PERU 



big fish only about 300 yards off the Cabo Blanco clubhouse, 

 but he wouldn't strike. 



At one o'clock that day, after an hour's battle, I boated an 

 86 5 -pound black marlin. My lucky streak was still holding. 

 I had taken four in four straight days. This fish pleased me 

 particularly because it gave me three different species weigh- 

 ing over 800 pounds each. My broadbill swordfish taken in 

 Chile in June 1941, my 830-pound tuna taken in Nova Scotia 

 (Wedgeport) in September 1945, and now this third speci- 

 men. I was the only man to have taken two species weighing 

 over 800 pounds and I now had three— a sequence that pleased 

 me enormously. My friends insisted on attributing my good 

 fortune to my return visit to the church, and I must say 

 that I was inclined to agree with them. 



Next morning at ten o'clock I sighted a fine fish of about 

 900 pounds and got a good strike but did not hook it. This 

 was the only black marlin strike I have had off Cabo Blanco 

 that I have not hooked. This was the only fish I saw that day. 

 The following two days I baited two more without a strike 

 and on the next saw another that refused to strike. These 

 fish were'all between 650 and 800 pounds, as near as we could 

 estimate. 



The next couple of days I saw nothing— so naturally I went 

 back to that same church Sunday morning. This time I 

 listened to my first sermon in Spanish. You can imagine how 

 much I got out of it, but I did put five extra soles, a total of 

 ten, in the plate, and came up to go fishing. I was fortunate 

 in having Tom Bates as a companion on this occasion. 



Around eleven o'clock we saw a fish but before I could 

 let out line and bait the proper distance (since I was still 



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