368 The Squid of the Newfoundland Banks. [ May, 
Evidence is not wanting to show that the squid do some- 
times occur on the Grand Banks. Vessels are reported to have 
caught their bait while at anchor there, and yet I can but regard 
this as the exception, and I believe that the habit of the squid is 
to remain during the summer quite near shore. In examination 
of the stomach contents of the cod, I saw nothing to indicate the 
squid’s presence on the banks. This to be sure is negative evi- 
dence, yet it carries some weight. 
Squid jig. 
The sole mode of capture of the squid is called “jigging,” 
a term derived from, and descriptive of the process. The 
only gear is a peculiar hook called a “jig,” and a couple of 
fathoms of “mackerel” line. No bait is employed. The jig 
of lead, two inches or thereabouts in length, armed at its 
base with sharply pointed unbarbed pins radially arranged, and 
curving upward and outward as represented in the accompanying 
figure. The jigging is conducted in water of from eight to tem 
feet, usually from small boats, but occasionally from the vessel's 
side. The jig is allowed to sink nearly to the bottom, where it 
is kept constantly vibrating up and down, till the squid is felt 
upon it. Frequently two jigs are managed, one in each hand. 
In its mode of taking the hook, the squid differs from any 
other animal I have ever met. In place of a nibble followed by 4 
snap with the subsequent struggle for escape, there is a sensation 
as of some one grasping the hook with his fingers. The squid 
does not use his mouth in “biting,” but merely clasps his tenta- 
cles round the jig. The pain from the sharp pins doubtless ™- 
duces him to escape instantly, but the fisherman who is constantly 
