

 not be long in anticipation of a bite, which is generally 

 in good earnest ; when hooked, be cool, patient, and 

 deliberate, as these fish, large or small, are immensely 

 strong and active, requiring cautious handling. 



The Mackerel. 



FAM., Scomberidce. 



Few fish are there more remarkable for beauty of 

 colour, elegance of form, and commercial value, than 

 that now under consideration, and few are there that 

 afford better sport or are more palatable when cap- 

 tured. Its range is very extensive, being met with 

 from the coasts of England to the Western Islands, 

 and most of the bays and harbours along the coast of 

 Ireland. They are exceedingly abundant along the 

 Devonshire and Cornish coasts throughout the whole 

 spring, as also on the coast of Hampshire and Sussex. 



As the spring advances the shoals approach nearer 

 to land, enter bays and estuaries freely, take the bait 

 readily, and afford excellent sport to the lover of fish- 

 ing, as he can indulge in his favourite pastime in a 

 great variety of ways, some of the most successful of 



