FISHING THE PACIFIC 



not many of the marlin average over the 200-pound mark, 

 the man trying to catch one on 9-thread Hne should not 

 worry unduly. 



A fifteen- or twenty-foot leader should be long enough 

 and a 9/0 or lo/o hook large enough. The bait is usually 

 rigged in the same fashion that obtains off CataHna, the hook 

 being put through the lips. The San Diego Marlin Club, 

 organized in 1934, has put into effect most of the tackle 

 regulations that are so religiously observed at the Catalina 

 Tuna Club. This organization also offers attractive prizes for 

 the largest of numerous varieties of fish taken each season. 

 When the marhn are running off San Diego many private 

 boats from Catalina are found fishing this area. There have 

 been some stellar years for taking marlin since the war. 



There are also great quantities of bonito sharks in these 

 waters. The bonito shark is the California name for the 

 famous mako. Most of them are very small and are inclined 

 to act more sluggish than they do in other waters. They 

 usually come out on the bait with a fancy jump and make 

 two or three more for good measure before being boated. 

 They prove of interest to any angler catching one for the 

 first time since they are the worst actors and the most dan- 

 gerous of all sharks or fish to handle in a boat. They must be 

 constantly watched when brought into the cockpit because 

 they die slowly— even after they've been conked on their 

 streamlined noses with a heavy persuader. I once met two 

 natives of San Diego who had had engagements with them 

 one summer. One man had seven stitches in his leg and told 

 me he considered he had been lucky; the other still had a 

 bandaged hand. He had been trying to cut the leader wire 



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