BOAT-FISHING. 149 
covering of as much ground as possible, the only 
difference being that in whiffing, the boat is rowed 
or sailed over the ground, while in fishing with the 
drift-line, she is moored or anchored, the line being 
paid out with the tide. A tide is therefore more 
or less essential for the proper working of the 
drift-line, though I have occasionally had sport in 
quite slack water. 
It is unnecessary to go very deeply into the 
various tackles employed in railing or whif- Railing 
fing. Already, in the remarks on hand- or 
lining, I had occasion to give some account Whiffing 
of the practice of “ plummeting” for mackerel, as 
followed in Cornwall and elsewhere ; and all rail- 
ing is carried on in similar manner, save that, from 
rowing boats, at any rate, the rod may profitably 
be substituted for the hand-line. A short, stiff rod 
is the best ; and the reel should hold not less than 
100 yards of line, as not only is it often necessary on 
bright days to let out quite 50 yards before the fish 
will look at a bait, but it sometimes happens that 
the hook catches in the rope of a lobster-pot, low 
down by the hoop, in which case, unless there are 
a good 109 yards on the recl, a smash may be 
confidently expected. Unfortunately, too, where 
there are the most pollack, there also are the most 
pots. 
At the end of the main-line there is usually a 
3-yard trace of either stout single, or, as I would 
venture to recommend for the beginner of in- 
different skill, of treble twisted, gut. The bait, or 
baited hook, is kept at the proper depth—it is well 
to bear in mind that railing is not necessarily 
surface-fishing, and that pollack may feed anywhere 
within a couple of fect of the bottom during the 
