FISHING FROM PIERS AND HARBOURS. 121 
—from the beach in front of the waves, or from the 
pier behind them. Boats are at a discount on such 
day's as one chooses for Iegering for bass. If 
practicable, the beach is in every way preferable, 
as the landing of a heavy fish can be accomplished by 
merely walking backwards until some one can get the 
gaff into its tail. At Bournemouth, how- Bourne- 
ever, it is the fashion, as already mentioned, mouth 
to fish from that portion of the landing-stage which 
faces the north-east. 
Float-fishing, with a sufficiently heavy float, 
would be very pretty work in the slack water 
behind the surf, but that the flowing tide runs 
all too strongly along shore to Boscombe, and it 
is not possible, save with a heavy lead, to get the 
bait right in the surf. One hook only is used as a 
rule, leger fashion, below the lead, though some 
few prefer the two- or three hook-paternoster. 
(What these wholesale gentlemen would say or do 
if by any chance they got two bass on together, it 
is not easy to imagine.) The best bait for this 
fishing is a strip of herring and another of mackerel, 
the hook being passed twice through each. It is 
absolutely necessary to keep all your attention on 
the rod or line, never leaving hold of it ; for on the 
first moving away, generally, but not always, pre- 
faced by a trial nibble, it is important to strike 
hard and then look out for squalls. The bass has 
not so decided a course of action as cither the 
mackcrel or pollack. He does not invariably sheer 
like the former, nor does he head for the ground 
like the latter; his chief object is to create as 
much disturbance as possible, and his great weight, 
1 A float can easily be made to carry more lead by the addition 
ofa pierced cork, through which the float is stuck, 
