86 ALBACORA 



The two men aboard the commercial boat bent over 

 the side and began working to free the fish. "No," Cap- 

 tain Clint shouted. "Don't touch our line." But the men 

 did not hear Clint's cry. They freed the fish easily and 

 all the excitement came to an end. Lou subdued the tir- 

 ing tuna in a matter of minutes but as a sporting catch 

 the fish was without value. Under the international rules 

 of game fishing, no one other than the fisherman him- 

 self may touch the equipment during the course of the 

 action. The bluefin tuna weighed 577 and was the first 

 giant Lou had ever caught. He was not Bosco and he 

 did not count as a catch, but he did infect me with the 

 fishing fever. 



The next day we tried again, and this time it was I 

 who nabbed the big one. After fighting for two hours 

 and showing more fishing sense than I had imagined I 

 had, we boated a 430-pounder. I was a sorry sight, with 

 matted hair and a broken rib caused by the shoulder 

 harness that we used in those days. But I had my fish! 

 The State of New Jersey arranged for my fish to be 

 mounted and soon began using it to attract tourists. It 

 was the first giant tuna landed by a woman off the coast 

 of the United States. "See," men in the state Chamber 

 of Commerce proclaimed proudly, "this is what a little 

 woman caught. Can you imagine what a man can do, 

 fishing off the Jersey shore?" 



Catching that first tuna was only the beginning of a 

 long fishing career which led ultimately to our search 

 for the giant sword fish. 



