FISHES. 196 



vessels and pinkies had entirely disappeared from the fleet, most of them long 

 before that date." 



The accessories to the vessel are seine-boats with their fittings and the seines. 

 Two kinds of seines are used, (1) a large one only employed in connection with the 

 largest seine boats, and (2) a small one. The large seine varies from 190 to 225 

 fathoms in length by 20 to 25 fathoms in depth, when it is hung, being deeper in the 

 centre of the bank than at the extreme wings. The cork line has "two or three sizes 

 of corks, the largest being placed over the baiting piece, the smallest generally at the 

 end of the wings ; " the lead line is " as in the ordinary seine, and is weighted with 

 sinkers about two ounces in weight, which are attached to it at intervals varying 

 from a few inches to several feet." When not in use, "the seine is stowed on a 

 grating forward of the house and behind the hatch. The small seine differs from the 

 lai-ge one in having a length of only 150 to 175 fathoms and a depth of 10 to 12 ; it is 

 used " in shallow water, and those vessels which have gone to the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence for the purpose of catching mackerel by this method generally carried them." 

 Many of the large schooners carry both kinds of seines, " whether they have two seine 

 boats or not, since the deep seine cannot be used on rocky bottoms in shallow water." 



The mackerel-hookers employ the so-called mackerel jig, mackerel fly-hook, mack- 

 erel gaff, and mackerel bob or bobber, and carry the necessary bait to attract the fish, 

 and furnish the apparatus. A favorite way of baiting mackerel hooks is to take 

 several thin strips from the belly or lower side of a mackerel, and cut the:n into 

 sections about a half an inch square. " A large number of these pieces are p)ut on the 

 hook, completely filling the bend, after which the baits are scraped with the back of a 

 knife, in such a manner as to remove everything but the tough white skin which, 

 when distended in the water, forms a soft pulpy mass about the size of one's fore- 

 finger ; but this can be contracted into a very small space, and thus afford the eager 

 fish ample opportunity to secure a good hold of the hook while seeking the tempting, 

 but yielding morsel upon it. A bait of this kind will last more than an hour without 

 being renewed, even when mackerel ai-e biting sharply." 



The seiners, as well as hookers, carry bait, and the favorite one is " slivered and 

 salted menhaden, of which each vessel usually carries five to ten barrels. Many, if 

 not all of the vessels, however, at the present time, depend entirely upon small mack- 

 erel, which they catch and salt. The bait-mill, bait-boxes, and bait-throwers are simi- 

 lar to those used in the mackerel fishery, and are used in the same manner." This 

 bait is chiefly employed in tolling the fish to the surface and, incidentally, catching 

 them with jigs when they are not schooling. " Sometimes they toll the fish alongside 

 and spread the seine around the vessel, and as she drifts over the cork rope and away 

 to leeward the net is pursed up and the fish captured. It is often the case, too, where 

 mackerel are moving rapidly, for the men in the dory to throw bait ahead of the 

 school, and while the fish are thus induced to stop, the seine-boat circles around them, 

 the net is thrown, and while yet engaged in feeding, the fish are enclosed in the big 

 purse." One indispensable item of the furniture of a mackerel vessel remains to be 

 mentioned, that is, the barrels to receive the fish when caught. 



Doubtless much of the attraction to the men engaged in the mackerel fishery is the 

 excitement and sport experienced in their encounters with the fish. In the words of 

 Messrs. Goode and Collins, " the excitement among the crew, when the mackerel are 

 biting fast, can hardly be described. When the fishing begins, the drumming of the 

 mackerel in the empty barrels is inexpressibly cheering to the fishermen, especially if 



