Whitebait

“ The mother, who has a contract with some such big restaurateur as ours, chooses a convenient area of moonlight, and then at a given sign they all turn over on their sides, and bask and bask in the rays, little fin pressed lovingly against little fin—for this is the happiest time in the young whitebait's life: it is at these silvering parties that matches are made and future consignments of whitebait arranged for. ”

“ Sardines are more valuable than their adult form, the pilchard; whitebait, mainly composed of young sprats, with from 1 to 20 per cent. of young herrings, fetch more in the market than the parent form; and so long as the adults exist in sufficient number to keep up the stock of fry, sardine and whitebait fishing is perfectly legitimate.
But, assuming impoverishment from one or other or all of the causes enumerated, we should ask what steps can be taken to check it, especially as regards the more valuable flat-fish. It is at this stage that scientific knowledge becomes particularly important. ”

“ And though it may be said that other countries produce the freckle-backed salmon and the dark broad-shouldered turbot; though trout frequent many a stream besides those of England, and lobsters sprawl on other sands than ours; yet, let it be remembered, that our native country possesses these altogether, while other lands only know them separately; that, above all, whitebait is peculiarly our country's—our city's own! Blessings and eternal praises be on it, and, of course, on brown bread and butter! ”

“ The whitebait is a peculiarly delicious fish, and not an expensive one, for as it is very light, a pound will go a long way; it is sprinkled with flour and fried in a wire basket in deep fat and served with a bit of lemon and thin strips of brown bread. Smelts or small pan fish may be substituted for it, if it is not in one's market. Only the white meat of the chicken is to be used on the table in the next course, with a white sauce with oysters in it. ”

“ Fish in great variety are caught by the natives in traps and nets, and by hooks and spearing. Whitebait fishing affords occupation to many men38 in the cataract regions. By day they sit on the rocks waiting for the gleam of a shoal; and when one appears, in an instant they have divested themselves of their scanty clothes, and rush into the strong shallow water with their nets—not unlike a shrimper’s net—each one a little beyond the other, and often are well rewarded for their trouble. Their take is then dried in the sun and sold in the market. ”

“ But good Lack! to see the Fulness of the Place, every Table almost crowded with eager Eaters, and Heaps of Whitebait among them, and they with open Mouths and Eyes shovelling Spoonful after Spoonful into their Plates and thence thrusting them five or six at a Time into their Chaps. ”

“ Percy had himself succeeded in casting copper in this way, with results the same as seen in the Japanese metal.
Whitebait, a favorite fish among British epicures, has made its appearance in the bay of New York. Mr. Eugene Blackford, of Fulton Market, is satisfied of the identity of the fish caught here with the English whitebait. Only a few specimens have been found as yet, but a full supply is anticipated when the proper nets are procured, and shoals of the fish are discovered. ”

“ Women carry small fine casting-nets in the hand, and throw them so dexterously as often to enclose a whole shoal of little fishes; some kinds are no bigger than whitebait. For larger fish, akin to herrings and salmon, various nets are made of different fibres, such as the hybiscus, banyan, or pandanus bark or flax, the two latter being the strongest and most durable. Sometimes two nets are thrown at the same time—an inner net with fine mesh, and an outer one much coarser—to resist any larger fish which might break through the inner one. ”

“ In times past whitebait were considered to be peculiar to the estuary of the Thames; and, even after the specific identification of Thames whitebait with the young of the herring and sprat, it was still thought that there was a distinctive superiority in its condition and flavour. It is possible that the young fish find in the estuary of the Thames a larger amount of suitable food than on other parts of the coast, where the water may be of greater purity, but possesses less abundance of the minute animal life on which whitebait thrive. ”

“ Rub all carefully through a sieve, then pour it into a stewpan with the flesh from the claws torn into flakes, add a teaspoonful of the essence of anchovies, a teaspoonful of arrowroot dissolved in a little milk, and a few drops of cochineal to deepen the colour. At the last moment, before serving, after the soup has boiled up once, add a small cupful of hot cream.
Devilled Whitebait.—To fry whitebait a good depth of clear frying fat is needed, and a frying basket in which the fish can all be plunged into the fat at once. ”

“ Whitebait "are esteemed very delicious when fried with fine flour, and occasion during the season a vast resort of the lower order of epicures to the taverns contiguous to the places where they are taken." If this account be correct, there must have been a strange change in the grade of the epicures frequenting Greenwich and Blackwall since Pennant's days; for at present, the fashion of eating Whitebait is sanctioned by the highest authorities, from the Court of St. ”

“ In fishing for the whiting the amateur should use a hand-line about twice as stout as very thick twine, and with two hooks (not over large these latter, as the whiting has not a very large mouth) . Bait one hook with a worm and the other with a “white” bait, to give the fish a choice, as they are fastidious, and it is curious that on some days you will find they will take the one persistently when they will not look at the other. By a white bait I mean a piece of sprat or herring. The white bait takes best when the sea is thick and disturbed, as its glitter is seen by the whiting far off. ”

“ Bruce advised him, “dress this fish right away, and use its fins for bait and see what will happen.”
It has often been claimed that fish do not know one kind of bait from another, and that they will strike at anything that moves or is conspicuously colored. To a great extent that is true of such voracious fish as the pickerel, but rainbow trout are perhaps the most intelligent of all fresh-water fish. They may bite at times on a piece of cloth or on bacon or pork-rind; but the man who uses flies, worms, minnows, fins, or other parts of a fish for bait will catch more trout. ”

“ Of the different varieties of artificial bait, not of course including the artificial fly, the most general and successful is Buel’s Spoon; it is taken by all the pickerel, from the monstrous mascallonge to the tiny native of Long Island; by the trout of lake or brook; by the black-bass of the North and South, and by the young blue-fish of the salt water; it is generally a greater favorite than the artificial, and sometimes even than the natural bait; with black-bass it has no competitor but the fly, and with sea-trout{278} it occasionally surpasses the artificial fly itself. ”

“ They do not seem, except on rare occasions, to take the artificial fly, but with bait not only furnish pleasant sport for ladies, but an admirable dish for the table.
The lake herring is found in many of the extensive waters of the West, but being smaller than the white-fish, is overshadowed by the reputation of the latter. It is a pretty fish, bites freely and plays well, but having to contend in delicacy against the white-fish, and in vigor against the trout, it does not receive the attention it deserves. ”

“ By dead bait is meant bits of pork, fresh beef, or even other fish cut up into tempting morsels for "skittering"; that is, where you cast your line with a sinker, and then haul it in over the water, usually by lifting the pole, walking back, or reeling in; a dead frog or a dead fish is just as good as a live one.
Boys, as a rule, prefer to fish with bait, leaving artificial flies to the seniors. Any small live creature will answer for bait; even mice have been used with good effect, and cheese, if it can be kept on the hook, is eagerly swallowed, in bottom fishing, by carp and catfish. ”

“ He takes the fly, not because it looks like an edible insect, for nine times out of ten it doesn't, but because it's pretty and he wants to know what it is. When he has found out, you give him a fair run for his money and bring him to basket with nothing more than a pin-prick in his lip. But what does the bait-fisher do? He deceives the trout into thinking that a certain worm or grub or minnow is wholesome, nourishing, digestible, fit to be swallowed. ”

“ At this time the trout are pretty evenly distributed along lake shores and streams, choosing to lie quietly in rather deep pools and avoiding swift water. A few may rise to the fly in a logy, indifferent way; but the best way to take them is bait-fishing with well-cleansed angle-worms or white grubs, the latter being the best bait I have ever tried. They take the bait sluggishly at this season, but, on feeling the hook, wake up to their normal activity and fight gamely to the last. ”

“ It seems to me that in spinning for pike the very reverse holds good to the ascertained facts of live-baiting. In the latter form of fishing you must have large baits to catch large fish. Mr. Jardine’s 37-pounder was caught with a 1⁄2-lb. roach. Some anglers—Mr. Pennell is one—use and recommend jack up to 2 lb. as lively bait for their big brothers and parents, but in spinning you must use a small bait. If it is a spoon, or an imitation fish, anything over three inches and a half is a waste of money and a menace to good results. Pickled dace or roach should never exceed five inches. ”

“ As for bait, flying-fish is good, but I will tell you a secret. Above all other food, the mahimahi loves the lobster! Take with you the white meat from the tails of the lobsters, and when your canoe is close to the birds throw this bait into the water directly under them. Then watch closely and you will see the dolphin dart up from the depths like a living flame! Let your baited hook sink slowly and presently a fish will seize it, but you must handle him gently, for he is very swift and strong. If one is taken, the others will stay about the canoe, and you will catch them all. ”

“ The thin tentacles or arms are very convenient for baiting small hooks, though other parts of the body, cut into narrow strips, will serve the purpose of the angler equally well.
Of the crustaceans, shrimps and prawns, and various species of crabs are used as bait. Shrimps and prawns are used whole for catching flat-fish, but small pieces are better when fishing for smelt and other small species of fish that swim close to shore. Little pieces of the flesh of the crab are also well adapted for baiting hooks of small size, and will prove very attractive to almost all kinds of fish. ”

“ It is chiefly by the judicious use of ground baits, and by fishing at a proper depth, that one angler is more successful than another, although fishing with the same baits and within a few yards of each other. If a place can be ground baited frequently fish begin to come there regularly for food. Care must be taken not to glut the fish, and the bait upon the hook ought to be more attractive than the bait flung into the stream. The ground bait most in use includes bran mixed with clay, and made into balls of about the size of a pigeon’s egg. ”

“ The noblest of fish, the mighty salmon, refuses bait utterly, and only with the most artistic tackle and the greatest skill can he be taken; the trout, which ranks second to the salmon, demands an almost equal perfection of bait, and in his true season, the genial days of spring and summer, scorns every allurement but the tempting fly. The black bass prefers the fly, but will take the trolling spoon, and even bait, at all seasons ”

“ Probably the best live-bait of all for thick or clouded water is a medium-sized dace, as its scales are peculiarly brilliant, and the fish itself by no means easily killed. In case of waters in which the pike are over-fed, I should recommend my readers to try them with live gold-fish.... If gold-fish are not forthcoming, small carp form a very killing and long-lived bait. The bait should not be left too long in one place, but be kept gently moving. ”

“ The dolphin, the bonito, and the albacore, are sometimes caught with the grains, but generally by means of lines baited either with bits of tin, or with pieces of the flying-fish, when any are to be had. In fine weather, especially between the tropics, when the whole surface of the sea is often covered with them, a dozen lines are hung from the jib-boom end and spritsail yard, all so arranged, that when the ship sends forward, the hook, with its glittering bait, barely touches the water, but rises from it when the ship is raised up by the swell. ”

“ Beginning with the angleworm, or common earthworm—the larvæ of insects, grubs, artificial flies, grasshoppers, etc., the list of available bait may be extended to various kinds of animal and fish flesh, as well as the numerous pastes common with the fishermen of Europe. To be effective, the hook must be concealed by the bait as far as possible. The only net used by the genuine sportsman is the landing net, by which the fish is taken out of the water after it has been brought to shore or boat by the hook and line. ”