THE SOLE. 167 



three fathoms, and the Hake will sometimes come so near to 

 the surface of the water that they are taken whilst holding the 

 lead in the hand. The Hake is said to abound on the coast ot 

 Ireland, particularly off Waterford and Galway. This is so 

 good a fish that it is scarce possible to cook it amiss : it is 

 excellent in steaks or baked upon potatoes ; the back-bone 

 having been removed, and the fish larded with strips of fat 

 bacon, with plain salt and pepper seasoning. 



The ham and bacon factors of Plymouth smoke a great 

 many Hake, and although not equal to Salmon thus prepared, 

 they are a very palatable breakfast fish. 



Very large Pollack are caught whilst Haking. 



Hake-fishing has very much deteriorated on the SW. coast 

 of England during the last 20 years. 



THE SOLE. 



(Solea vulgaris.*) 



This excellent fish is generally taken with the trawl-net, but 

 is sometimes caught with the hook. A trot or spiller, as 

 recommended for Dabs, is suitable for this work, and the baits 

 Lug or Rag- Worms ; they feed best in the night. 



Soles are also often taken in a trammel net. 



The Sole, in common with other flat fish, frequents the 

 sandy and oozy bottoms of our coasts, and is taken also in 

 the various tidal rivers whilst of a very small size, especially in 

 the lower part of the river Exe, by seine-nets. I have seen Soles 

 thus caught not more than 6 inches in length, which from their 

 small size are locally called tongues, and are sold in quantities 

 at times by the fish-hawkers. At night in the open sea the fish 

 frequent the shore, arid, when the wind is strong enough off the 

 land for their purpose, trawling vessels scrape the coast line, to 

 the prejudice of the fishery in general ; the laws being a dead 

 letter, because no one is charged to enforce the same. It has 

 always been considered that the bays and shores are the nur- 

 series of the smaller fish, which therefore should remain undis- 

 turbed by trawl nets, whose proper sphere of operations is the 

 offing, but who continually work the shores whenever favourable 



