FISHING THE PACIFIC 



fish at depths of from 30 to 60 fathoms, depending on the 

 time of year. The bait is a dead "opelu," which is similar to a 

 blue runner and the hook is of large size and without a barb- 

 particularly deadly when the tuna or marlin swallows the 

 bait, which they do very readily when hooked from the flag 

 lines. When a big fish is hooked he pulls the flag down and 

 the pole falls over or else the large glass ball disappears and it 

 is then an easy matter for the fisherman in the sampam who 

 is tending the flag line to cruise over and haul in the catch. 

 When the fish is brought to the surface and pulled alongside 

 he is hit on the head with an instrument called a Japanese 

 fish-killer, which looks Uke the half of a pickax. The rod-and- 

 reel fisherman who tries this drifting method has little or no 

 chance, however, for at best he can put out only about five 

 baits. The flag lines, by contrast, have about i o baits between 

 each flag. 



As all fishermen among the islands refer to fish by their 

 native names I am listing some of the more prominent species 

 with their native Hawaiian equivalent: 



