FISHING ON SALT-WATER LOCHS. 429 



the receding of the tide. I say nothing of sea-trout or salmon 

 flies, which vary so much in the different lochs, rivers, and 

 streams, that every angler should be able to dress them for 

 himself. Any fishing-tackle maker will be happy to teach 

 him for a consideration. He has then only to learn from an 

 approved local hand what flies are best for the loch or stream 

 he intends to fish, and tie them accordingly. 



THE LONG-LINE. 



The eel-line, already noticed, is precisely the long-line in 

 miniature, with the exception of the hooks, which are such 

 coarse, blunt-looking weapons, that the wonder is how they 

 catch at all. They are sold for a mere trifle at any of the 

 shops in the seaport towns, and tied on with a wax-end, but 

 sometimes only with a knot of the twine itself : a turn of the 

 wire on the shank enables you to do this. A baiting-basket 

 is required one end for the line, the other for the baited 

 hooks, which are placed in regular rows. My line had only 

 three hundred hooks, but some have double that number. 

 Herring, cut into small pieces, are the best bait : I required 

 about a dozen for one setting, provided I eked out with 

 mussels ; but eighteen or twenty were necessary if the line 

 was baited exclusively with herring. Mussels, however, drop 

 off the hook so easily, that when herring can be procured 

 they are seldom used. Seeing the long -line baited, set, and 

 drawn, will thoroughly teach any one who has an idea of fish- 

 ing-^ writing how to do so never will. It generally took me 

 about an hour and a half to bait mine ; so I taught a boy, who, 

 after two or three lessons, could bait as well as myself. 



The best time to set the long-line is after low water, when 

 the tide has flowed a little, and brought the fish with it. To 

 know the different " hauls " l is most important, as your success 



1 Banks, and parts of the loch, where the shoals of fish congregate. 



