HARBOUR GROUND-FISHING. 145 



ground with the heavy leads ; with the Sand- Eel as bait, large 

 Flounders are also taken. 



In the north of Devon, at Instow, in the mouth of the 

 estuary of the Taw and Torridge Rivers, they use for harbour 

 ground-fishing a four-pound lead of the shape of half an 

 orange, having a projection on the top through which a hole is 

 bored to receive the line. This shape is chosen because the 

 flattened base sucks into the oozy bottom, and anchors the 

 line (so to speak) in the very strong tide which runs in that 

 locality. A stout three or four inch revolving chopstick is 

 placed between two knots close above the lead to receive the 

 snood, similar to that of the Mackerel-line (fig. 39, p. 124). 

 This method of fishing is by no means equal to the following, 

 which is superior to all others. 



DRIFT-LINE FISHING FOR BASS IN BAR-HARBOURS. 



This differs in nothing from Pollack-fishing with the drift- 

 lines, except that you would try at known resorts of Bass, such 

 as in the mouth of a bar-harbour in a rippling tide at anchor, 

 in which locality you will take both kinds of fish. In harbours 

 also which have deep water entrances, there are often numer- 

 ous Bass in summer and autumn, and the most certain places 

 to find them are in the gullets or narrow throats of these 

 harbours and rivers. It by no means follows that the actual 

 mouth of a harbour is the best place for Bass, for the contrac- 

 tion of the channel, or the presence of a tongue of rock at the 

 forking of two channels, may be excellent pitches for Bass- 

 fishing, although miles up from the open sea. From half flood 

 until high-water, is commonly the best time of tide, well up 

 from the sea. In this method of fishing, where you are 

 always moored, the living Sand-Eel is the only bait really to be 

 depended on, second to which is the Mud- Worm. One line 

 without lead should be always kept out, as the Bass is a fish 

 which so frequently comes to the surface. 



This method of taking Bass can be strongly recommended 

 to visitors to the sea-side, who may object to open sea-fishing 

 on account of suffering the mal-de-mer^ which so completely 



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