FISHING THE PACIFIC 



I must say it is disconcerting to have this cessation of activity- 

 follow each run. In this event I would give him about 400 

 feet from the initial strike. There is a great deal less danger 

 in giving too much line than not enough and that goes for 

 all the billfish. 



Another thing to remember is that after the strike, when 

 the boat has been gunned ahead, you must not turn on the 

 fish too quickly in an effort to get back line. If you do, the 

 belly of the line in the water may pull the hook out— so keep 

 the boat on a straight course without speeding her up in 

 order to help you in setting the hook— until you feel confident 

 that it is safe to run the fish down and recover your line. 



This is twice as important in the case of broadbill as it is 

 with marlin, although it is vitally important when you're fish- 

 ing for black marlin and absolutely essential when big tuna 

 are your game. 



Many an angler has had a broadbill hooked for an hour or 

 longer and hence thought the fish would never get off, only 

 to have him break away without leaving a mark on the bait. 

 The fish has simply had his jaws clamped down on the bait 

 and been swimming around playing with it just as a dog 

 would play with a bone in his mouth. Swordfish can also get 

 rid of a bait by ejecting it through their gills. 



Tuker has had them hooked in the side well back of the 

 dorsal fins with the leader out through the gills. Like the 

 marlin, swordfish will on occasion vomit everything in their 

 bellies if hooked in the mouth, throat or stomach— and 

 when hooked in the stomach they may even eject this vital 

 organ itself. When line is being slacked back to a swordfish, 

 if he appears quietly on the surface just finning out, do noth- 



26 



