THE MUSSEL. 187 



GENERAL BAITS FOR SEA-FISH 



THE MUSSEL. 



(Mytilus edtilis.) 



This shell -fish is more in use for bait than any other kind, 

 and abounds in many of the tidal rivers of Great Britain 'and 

 Ireland, both above and below low- water mark ; they accumu- 

 late in countless thousands on rocks, gravel, and mud- banks 

 and a considerable trade is carried on in them with the metro- 

 polis and large provincial towns. In Scotland these banks are 

 known as Mussel Scalps. They are to be procured from the 

 fishwomen generally at about sixpence per peck, and may be 

 kept alive almost any length of time by hanging them overboard 

 in a basket or net. (See also p. 50.) I recommend every 

 yachtsman interested in sea-fishing to procure a peck or two 

 at the earliest opportunity, as at the anchorages in every bay on 

 the coast Dabs may be caught with them, and if becalmed at 

 sea, or he thinks right to lay to for an hour's fishing, he will 

 find himself well provided with bait for either Whiting or 

 Haddock, &c. 



To open Mussels, you should take some lessons from the 

 fishermen, and after a little practice you will accomplish it with 

 ease. 



This is the ordinary method. Take one in your left hand 

 with the byssus or beard towards you, cut it off and introduce 

 the knife (a round-topped one) as a lever to force the shells 

 apart, which are to be so kept by the thumb of the left hand, 

 whilst the round cartilage from near the open end is detached 

 from the upper valve by a scraping movement of the knife, 

 when the upper shell can be torn off, and the mussel be easily 

 freed with the knife from the lower shell. It is a good bait 

 for nearly all ground fish, and other kinds not unfrequently 

 seize it. Mussels are found in most parts of the world. 



