402 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



the fish out of water, an error which will surely goad 

 it to another dash for liberty, then the gaff, however 

 expertly handled, is likely to be baulked of its prey. 

 Needless to say, it is easier to play a big fish when the 

 boat is not anchored, for it then follows the fish, and the 

 strain on the rod is much reduced. The most difficult 

 case of all is when fishing from a high pier, fifteen or 

 twenty feet above the water. Unless the fish can be 

 gaffed or netted by a gillie in a boat, or on a lower step, 

 or unless, as an alternative, the fish can be coaxed to 

 the beach (this depends on the architecture of the pier), 

 practically the only way of saving it is first to tire it 

 out and then to lay the rod down and warily haul it by 

 the line, hand over hand. A single kick while a heavy 

 fish is in the air will probably break the line. The diffi- 

 culty of playing a big fish from piers is aggravated by 

 the posts and chains round which, in its struggles, it 

 may wind the line. Nor is it lessened by the crowd 

 of idlers who usually gather round in the summer season, 

 not caring whether they give the fisherman elbow room, 

 but imbued with the one idea of getting as good a view 

 as possible of the proceedings. Indeed, luck counts for 

 more in pier-fishing than in any other branch of angling. 

 The gillie will be held responsible for the boat, and, 

 whether it be a dinghy or a cutter, everything should 

 be shipshape. There is, or should be, a place for all 

 things, and they should not be put just anywhere, but 

 in that place. Nothing is more irritating than to find 

 the bait, possibly a box of writhing worms, where the 



