FISHING FROM PIERS ANID) HARBOURS. 111 
pitch his lead in any given place—a sheer impos- 
sibility, even in the most practised hands, with the 
swinging hand-line, the lead of which may when 
released pitch in the right spot, but may equaliy 
well land in the ironwork, if not indeed in the hat 
of some lady overhead. With the rod, too, it is far 
easier to direct the movements of a large fish, 
whether the object be to keep it clear of the piles 
or of the next man’s gear. In the case of one 
angler hooking a really large bass or conger, 
etiquette and personal comfort alike suggest that 
those on either side shall reel in their lines and 
give him every chance. Where, however, greed 
rules in place of good fellowship, and the lines are 
allowed to hamper fair play, it not infrequently 
happens, more especially when the hook is fast in 
a conger with the strength and manners of a run- 
away cabhorse, that there is a general foul, in the 
midst of which the ecl usually breathes once more 
the air of liberty, leaving the disappointed one to 
disentangle his hooks from those of his neighbours, 
whose notions of politeness were on a level with 
their judgment. The necessity of leaving the field 
for a few moments to the rod that has hooked 
a fish is stronger than ever in the case of float- 
fishing, where there is no lead of any weight to 
check the sidelong struggles of the desperate fish. 
Given, however, this common-sense give-and-take 
policy, there is no reason why float-fishing should 
not be carried on at very close quarters ; all that is 
necessary being that no one shall fling his float 
and line wildly to right or left, but that the floats 
shall, one and all, be dropped quietly into the water 
immediately beneath the angler’s feet, leaving it to 
the tide to carry them out. Thus will the lines 
