106 SEA-FISH. 
coasts where the curious lazy action of a dory . 
gorging itself on sand-eels can be witnessed to- 
greater perfection on a calm summer’s day than at 
Bournemouth. 
The silver launce are sporting merrily in their 
John thousands, one getting hooked every now 
Dory and then, but usually managing to wriggle 
its way off the hook ere the landing-net is under it 
(it is absolutely necessary to employ a landing-net 
when catching these slippery customers for bait) ; 
when of a sudden there is a commotion, a flat, solid 
looking fish comes slowly into view with a peculiar. 
rolling, undulating motion, not so slow, however, but 
it is able to seize several of the launce in its mouth 
and crunch them in full view, after which it sinks, 
equally slowly, out of sight, doubtless to take up 
its position behind the brown fronds of weed until 
confidence is once more restored and another raid 
is possible. These dories are caught mostly by 
chance. Sometimes a week elapses without one 
taking the hook, sometimes half-a-dozen, averaging 
halfa pound in weight, are taken during the morning. 
The pollack come out to feed too, but their manner 
is different ; all dash from the first. I have never 
secn a pollack near the pier of over a poundin weight, 
though I have in former years caught many of five 
and even seven on the rough ground about two 
miles to the south-west. 
The bass are, as elsewhere, exceedingly capri- 
cious in their coming and going ; the only 
time they are fished for is during a heavy 
gale from the south-west towards the end of 
August, just when summer visitors talk about the 
weather breaking up, forgetting that September is, 
nine years out of ten, the finest fishing month of 
thetwelve. The place for bass-fishing on this pier is 
Bass 
