Huntsville gazette., 1886-02-06
FISHING FOR coNoERs.
A Rare Sport for Fearless Fishermen-Tho
Wolf of the Waves.

Wolf of the Waves.
For those who are hardy enough not
to dread nights exposure in an open
boat there are few finer sports than
conger-fshing off the coast of Devon
shire and Cornwall and all along the
edges of the English Channel There
are many ''old salts" scattered along
the coasts of the Mediterranean-and
even in these sober and unrOmantic
islands many such exist to this day
who are always ready to aver that a
big conger, when hauled up from the
rocky bed of the ocean and introduced
into boat, is in the habit Of opening
his gigantic mouth bristling with teeth,
OF making desperate onslaught upon
the first man that he spies, and of
barking like a dog. 1t has, indeed,
often been asserted that conger three
or four feet long, and weighing about
twenty or thirty pounds, is a truly
awkward customer to face when he is
drawn into boat. Alone of fishes, he
and his congeners of the eel tribe have
as much power of locomotion upon
land as they, have in the water, and no
sooner do they see human being near
them on the element to which they are
foreigners than they make up their
minds to ''go for him" without delay.
1t is probable that the captured conger
is prompted by nervousness rather than
by ferocity when he glides towards the
enemy, and the noise which issues
from his open jaws is attributable to
the escape of air from his swimming
bladders and not to his possession Of
barking powers, such as dogs are en-
dowed with.
The best way to pursue is to set
forth about five in the evening of a
still, soft October day, and to row out
to sea for distance of two OF three
miles, until the boat reaches the spot
where experienced guides know that
seven or eight fathoms below lie the
reefs and rocks in which the congers
reside. The first step is to set the
night-lines, which are attached to
corks floating on the surface. The
line is about the third of an inch in
thickness and has strands fastened to
it which are wrapped round with
waxed twine or cotton from the hooks
upward for two or three feet. 1t has
been found by experience that wrap
pings of this kind are preferable to
gimp as projections against the power
full jaws and sharp cutting teeth of the
sea-eel.
Having set the night-lines, the fisher
men next try their luck with hand-lines,
and for the first hour or two after dark
ness has fallen the fun is at its best.
Under these circumstances it is not un-
usual for huge conger to get the
hook firmly fixed in his jaw, and a
desperate struggle between him and
his captor then takes place. The
hooked fish gets his tail twined round
anything firm and solid that is within
reach, and snaps vigorously with his
jaws at the line, which is drawn tight
by the fisherman's strong arm. If the
tackle holds, which is not always the
case, the tussle ends in the capture of
the fish. Although he is by no means
SO formidable in reality as he seems in
appearance, no wise fisherman allows
him to wriggle about at the bottom of
the boat without instantly taking meas
ures to stun him.
Occasionally an inexperienced boy
will allow his wrist to get within reach
of the conger's gaping jaws, in which
case the bite inflicted upon the arm will
leave marks never to be effaced With
what purpose, however, it will be asked,
do amateurs quit their comfortable
beds and devote the nights to catching
a fish which resembles sea snake and
is almost worthless for human food?
The answer is that, as poetry is, ac-
cording to Coleridge, sits own exceed
ing great reward so the fun of tug
ging big conger up from the oceans
depth is sufficient compensation for a
nights exposure at sea. Nothing is
more inexplicable and mysterious in
the cookery of the ancient Romans
than their extraordinary partiality for
the ''mur@na," or see eel. In the days
of the Roman Empire enormous sums
were expended by wealthy gourmets
in keeping up the artificial fish ponds
where this dainty fish-as they regarded
twas inclosed. There is we'll
known story that among the Romans
the ''mur9na" was considered to be
most delicate of flavor if it had been
fed upon human food. A rich freedman
named Pollion was said to be in the
habit of giving orders that such of his
slaves as he thought deserving of death
should be thrown into the stews or
fish ponds where his eels were kept.
On one occasion slave belonging to
Pollion had the misfortune to break a
valuable vase, upon which his cruel
master ordered him to be ''dung to the
eels." 1t chanced, however, that tho
Emperor Augustus was one of Pollion's
guests, and he not only reversed the
tyrant's order, but commanded the at
tendants to break every vase in his
hosts mansion. 1t is impossible for
modern fishers of the conger to pretend
that it is palatable. Despite the vague
rumor that the oleaginous and strong
Favored flesh of the sea eel is largely
used as the substratum Of turtle soup,
those who occasionally pass asnight in
catching him would do well to abstain
from all attempts to dress him for the
table - T0u1o7a Telenrosb