heavy rain, when the water is coloured, or at night, for they will not usually lay hold until after sunset when the water is clear. In clotting you feel the bottom with the end of the wire every two or three seconds, raising it an inch or two from time to time, and when you feel a bite throw the Eel on the bank; in some parts a square box is used on the end of a pole, to drop the Eels into, but though useful in rivers, it is cumbersome to carry, and in small brooks is entirely unnecessary.

Hook and Line.-Eels may also be taken with hook and line, and very fine ones in ponds into which the salt water flows, often the case in land which has been reclaimed from the

sea.

Half a dozen lines may be used at once, with two hooks on each line, which should be tied to twisted double gut, fine gimp, or fine snooding; tie on the hooks a foot apart from each other, the lower one a foot from the bottom, where a piece of lead, two ounces in weight, should be attached: the best-sized hook will be found to be No. 7 (fig. 62, p. 211) Limerick, and the bait Garden Worms, pieces of bait Crabs, or large Rag-Worms. In baiting with Worms, enter the point of the hook at the head, and thread on the Worm nearly to the tail, fastening a winebottle cork on each line, about four yards from the shore, which will show you when you have a bite; give a minute or two when you perceive it, and the Eels will hook themselves. A friend has taken large numbers of Eels in tidal harbours in the following manner :- -He uses an ordinary perch rod, fine silk line, large quill, or small cork float, gut hook No. 6 or 7 river size, baits with a small piece of boiled prawn or shrimp peeled, and strikes directly the float is taken under water. He has a small mesh landing-net, into which he drops the Eels, and then takes hold of them outside; the net enabling a firm grip to be taken. Eels caught in this manner are nearly all hooked in the mouth, which saves much trouble in unhooking them. Many good Eels are taken with night-lines fitted like a trot for sea-fishing, and baited with a small fish, half a Lamprey, or even a Freshwater Eel, for they are perfect cannibals; for this night-line, fish hooks are especially made with a bow in the top which will admit four or five thicknesses of fine twine, which

the Eel will find greater difficulty in gnawing through than if it were all in one.

An acquaintance who has paid much attention to Eel-fishing strongly recommends loosely twisted hair snoodings.

Each of your leger lines should be wound on a sharpened stick, which may be forced firmly into the ground whilst fishing. The best lines are of Whiting snooding, size No. 4 (fig. 11, p. 48), and if soaked in coal-tar and turpentine, and dried, they last a long time, and rarely become entangled; but for night-lines a stout line of the size of a small sash-line should be used, and the thicknesses of twine as described above, or twenty-four hairs. See No. 1 (fig. 11, p. 48.)

Large Worms may also be used, but they are more apt to be nibbled by small Eels, &c., than the other baits. A piece of Lamprey two inches long is good in tidal rivers.

To keep these trots from becoming entangled, it is usual to coil them in a box or Basket (see 'Trot Basket and Hookholder,' p. 143), and when baited the hooks may be dropped into an old fig-drum, sewed on to the bottom of the basket in the middle. The lines best fitted for catching Eels in harbours from a boat are the dab and flounder lines, p. 116. The best of all baits is the Soft Crab, but pieces of Sand-Eel, Mackerel, Pilchard, Lugs, or Herring will also catch them. Eels are often numerous in harbours which have no brook or fresh water running into them.

Spearing, &c.—Fine Eels are constantly taken by striking an Eel-spear into banks of mud from the shore or a boat. These spears are made of thin blades of steel to open and clip the Eels between their edges, which are jagged to prevent their slipping out. Tongs made especially for catching Eels are used in some countries, and an old pair of scissors or garden shears with edges notched like a rat-gin, will answer the same purpose when turning over large stones in tidal rivers or ditches. A three-pronged kitchen dinner-fork is also useful.

If Lug-worms are used instead of Lob or Earth-worms, many Flounders are caught with the Eels in harbours and tidal rivers, whilst bobbing.

GENERAL BAITS FOR SEA-FISH

THE MUSSEL.

(Mytilus edulis.)

This shell-fish is more in use for bait than any other kind, and abounds in many of the tidal rivers of Great Britain and Ireland, both above and below low-water mark; they accumulate in countless thousands on rocks, gravel, and mud-banks and a considerable trade is carried on in them with the metropolis and large provincial towns. In Scotland these banks are known as Mussel Scalps. They are to be procured from the fishwomen generally at about sixpence per peck, and may be kept alive almost any length of time by hanging them overboard in a basket or net. (See also p. 50.) I recommend every yachtsman interested in sea-fishing to procure a peck or two at the earliest opportunity, as at the anchorages in every bay on the coast Dabs may be caught with them, and if becalmed at sea, or he thinks right to lay to for an hour's fishing, he will find himself well provided with bait for either Whiting or Haddock, &c.

To open Mussels, you should take some lessons from the fishermen, and after a little practice you will accomplish it with

ease.

This is the ordinary method. Take one in your left hand with the byssus or beard towards you, cut it off and introduce the knife (a round-topped one) as a lever to force the shells apart, which are to be so kept by the thumb of the left hand, whilst the round cartilage from near the open end is detached from the upper valve by a scraping movement of the knife, when the upper shell can be torn off, and the mussel be easily freed with the knife from the lower shell. It is a good bait for nearly all ground fish, and other kinds not unfrequently seize it. Mussels are found in most parts of the world.

THE LUG-WORM.

(Arenicola piscatorum.)

On many parts of the coast, in harbours, in coves, and between the rocks, you will frequently see small hillocks on the surface of the sand, and on close examination these will have the appearance of Worms, although composed of sand only; observe where the largest heaps are, and dig with a spade or three-pronged garden-fork, and you will find Worms four or five inches or more in length, and from the thickness of a swanquill to that of the top of your little finger. (Fig. 51.)

They are good bait for all fish which feed at the bottom, but must never be cut, as they are full of blood, and of a soft substance like eggs or small mustard seed, which runs out im

FIG. 51.-Lug-Worm.

mediately, leaving nothing but the empty skin, when the bait is of course spoiled. Be particular not to put in your box any pieces of this Worm, as they are not only useless as bait, but their blood will be sure to poison the rest. This bait should be used as soon after it is dug as possible, for it can rarely be kept after the second day. It shrinks up and becomes putrid. I have used it, whiffing for Pollack, baited as at p. 85, fig. 32.

THE RAG-WORM OR ROCK-WORM, ALSO CALLED THE

MUD-WORM.
(Nereis.)

Of this Worm it appears there are two varieties: one inhabiting mud-banks, and rarely exceeding the length of three inches; another, attaining the length of six or seven inches, and found under stones overlaying sand, clay, and gravel, also in the cracks of rocks, and sometimes hiding under the tail of the Soldier or Hermit Crab, which has its abode in a Whelk-shell.

Many a ragged little urchin gets a considerable part of his living by procuring these Worms, digging them out of the

greasy black mud at low water with his hands, and preserving them carefully in tray-like boxes 2 feet long by 1 broad, pitched at the seams to render them water-tight, in which boxes they are carefully tended with clean salt-water once or twice a day, and every particle of filth removed, together with such as may have been wounded in gathering, as their blood would kill the whole stock if allowed to remain.

When clean, these Worms are of flat form, as shown in fig. 21 (p. 68), and have a number of very short legs along their sides, giving them a serrated or saw-like appearance; they are almost always in motion, and are of a pale pink or salmon colour, some inclining to brown; all sea-fish, as well as Freshwater Eels, greedily devour them. They are sold at Plymouth in small measures about the size of an egg-cup, at id. a measure, and three or four pennyworth are generally sufficient for a day's fishing for Whiting-Pollack, and should be kept in a box of wood 2 inches deep, 1 foot in length, and 8 inches in breadth, having a cover, for if kept in a small box, heaped on each other, they soon die. Take care to place them in the shade, for if the sun shines on the cover of the box, they become sickly; also when you return from fishing, put them into a large box or tray, and never mix a fresh and stale lot together. Worms are worth taking care of, as they are a choice bait.

These

The larger Rag-Worms are found by digging in stony ground, overlaying clay, sand, or gravel, as before mentioned, and are to be kept in sand nearly dry, or in the leaves of the sea-lettuce, which is found plentifully in harbours and sheltered coves in the summer and autumn. Put them in a box with this weed, as between the leaves of a book, and they will live several days. If you have any broken pieces, place them in a box by themselves, and use them first, or, as before observed, they will poison the others. In Yorkshire it is known as the 'Thirsk.'

THE WHITE SAND-WORM.

(Nereis versicolor).

This Worm is found in oozy sand in bays and harbours, in soil to all appearance similar to that inhabited by the Lug, yet