164: ANGLING. 



he is in the boat, strike him with a boat-stretcher behind 

 the head, so as to kill him by breaking the spinal cord. 

 A sharp knife will aid you in slicing a longitudinal piece 

 from his tail, with which to bait the hook, and the same 

 process is repeated. 



The above plan of catching sea fish may vary in different 

 localities. I have described the plan which I have found 

 to answer along the western and southern coasts of Ire- 

 land and England. It is equally successful in the Bay of 

 Galway, as off the Lizard or in the Downs. When lying 

 at Spithead, I had no difficulty in securing a quantity of 

 fish when fishing from the stern of the vessel. 



The ling, which is a much esteemed Lenten fish, for it 

 may be preserved by salt, and dried so as to preserve its 

 rich oleaginous flavour better than many and better known 

 species, requires a little extra care. The first large fish I 

 ever caught was a Kng, and his formidable jaws were any- 

 thing but pleasant to look at. I had caught him certainly, 

 but I little knew what to do with him, for he was about 

 five feet long. The " old admiral," a well-known fisherman 

 in county Waterford, who was with me in the Little 

 Gypsey, fortunately came to my assistance, or else it is 

 possible that the fish would have caught me, for the line 

 had become entangled round my legs, and the fish was 

 thumping in the sides of the boat with its tail, the power 

 of which trollers know when they attempt to land a jack 

 before it is fully spent, and in appearance a ling is not 

 unlike a gigantic pike. The admiral broke its back, and I 

 looked at my prize in amazement. I was, however, roused 

 from my reverie by an immense conger-eel being hauled 

 into the boat. By the clumsiness of the fisherman, the 



