56 A DAY'S WHITING-FISHING. 



sailing towards the ' Whiting-ground,' which the fish frequent 

 at a greater or less distance from the shore according to the 

 time of the year, keeping well in the offing abreast or outside 

 the Eddystone early in the season, and nearing the shore as 

 summer merges into autumn. As we pulled out to the little 

 bark, several boats returning from their night's fishing were 

 passing the Breakwater lighthouse, and from one near us we 

 procured a supply of Pilchards, which is the chief bait used on 

 this coast from July to December, but in the earlier part of the 

 season Mackerel and Mussels are in general alone procurable. 



Having arrived on board, and our canvas being set and 

 sheets eased off, the bachelor's kettle is put in commission. 

 'Coffee's ready, sir,' says Hannibal (for such is the 'Christian' 

 name in which my man rejoices), and, giving him the helm, I 

 adjourned to the little cabin to take my early meal. We had 

 long since passed Penlee Point, abreast of which, as we hauled 

 our wind, we set the foresail, and the breeze came down with 

 increased freshness from the high land of the peninsula termi- 

 nated by Rame Head, the outermost point of Plymouth 

 Sound. 



Thinking it was as well to try for a Mackerel or two, I put 

 out a couple of my heaviest lines fitted with 3-lb. leads ; and as 

 I had not then met with Hearder's plano-convex spinner, I 

 used as a bait a bit of tobacco pipe about an inch and a half in 

 length, cutting off the snood from the hook, and, after thread- 

 ing on the pipe stem, making fast the snood again to the hook. 

 One line, however, I kept on board to receive a bait from the 

 tail of a fish if I succeeded in taking one, which happened in 

 ten minutes after putting out the first line, when I immediately 

 baited and veered out a second, first giving the helm to Hanni- 

 bal whilst I cut the bait. To do this with facility both hands 

 are needed ; and it is best to kill the fish, if only to avoid 

 cruelty, by dislocating the vertebrae at the neck, bending back 

 the head for that purpose. From the Rame Head we kept 

 our course into the offing about forty minutes, by which time 

 we were well on the ground, and nearly up with several boats 

 which had probably arrived at daylight. We had caught only 

 our Mackerel on our way ; these, however, were very accept- 



