8 METHODS OF' FISHING. 



high hill called Shaldon Beacon, beyond Teignmouth, just 

 visible in the dip of the land at the outer part of Strait Point. 

 Other instances of combinations of this kind will be from time 

 to time met with, and are also useful for keeping vessels clear 

 of dangers near the coast. A third method, when great pre- 

 cision is not requisite, is to set two objects on the land by 

 compass : that is to say, to place the compass in a convenient 

 position, and to find one object bearing east and another 

 north, or on any other bearings, so that they may form with 

 each other a right angle, or as near an approach thereto as 

 possible, or contain seven or eight points of the compass 

 between them ; thus taking the bearings on or nearly on the 

 square. This method can be adopted by anyone at all familiar 

 with a mariner's compass, who may be a stranger to the locality, 

 when in case of obtaining sport, marks may be taken for 

 future use. It will answer well where the ground is of the 

 same nature for a considerable distance, as is often the case on 

 Whiting and Dab grounds, or where Cod and Haddock abound, 

 but rarely in Pollack, Bream, or Pout-fishing, where very great 

 accuracy is often necessary. 



METHODS OF FISHING. 



The different methods of taking sea-fish may be briefly 

 comprehended under the following heads, namely : hand- 

 line fishing, long-lining or trotting, net-fishing and spear- 

 ing. There is also a method of taking fish by weirs, gradually 

 becoming obsolete. Hand-line fishing has two great divisions ; 

 namely, at anchor and in motion. Fishing at anchor, or 

 moored with a stone killick, subdivides itself into ground and 

 drift-line fishing, of which ground-fishing may be defined to 

 consist in using a single heavy lead as a sinker at the end 

 of the line, on or close to the bottom ; whilst in drift-line 

 fishing, leads at intervals are placed as sinkers, usually at 

 the distance of two fathoms, and from twelve to forty to the 

 pound ; besides which, drift-lines are also used entirely with- 

 out lead, at the stern of the boat ; and sometimes with a 

 cork float to assist in taking out the line when little tide is 



