THE ROD IN SALT WATER 405 



sport we wanted. The trick was of course apparent 

 to the practised eye of the spies, who would take their 

 defeat in good part and presently sail away to other 

 grounds. 



I cannot, for obvious reasons, set down in this chapter 

 any of the hundreds of marks round the coast, with 

 which thirty years of sea-fishing have made me familiar, 

 but I can at least indicate a few of the resorts, chiefly 

 along the English coast, where the best fish of each 

 kind are to be taken. 



Bass, which occur all round Britain, are at their 

 best along the south coast of England, from Land's 

 End to the Forelands. Plymouth, Teignmouth, Sid- 

 mouth, Seaton, Weymouth, Selsea, Brighton, Rams- 

 gate, and Margate all give large bass, and at each a 

 different style of fishing is in vogue. On the east coast, 

 Clacton, Felixstowe, and Aldeburgh, and on the west 

 side, Tenby and Barmouth, are also good spots for bass- 

 fishing. For the information of yachtsmen, I may add 

 that there is sheltered anchorage in a harbour or estuary 

 at or near most of them, only Selsea, Sidmouth, Seaton, 

 and Clacton being open roads. 



Grey Mullet of good weight are taken at Plymouth, 

 Weymouth, and Margate. 



Conger are found on almost any rocky ground in 

 the British Isles, but Cornwall and the Bristol Channel, 

 as well as the rough ground round Beach y Head, in 

 Sussex, seem to be their headquarters so far as the 

 south country is concerned. 



