FISHING THE PACIFIC 



boldt. It can usually be located— in fact it ?nust be— for by 

 all odds it's the fishiest water that you will find off Chile. 

 At Iquique I should say it would be found, other things 

 being equal, from fifteen to eighteen miles off shore. Some- 

 times you might have to go twenty or twenty-five, other 

 times possibly only twelve or fourteen if the Humboldt was 

 running close inshore and there was a variation in its edge. 

 It is very difficult to bait fish and get strikes in the dirty 

 water and so it is highly important that you find the clear 

 water, just as it is in many other fishing areas. I believe the 

 swordfish and striped marlin running here come in from off- 

 shore in the equatorial currents, possibly turning and going 

 out again. They work up the coast into Peruvian waters but 

 not too far— and while of course I can't be sure, my guess is 

 that there is no connection between the Chilean fish and 

 those found off northern Peru. The reason you don't find the 

 black marlin off Chile is that the water is probably too cold 

 there for this species most of the time. 



When fishing out of Iquique you always have the moun- 

 tains back of the port in view, and it is a simple matter to 

 find the way to and from the harbor. There is also a great 

 deal of shipping coming and going and the commercial fleets 

 are constantly in evidence. 



The charter boats are equipped with radiotelephone, pow- 

 ered with Chrysler marine motors, are 40 feet in length with 

 a 1 2 -foot beam, and very seaworthy. 



In Pacific Game Fishing, published in 1942, I included 

 a paragraph that said that my own feeling was that I would 

 rather catch one broadbill swordfish than five black marlin, 

 ten blue or silver marlin, twenty giant bluefin tuna, twenty- 



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