430 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



in a great measure depends upon the selection of a good one. 



After the line is set, it should "be left exactly one hour ; and, if 



you have hit upon a shoal, you will most likely half fill the 



boat. I have several times killed about a dozen from twenty 



to thirty pounds weight, besides quantities of smaller. The 



fish for the most part taken are cod, ling, haddock, skate, large 



flounders, and enormous conger-eels, some of the latter more 



than half the length of your boat, and nearly as thick as a 



man's leg. These would generally be thrown back again, were 



it not for the havoc they make among the other fish, and the 



damage they do to the set-lines. Their throats are therefore cut 



as soon as they are pulled up, after which operation they will 



live for hours. The skate is also very tenacious of life ; and 



nothing can be more absurd than the grotesque pompous faces 



it will continue to exhibit for some time after being deposited 



in the boat. The round shape of its jagged crown is exactly 



like a judge's wig ; and when it puffs out its cheeks, the whole 



face and head so forcibly remind one of those learned lords, 



that you almost fancy you hear it pronouncing sentence upon 



the devoted congers. The conger, if dressed like other fish, is 



uneatable ; but when the oil is taken out by parboiling, some 



people prefer it to cod. Care should be taken to untwist the 



line as much as possible when drawing it, which saves a deal 



of trouble afterwards. There is generally so much filth and 



discomfort in the whole business, that gentlemen seldom care 



to engage in it, except a few times from curiosity. 1 



1 Thunder is generally believed to be destructive to fishing of all kinds and 

 so it often is. I, however, know an instance, when a friend of mine set his long- 

 line just before a tremendous storm, which raged the whole hour it was in the 

 water. As soon as it cleared, he rowed to his line, with no hope of success for 

 that day : to his astonishment it was perfectly loaded with heavy fish. Some- 

 thing similar happened to myself, when going to fish the Almond, near Edin- 

 burgh. I was overtaken by a thunderstorm when close to the river : directly 

 upon its subsiding I commenced fishing, and at the second or third throw 

 hooked a fine trout. After a few hours I returned home, having had excellent 

 sport. 



