SLAPrON LEY. 
9 
have eacli been at the work for forty years or so, and know all 
about it ; one of them goes with you in the boat, and if they are 
all engaged, then the coachman from the Sands Hotel — they all 
belong there— will go. It is astonishing how many fish you get. 
My son and I together have in four hours taken 200 perch and 
three or four pike, and this is quite an ordinary catch. Some- 
times one does not “ run ” any pike, but one is sure to get perch 
at all times — I never took less than three dozen in an afternoon. 
When I have told new comers of these figures they have seemed 
quite amazed, and said, “ How did you do it ? ” I have answered, 
“ Go and try, you’ll find out soon enough.” It is no uncommon 
thing to get ten or more pike in a day, but all under three pounds 
are returned to the water. 
Some people do not care to eat pike, and I have read some- 
where that at Slapton they are thought so worthless, that after 
being landed they are buried ; this, however, was not confirmed 
by the fishermen. I think myself, a pike nicely stuffed, baked, and 
served with brown gravy is not to be despised, and a rechauffe 
nfext day with melted butter and mashed potatoes is good. Still, 
I should not care to eat pike every day. For bait, roach is used 
as a rule, but it is a mistake to suppose that (as stated in some 
books) pike do not feed on perch because of the bristles in the 
back fin, for the Slapton boatmen have assured me that when 
they have opened pike they have always found them to contain 
more perch than roach, the reason being that the former are much 
more abundant than the latter. I have found it best to fry perch 
with the scales on, and it saves a deal of trouble not to skin eels, 
but simply cut them into lengths of three inches before putting 
them in the pan. 
Slapton has its sea- fishing too, and I have seen as many as 
35,000 mackerel taken at one haul ; it is quite a sight to watch the 
fisherfolk as they are on the look-out for fish, then the launching 
of the boat, casting the net around the “ school ” of fish, and 
finally the drawing in the net and landing the “ take ” in 
“maunds” — women joining the men in these operations. Then 
comes the bargaining with the cart-men, who are in waiting, 
after which the public can buy and carry off what they want, to 
be cooked quite fresh. The sea- fish most usually caught are 
plaice and dabs, mackerel only appear at intervals, and there are 
taken besides, dory, red mullet, small cod, gurnet, soles, merry- 
soles, crabs and lobsters, and others no doubt ; but I record what 
I have seen. 
Slapton Ley is a great place for sport with the gun ; when 
there is a big shoot, besides the duck and widgeon that are 
bagged, large numbers of coot are killed, and these last are given 
to the villagers, who say they are good eating ; but I have never 
tried them. Inland game abounds, with wood-pigeons and 
rabbits in large numbers. This locality is renowned for the 
number of the different species of its birds, and perhaps the most 
wonderful sight of the place is the great flocks of starlings that 
