In view of the lack of success in attracting local skipjack schools to 

 the stern of a vessel and holding them thei^ with the many materials and combina- 

 tions of materials which have been used, we may ask what quality of attraction ia 

 missing. The missing quality is probably motion— Ibe rapid motion of a living 

 fish or squid, or the rapid motion of a lure trolled through the water. It may be 

 that motion is a prerequisite to attraction by artificial lures. Other qualities 

 of likely importance are size, shape, appearance, texture, and taste of the lures. 



Imparting motion to a small object (say, 2 to 4 inches in length and 1/2 

 to 1 Inch in diameter) is a difficult although not impossible task. One method 

 is to use the energy of a chemical reaction and the principle of Jet propulsion. 

 Once a satisfactory "motor" has been devised, other problems concerning buoyancy, 

 shape, speed, nature and direction of movement, and fabrication of a self-propelled 

 lure may be tackled. In fabrication the problem of cost looms large, but may be 

 dismissed pending the development of successful experimental models. The problem 

 of making the lure attractive in appearance, texture, and taste does not seem to 

 offer such formidable difficulties as that of imparting motion* 



An investigation of methods of imparting motion to small objects is 

 presently underway. If a promising motile lure can be devised, it will be tested 

 on schools of skipjack at sea* 



LITERATURE CITED 



HSIAO, S. C, and A. L. TESTER 



1954. The reaction of tuna to stimuli, 1952-53. Part II. Observations on 

 the response of tuna to visual and visual-chemical stimuli. U. S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rpt. : Fish. No. 130. 



TESTER, A. L. 



1952. Establishing tuna and other pelagic fishes in ponds and tanks. U. S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rpt.: Fish. No. 71. 



TESTER, A. L. , et al. 



1952. Reaction of tuna and other fishes to stimuli. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Spec. Sci. Rpt.: Fish. No. 91* 



1954. The reaction of tuna to stimuli, 1952-53. The response of 



tuna to chemical stimuli. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. 

 Rpt.r Pish. No. 130. 



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