THE BLUE-FISH. 155 



men ; but the arms of the fisherman soon weary, and 

 their hands, unless protected by leather gloves, are often 

 seriously lacerated. The fishing can hardly be said to 

 begin till July, and continues till late in the Autumn ; 

 the smaller fish are taken early. 



If cooked when just out of their native element, these 

 fish are excellent, but they soon lose their flavor. They 

 should be broiled, or split and nailed on a shingle and 

 roasted quickly before a hot fire. 



Undoubtedly they could be taken with the trolling 

 spoon, and a stout leader of double gut running on 

 swivel traces attached to a dark hand-line would add 

 greatly to the success. In fact, like all other fish, at 

 times they are shy and must be fished for with fine 

 tackle, and then the rod and line come into play. In 

 fishing with a rod from a sailboat, the moment a fish is 

 struck the sheet is eased ofiF, the boat run up into the wind, 

 and the fish killed at leisure ; if the boat were kept in 

 motion, the strain would be too great for the rod apd 

 reel. 



One of the favorite haunts of blue-fish, although they 

 frequent the entire length and breadth of the Great 

 South Bay of Long Island, is Fire Island Inlet; and 

 there, of a bright summer day, may be seen congregated 

 the white sails of fifty boats tossing about in the roll of 

 the breakers, clustering together as the shoals collect, or 

 scattering far out to sea in the hopes of better luck. 

 There, when the wind blows, they may be seen under 

 double reef, plunging along, throwing the spray from 

 their bows, or, if a milder day, under full sail, generally 

 a single one, sweeping over the <juiet waters. Moder8,te 



