Piers, however, are, as a rule, too shallow at low-water; but exceptionally long ones (e.g., Deal and Southend) are good at all times of the tide.

To the general rule that a rising tide is best for fishing, I have found an exception in all small fish, e.g., Smelts, Pout, and Chad. Perhaps they find it safer to wait till their enemies have gorged themselves throughout the flood.

Early morning and late evening are the best times for fishing, providing the tide suits; but for groundfishing for Bass, I believe midday to be the best time.

Fly-fishing for Pollack and Mullet may be practised from half-an-hour before sunset.

Night-fishing is almost a distinct sport; but it is usually too cold to angle, hand-lines being resorted to. Many fish change their locality during the night. Pollack, and even Gurnards, are taken on the sand near a reef of rocks; and Mackerel and Mullet, that during the day remain within a few feet of the top, may be caught within a foot of the bottom.

I will now proceed to the discussion of the finest six months of the year. It is impossible to adopt any hardand-fast division-the angler's calendar differs considerably from any other. Thus, the first half of May is the conclusion of winter fishing, while the latter half, together with June and July, forms the period during which surface-fishing is practised. I have, however, given each month separately, as the simple and more concise way of arranging it; but I must hope for some lenity should I be guilty of repetition, as it is no easy task to keep each month distinct.

CHAPTER VI.

MAY.

HIS month forms, as I have already remarked, a kind of link between winter and summer fishing.

Surface-fishing can hardly be said to belong to May at all, and at best only commences during the last week. This, however, varies during different years, according to the weather and temperature: in very warm, fine Mays, Bass (Fig. 39) have been taken at the

surface as early as the first week. The first three weeks of May may be said to conclude winter-fishing. Pegwell Bay affords a particularly good example of this. I have taken Cod and Codlings from Ramsgate in May, where they are never heard of a month later. For this sport

The hooks should be

the paternoster is the best tackle. rather small, as fish do not run large as yet, and I have never used either gaff or net till June or July. The best bait seem to be lugs and scalded mussels; a trot (Fig. 36) baited with the latter will take plenty of flat fish in a sandy neighbourhood.

Smelts are also taken in plenty in May. You will doubtless have noticed that the fishmongers' shops contain more baskets of Smelts just before Christmas than at any other time. But these are of course netted, and they are far more capricious at the hook than from May to August. As a general rule, Smelts are bolder, and consequently easier to catch, at harbour towns. Thus, at Plymouth and Lowestoft, they may be taken by dozens on a paternoster holding eight baited hooks, whereas at Bournemouth they would not look at such tackle.

66

I have reserved this special tackle for its proper place, under Bournemouth"; the other is easily made up: Take 3yds. of fine gut, and at every knot fasten a roach-hook (No. 15 fresh-water scale). The plummet should be pear-shaped, and about 2oz. in weight. The whole thing should be as light as possible, no metal or swivel of any kind being used. The rod should be an ordinary Roach rod (13ft.), very tapering and pliant. The winch, a small Nottingham one, should hold 12yds. of fine undressed cotton line. All this apparatus is of course meant to render Smelt-fishing an enjoyable sport: if you merely require numbers, the paternoster can be used on a fine hand-line, but a heavy rod would be useless.

There are many baits in use for Smelts: ragworm,

limpet, mussel, peeled raw shrimp, anemone, &c., and, perhaps best of all, a fragment of fresh smelt. A large ragworm will bait a dozen hooks: the smaller the bait, the greater your chance of success. Soft roe

of herring is also a good bait, but difficult to keep on the hook, unless first dried in the sun for a few minutes. Cut up the first catch for bait; a small piece of the transparent flesh is very deadly.

There are two species of Smelt: the real Smelt (East Coast), and the Atherine (Fig. 40), or Sand Smelt (South Coast). For flavour the former is undoubtedly superior,

but from a sporting point of view there is no difference. They haunt dock gates, mouths of drains, &c., and are always to be found round these places on a falling tide. Two more accessories will greatly add to the basket, viz., a landing-net and some ground-bait. The former, which should be of a small mesh, can be slipped under each Smelt as it leaves the water, for it is a very tender-mouthed fish, and frequently drops back. The ground-bait serves to keep the fish together, and to set them feeding. It must be varied according to the hook-bait, so as, if possible, to be slightly less attractive than the latter. A good general bait is made

of mussels crushed up, shells and all. The mixture should be moistened, and a handful thrown in on starting, and a little more whenever the fish cease to bite. If there be much tide, the bait must be lowered in a small net, and should be kept about 1ft. from the bottom, and to tideward of the line, so that the bait is washed out of it past the hooks. The paternoster should be kept in motion, rising a few feet and sinking again. This not only renders the bait more attractive to the Smelts, but also hooks many extra fish, whose tender bite would not otherwise be felt.

I believe Smelts spawn in May, but this need not deter the sportsman, as the Atherine, besides not being in particular esteem, is sufficiently numerous to prevent any fear of exhaustion by amateurs, though the evils of over-trawling can never be overrated.

As surface-fishing commences towards the end of May, it will perhaps be as well, though leaving any special fish till the following months, to give some general idea of this sport. There is some distinction in terms. Whiffing is the name given to the trailing of lightly-leaded lines behind a rowing-boat, while Railing includes the heavier methods which are practised in deeper water from sailing vessels. The general idea of whiffing is, I suppose, to present a line to the fish in the form of a bait trying to escape them, and it is generally so far successful in arousing in their scaly bosoms motives more sinister than hunger, that finer fish and greater numbers are taken by this means than by any other. The fish taken thus are Bass (at the surface), Pollack (mid-water and deeper), Mackerel (from surface to mid-water), and Gurnard (near the