92 Fisninc iy AMERICAN WATERS. 
of the boat, so that the tide will carry them astern and at- 
tract the fish. 
With the sail lowered over the centre of the stern and 
lashed, the judge takes his stand on one side of it and my- 
self on the other, when each with a single-rigged hook, as be- 
fore stated, and well baited with shedder crab, make our first 
cast. 
“ Judge, permit me to advise that when your sinker touch- 
es the water you do not slack your line or permit any to run 
from the reel, but let it sink naturally, and the tide will keep 
your line straight, so that you will be able to distinguish the 
faintest nibble after it settles on the bottom. If you do not 
get a bite in a minute, jerk—as if you intend to hook a fish— 
and reel in a yard or two of the slack caused by the jerk, and 
then let the sinker settle as at first. Keep striking and reel- 
ing a few feet every minute until you have effectually fished 
5 
over all the ground from where you cast to the boat. Then 
reel all the way up and repair damage to bait, and cast again. 
Thave cast and reeled in for hours, sometimes without get- 
ting a single bite from a ‘head, and in such cases my friends 
resorted to segars and other expedients to prevent them from 
becoming discouraged; and if they saw the hand-lne men 
catch a few and string them to a cord fastened to the thole- 
pins, leaving the fish im the water to keep them alive, they 
would forthwith order our captain to bargain for a few ata 
dollar each. But, before we or they discontinued fishing, we 
would take the greatest number of any craft in the bay, and 
frequently more than we knew how to dispose of! But the 
tide slackens, and ‘head’ will begin to bite very soon. Keep 
your line clear on the reel, and straight from the tip of your 
rod to the sinker.” “There! Ive hooked one!” “ His shoot- 
ing up to the top of the water is no sign of weakness, for you 
perceive that Tcan not prevent him from diving to the bot- 
tom quicker than he came up. Captain, man the landing- 
net, and be ready and careful, for he is a fifteen-pounder! 
There, he is off again; you perceive that I can turn him and 
