Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-01-16

sss men, occasionally
- going out with
them in their smacks for a whole
night, and making myself acquainted
with all their operations.
heard wonderful yarns of sharks,
whales, porpoises, dog-fsh, and other
denizens of the deep which they had
met with i'll the course of their busi-
ness, but was particularly struck with
their report of the great congers which
were to be found in the Bristol Chan
mel. The two accounts of their size,
strength, and ferocity excited my in
terest so much that | became very
anxious to meet and try conclusions
with one of these monsters.
With this object in view / applied
myself more particularly to conger
fishering, and gathered all the infor-
nation 1 could on the subject. For
some weeks had varying success; 1
caught variety of fish and few con-
gers of good size, up to twenty pound
in weight, but the giants was hoping
| for did not visit me. Those of lesser
size and other kinds of fish being go
much more numerous, the bats fell
to their share before the rare monsters
came nigh, and / saw that I must de-
wise some fresh method of batting, or
might go fishing indefinitely with
out accomplishing my purpose,
What wanted was bait not very
tempting to the maioriy of fish, but
which big, omnivorous conger would
not refuse, and also too large for the
smaller eel to swallow entire This
might lie long unmeddled with by the
common crowd of the deeps, and thus
give an opportunity for one of the
great eels to come within range Of its
attractions. / might have to wait
long, but / did not mind that, and
could occupy myself meanwhile by
ordinary fishing.
Having talked the subject over with
my fishing friends, various suggestions
were made for feasible bats, when one
more promising than the rest was un
expectedly presented to me. One o
the fishermen called at my lodgings
and, upon my appearing, he pulled
two dead sucking pigs from under hi
arm, wrapped in paper.
':Them's the bait ash do it, sir,
believe" said he. "They's only q
week old, and was overlaid by the SOW
last night. My neighbor as owns he
chucked 'em away, but as soon as
spotted 'em, l says to myself That
the bait as the gentleman wants; it'll
do the job if anything will, I'll gut un
and stuff um wi herrin'; they'll wan
that"
I thought the idea good one, AM
resolved to try them without delay
and made an arrangement with tn
man to go out fishing the sam,
night. l had also an idea of my own
which thought might increase ou
chances of success. This was to in
troduce something like the fresh
water anglers plan of ground batting
into my sea fishing. | accordingl,
procured an old sack, got it filled will
fresh fish garbage and beach stones
and proposed to sink it at our fishing
place.
The smell was sufficiently pro
nounced, and as water conveys tn,
scent OF anything WITHIN tYery readily
when there is current, and as eel
have good noses, [ expected the tide
dow would advertise its whereabouts
to congers afar of, and they would b,
sure to follow it up and come within
range of my lines, without being abb,
to glut themselves. unless they swal
lowed the sack whole. Congers, lik,
fresh-water eels, being chiefly noctur
nal, We purposed fishing all night, bu
it being midsummer, we should hav
daylight most Of the time.
We had all aboard an open rowing
boat by the evening. The fisherman
! his boy, and myself went Off for a bank
or elevation of the bottom, about
mile from the shore, where there wa
, about seven or eight fathoms of watel
at high tide. Having sunk our sacl
by rope, so as to know its exac
whereabouts, l baited my conger lin
, and let it lie near the sack. L hat
about sixty yards of good strong line
with double gorge-hook of large siz
fastened on to thin zinc chain abou
one foot six inches long. for the COZ