FISHING TACKLE AND COMMENTS 



poon the tuna. The yacht was about a hundred feet overall, 

 the lookouts were aloft and the striker never left the pulpit. 

 If I had been aboard my own boat and had a radio telephone 

 I certainly would have tried to raise this fellow. 



Fortunately for them, Pacific coast rod-and-reel anglers 

 have never been, and never will be, harassed by this type of 

 harpooning. Except for commercial interests, no one in fish- 

 ing circles where there is broadbill and marlin fishing would 

 ever dream of doing it. The Catalina Tuna Club even asks its 

 members not to rig pulpits on their boats and it would be 

 unthinkable to have a harpoon pole or dart aboard. I have no 

 objection to pulpits since they make a good lookout and are 

 sometimes handy for picking up buoys and moorings, but it 

 is the harpoon and dart that I don't like. If you don't carry a 

 harpoon lashed to your pulpit no commercial fisherman will 

 ever bother you. Having it ready and waiting is visible evi- 

 dence that you are a harpooner and he has every right to get 

 in ahead of you and beat you to the fish if he possibly can. 

 I have never allowed a harpoon to be rigged on the striker's 

 stand and I have fished close aboard every kind of commer- 

 cial boat without ever having any trouble with their skippers. 

 On the contrary, these fine hard-working men have often 

 called me over and let me bait fish that they could have har- 

 pooned. Of course a great many big blue marlin have been 

 harpooned in the North Atlantic without even an attempt 

 being made to bait them. 



Some acquaintances of mine have said, "Have you ever 

 harpooned a fish? If you had the experience you might enjoy 

 it." Well, I have harpooned one swordfish in my life and that 

 was from a commercial boat in 1926. I have harpooned 



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