FISHING FROM PIERS AND HARBOURS. 107 
as limited as the time, for it is only from the sloping 
' ledge facing the East Cliff, enough to accommodate 
with any degree of comfort not more than four fisher- 
men, that the Bournemouth bass are ever taken. 
The mullet is a rare catch indeed, still rarer the 
red mullet, of which two only have to my 
knowledge ever been hooked on this pier. 
This is, however, quite up to the average in red 
mullet records, as not more than fifty have ever been 
recorded in this country as having taken the hook, 
the trammel being the sole means of supplying 
the demand for this most delicious of fish (sce p. 29). 
Conger of very small size are taken from time to 
time, though there are plenty to be had on 
the Outer Durley rocks. The best pier I 
know for conger is at Hastings (the old pier), where 
any breezy day in August it is possible with a strip 
of fresh squid to catch a dozen, running to a weight 
of 7 or 8 lbs. down to 3 lbs. These small pier conger 
can, of course, be managed on a rod, the more so 
as, unlike pollack, they rarely strike for the piles, 
but move off in stately fashion for the open sca, 
which greatly facilitates matters. For congering, 
however, on a proper scale, stout hand-lines and a 
boat are necessary, and the best sport is to be had at 
night. Of which more will be said in another chapter. 
One of the most important factors in deciding 
the kind of tackle to use from any pier is 
the state of the tide. We will keep to 
Bournemouth as an example.! No practical fisher- 
Mullet 
Conger 
Tide 
1 The remarkable phenomenon of ‘‘ double tides” is, owing in 
all probability to the action of cross currents in Poole harbour and 
the Solent, felt at Bournemouth. There are, that is to say, both 
second ebb and flood after the low and high water marks have been 
apparently reached. 
