THE BANK HAND-LINE COD FISHERY. 127 
cles: Anchor, anchor line or “rode”; one pair 8-foot oars; one or two pairs of woolen nippers; two 
hand-lines on reels, with gear attached; bait-bucket; bait-board; dinner-box; spare hooks; gaff; 
bait-knife; water-jug; bailing scoop; and gob-stick. If fishing in a locality infested by sharks a 
shark-lance forms part of the outfit, and also, at certain seasons, when squid or birds can be 
obtained for bait, squid-lines and jigs, or bird-lines. The painter, stern-becket, thole-pins, and dory 
plug may be considered to be parts of the boat since they are usually attached to it in a permanent 
manner. 
The tackles for hoisting the dories on the deck are attached differently from any yet described, 
the forward tackles being. fastened to the after main-shroud, and the after ones to the main-boom 
topping-lift. 
FISHING GEAR.—The gear used in hand-lining from the deck resembled, in a general way, the 
George’s gear elsewhere described, except that the leads did not generally exceed 4 or-5 pounds in 
weight, and the spreaders, or “sling-dings,” had not been invented. 
The gear used by the dory hand-liners of the present day, in some respects, resembles the 
George’s cod-gear, but is smaller. The lines are of the size weighing from 14 to 16 pounds per 
dozen, and the leads are 3 to 5 pounds in weight, the heaviest being used on the Western Bank, 
where there is considerable tide. The dory-lead, unlike the George’s lead, has no tail, the line 
being bent into a hole in the top of the lead; the horse is usually made of line, though sometimes 
of metal or wood, and is shorter than that in the George’s lead. When two snoods are used the 
spreaders are generally omitted, though sometimes they are employed, but frequently only a single 
snood is used. This is usually the case in fishing about the Virgin Rocks or on the “rocky bottom” 
of Banquereau, where large numbers of dories congregate together upon the same spot of ground, 
hundreds of them frequently lying side by side. It is an unwritten law among the fishermen that 
only one snood shall be used on these fishing grounds, and any infringement would be punished 
in asummary manner. The objection against the use of two hooks on these occasions is that it 
would tend to cause a snarling of the lines of the different fishermen. The hooks used are usually 
about No. 12 in size. 
Hand.lining from dories is rarely carried on in water deeper than 45 fathoms. Two lines, each 
having 50 to 75 fathoms of line, are used by each fisherman, these being wound up on light wooden 
frames called “reels.” In the vicinity of the Virgin Rocks most of the fishing is done in the neigh- 
borhood of 3 to 25 fathoms of water in depth, while on the shoalest parts of Banquereau the water 
is but little, if any, over 15 to 18 fathoms. 
Bait.—The ordinary bait is salted clams (Mya arenaria) or squid, which are very extensively 
used, but when capelin or fresh squid can be obtained on the fishing grounds, these are used in 
preference to any other bait. Birds are sometimes utilized for bait when they can be obtained in 
sufficient quantities. The kinds principally used are the hagdon (Puffinus major), the noddy (Ful- 
marus glacialis), and petrels, or Mother Carey’s chickens (genera Cymochorea and Oceanites). These 
are caught on hook and line and knocked down with clubs. Vessels ordinarily carry about 50 
barrels of clams for a trip of two and a half months to four months. These clams are obtained 
very largely from the coast of Maine. Many of the vessels go to Portland, the principal depot for 
bait of this description, and there obtain their supply; again, large quantities are sent from Port- 
land to the ports where hand-liners are fitted out. The price of bait in 1881 was about $5 to $6 per 
barrel, which is not far from the average price each year. The Cape Cod vessels, and perhaps 
others as well, often carry large quantities of salt squid, which are used instead of clams. Hand- 
liners never visit the British Provinces for bait, this practice being confined to the trawlers. Sev. 
eral clams are used every time the hook is baited, the hook being passed first through the soft parts 
