Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1882 — Cod Fish Bait. [ARTICLE]

Cod Fish Bait.

The bait used for cod fishing is the squid. It is, says a Newfoundland correspondent, a smaller edition of the huge devil fish, or octopus, wonderful specimens of which have of late years been found on the Newfoundland Coast. The squid, take him concretely, is a .revolting looking creature. But a section, say ten inches long, from a common eel, transform its flesh into a tough jelly, give it a cruciform tail at one.end and eight short sucker-armed feelers at she other, conceive the suckers, each armed with a circle of small teeth, and the feelers converging to a cruel, hawklike beak—then we shall have a weak likeness of the squid. The creature’s mode of progression is original. It lias within its body an elastic suction tube by drawing water through holes in its mantle, the squid, by a sudden squirt, drives itself backward as fast as a fish can swim, and by inverting its tube caw move with equal velocity in an opposite direction. Jigging for these squids in a rare spectacle. The “jigger” is a red stick of wood, circled with sharp but barbies hooks. The hook is let down, the squid, which enters the Newfoundland bays by myriads for food, is attracted by the red -color, clasps its arms over the hooks, and is drawn up to its death. But as it. reiclies the surface the novice must be on guard, for the squid shoots straight at its captor his charge of water, followed by another squirt of an inky fluid, which on light garments is almost indelible. The fishermen know the creature’s trick, and by a skillful movement induce the squid to deliver, his charges, upon one side, then by a quick invertion of the hook drop the squid in the boat. A squid fishing fleet of boats, closely grouped, so as to keep the schools of young octopi collected, is an animated sight. Each ’man tends three or four lines, and has all lie can do when squid are around. The bustle of the fishers, the thumping of the squid in the boats, and the incessant squirts of water to a bight of several feet in all directions through the fleet, make up a- most picturesque sea spectacle. The flesh of the squid has some poisonous quality that makes even, the tough skins of the fishermen sore by long handling. . On the codfish lioolr it's flesh grows white and tough, making, very alluring bait.