Sea Fishing - For the Beginner

Drift-Liner'

Description

This early work is a fascinating read for any fisherman containing much information and anecdote that is still useful and practical today. Contents Include: Introduction; The Outfit; Bottom Feeding Fish, Etc.; The Cod, The Whiting, Pouting, The Haddock, The Hake, The Plaice, The Dab, The Flounder, Skate, The Conger, The Gurnards, The Common Bream, The Black Bream, Wrasse; Sporting Fish: The Bass, The Pollack, The Coalfish, Grey Mullet, Mackerel, The Tope; and Where and When to Fish. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Sujets

• Sport
• Autour du sport
• Histoire du sport
• Autres sports
• Sports de plein air
• Sports
• Fishing
• Recreation

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781473395121
• Langue: English

Extrait

SEA FISHING
FOR THE BEGINNER
BY
DRIFT-LINER
With Twelve Illustrations
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Introduction to Sea Fishing
Fishing is an incredibly ancient practice that dates back to at least the beginning of the Paleolithinc period, about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish. Archaeological features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at Lepenski Vir (an important Mesolithic archaeological site located in Serbia in the central Balkan peninsula), they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.
Perhaps the earliest wide scale evidence of our employment of sea fishing in particular, comes from the ancient Greeks. Seafood played a central role in the food culture of Greeks, though fishing scenes are rarely represented in their art, a reflection of the low social status of the occupation. Oppian of Corycus, a well-known Greek author, wrote a major treatise on sea fishing; the Halieulica or Halieutika , composed between 177 and 180. This is the earliest such work to have survived to the modern day. The Romans were also frequent sea-fishers, and the main evidence of this practice in their society comes from surviving mosaics. The Roman god of the sea, Neptune, is a figure which lives on in fishing folklore even today. Fish was an integral part of early civilisations protein sources, and the Moche people of ancient Peru showed this importance by frequently depicting sea-fishermen on their beautiful ceramics.
When fishing from a boat, or fishing vessel, almost any fishing technique can be used, from nets to fish traps, but some form of angling is by far the most common. Compared to fishing from the land, fishing from a boat allows more access to different fishing grounds and different species of fish. Offshore game fish, like marlin and tuna, can be very large and heavy tackle is needed. Such fishing is usually done with sea rods, such as downtide rods, with lines of 30 to 50 pounds and multiplier reels. Baits are the same as for inshore fishing and include squid and whole mackerel as well as artificial lures such as perks. Fishing takes place over reefs and wrecks for very large cod, ling and congers. Inshore boat fishing is fishing from a boat in easy sight of land and in water less than about 30 metres deep, whereas, predictably, offshore boat fishing , sometimes called deep sea or open water fishing, is fishing in deep water and at some distance from land. Sea fishing is incredibly dangerous when compared to its shallow water counterpart, as much more in-depth knowledge is needed about weather patterns, navigation and safety precautions. It is generally not seen as an activity for beginners.
Offshore boats are generally much larger than inshore boats, and may need to be moored in a marina. They are sturdily constructed so they can brave the weather and water conditions encountered in open waters, which normally means that they are expensive to build and maintain. Most offshore recreational fishermen charter boats rather than own them. In contrast to the humble origins of fishing in Greek civilisation, recreational-sea fishing is often a pastime of the affluent, and there is a demand for charter boats luxuriously equipped and catered for. Commercial sea-fishing is an entirely different affair however, and those who practice it must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions. Commercial fishermen harvest almost all aquatic species, from tuna, cod and salmon to shrimp, krill, lobster, clams, squid and crab, in various fisheries for these species.
Commercial fishing methods have become very efficient using large nets and sea-going processing factories. As a result of this increasing proficiency, it has become necessary for governments and international bodies to protect dwindling fish stocks, and sustainable methods of fishing are enforced by many countries. Issues involved in the long term sustainability of fishing include overfishing, by-catch, marine pollution, environmental effects of fishing, climate change and fish farming. Individual fishing quotas and international treaties seek to control the species and quantities caught. Commercial fishing enterprises may vary from one man with a small boat, with hand-casting nets or a few pot traps, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish every day. Similar to other environmental issues, there can be conflict between the fishermen (individual or corporate) who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, and fishery scientists who realise that if future fish populations are to be sustainable then some fisheries must limit fishing or cease operations. How sea fishing will be practiced in the future, is as yet uncertain.
CONTENTS
I NTRODUCTION
I. T HE O UTFIT
II. B OTTOM F EEDING F ISH , E TC .:
The Cod
The Whiting
Pouting
The Haddock
The Hake
The Plaice
The Dab
The Flounder
Skate
The Conger
The Gurnards
The Common Bream
The Black Bream
Wrasse
III. S PORTING F ISH :
The Bass
The Pollack
The Coalfish
Grey Mullet
Mackerel
The Tope
IV. W HERE AND W HEN TO F ISH
INTRODUCTION
T HE institution and rise of sea angling may be said to date from 1893, when a meeting of enthusiastic anglers, amongst whom should be mentioned F. G. Aflalo, and John Bickerdyke, was held in London, with a view to the founding of a Society to adopt the rod and line, as used for the taking of fresh-water fish, for sea fishing, in place of the heavy handline and weights of the professional fishermen, who naturally used the tackle that would take as large a number of food fish as was possible in the shortest time.
The foundation of the British Sea Anglers Society, in the year mentioned, attracted a large number of anglers who saw the possibilities of a wider range for their sport under novel conditions, and their experiences have called for the adoption of rods and tackle suitable for the different classes of fish to be found in our seas.
The discovery of the sporting qualities of some of the marine fishes may also be said to date from the same year: to-day the bass, pollack, coalfish, mackerel, black bream, and others coming under the heading of sporting fish, are taken with highly specialised rods and tackle under sporting conditions unknown to those who had looked upon sea fishing as a day s amusement on the sea, during a summer holiday; and a fascinating sport is now governed and regulated by the hundreds of angling societies and clubs on all our coasts.
The present handbook is intended for those readers who wish to be initiated into the art of taking our marine fish in a sporting manner. When they have gained experience, there are several excellent books already published for their guidance, and these should be studied by the angler who wishes to specialise in the various types of fishing that make the sport so attractive.
It may be added that of all sports sea angling is the most healthy and beneficial to the business or professional man. The brainworker who finds no attraction in a holiday at a seaside resort, with its so-called amusements, its noise and crowds, its idleness and monotony, will exchange these for the health-giving and bracing life on the sea, its perfect relaxation, and the entire change of occupation which is so beneficial to the jaded mind, to which may be added, if desired, the healthful exercise of rowing or sailing the boat.
Under such conditions the sensation of boundless freedom on the open sea, the ever-changing moods of the ocean, the movement from place to place, and the pleasurable excitement of the sport add a new restorative zest to life which sea angling alone can give.
The sea angler will, in all probability, make his first attempts when on his summer holiday, and unless he is under the guidance of an experienced friend, will put himself in the hands of a professional fisherman, who should take him out to the marks known to these men; he