SMACKS AND TRAWLS 49 



An average good day's fishing was a ton per smack. 

 A ton would contain about 3 cwt. of soles, and half a ton 

 of haddock, the rest being plaice and whiting, a few 

 turbot, a few brill, and a very few cod. A good fishing- 

 ground had a smooth bottom, and the smacksmen knew 

 by practice when they got to rocky ground. In fine 

 weather short hauls of two or three hours were made. 

 With such hauls the fish were alive, but they came up 

 mostly dead, and the longer the trawl was down the 

 worse the fish were. The fish changed their place 

 according to the season. In very cold weather they got 

 into deep water for warmth ; in fine weather they went 

 into shallow water, and Mr. Hewett, when on the Dutch 

 coast in the height of summer, saw turbot a few inches 

 from the surface. 



As a rule, the trawlers went with the tide for four or 

 five hours. The tide would go from two to two and a 

 half miles an hour, and the vessel would drive a knot or 

 a knot and a half. Moderate weather a two-reefed 

 sail, would suit a trawler best. The total useful speed 

 would be three and a half miles an hour, with tide and 

 wind, though a little faster was desirable for soles, and 

 faster still for plaice and haddocks. It was impossible 

 to fish against the tide, as the bottom of the net lifted 

 up. The early experience of trawling showed that, the 

 more the ground was stirred up, the better produce came 

 from it. Trawling disturbed the ground and brought 

 the insects up, supplying the fish with food. A Hull 

 smacksman stated that the fish followed the trawl, " like 

 a parcel of crows, to catch these things." 



" I compare trawling almost to farming," said a 

 Yarmouth fisherman. " You plough the field and cast 



