390 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



The sharks and dogfish are also only caught acci- 

 dentally, save at a few spots on the coast, like Herne 

 Bay, in Kent, and Filey, in Yorkshire, where dogfish 

 up to 50 Ib. are made a special object of sport. Other- 

 wise, they are caught only when they seize a hook meant 

 for pollack or some other large fish. I have taken both 

 sharks and porbeagles in Cornwall up to 20 Ib. or 30 Ib., 

 and both these species occur in Scotland. At times the 

 smaller spotted and rough dogfish occur in such swarms 

 that fishing is impossible, and the only thing for it is to 

 get up the sail and go back to the harbour. The same 

 plague used to inflict itself on us in Australia, only we 

 used to go snapper-fishing in steam tugs, and it was 

 easy to steam away to fresh grounds and outdistance 

 the greedy vermin that give no better fish a chance. 



Among other large sea-fish, the rarest catch in the 

 amateur's diaries is an angler-fish. It is not that this 

 curious creature is scarce, for, on the west coast of 

 Scotland, at any rate, it is plentiful. But its manner of 

 catching its food does not expose it to much risk from 

 the angler's hooks. The fish simply lurks in the shade 

 of a rock or in an ambush of weed, and dangles a silvery 

 bait on a kind of fishing-rod that grows on the top of 

 its head. Little fishes, which are as curious as little 

 women, gather round to see what the strange object is. 

 Perhaps they nibble at it, but, whether they do or not, 

 the enormous mouth beneath suddenly opens, and they 

 are carried inside by the rush of water. Nor is the 

 angler-fish satisfied with such modest fare, for large 



