ites MiERIC AN ANGLER. 
Vol. 25. 
MARCH, 1895. 
No. 3 
THES YER LOW WAT AN BeDHit. JEW FISH.* 
CHARLES FREDERICK HOLDER. 
To the lover of rod and reel fishing 
of the East, whose experience is bound- 
ed by catches of black bass and trout 
alone, the game fishes of insular Cali- 
fornia come as a revelation. There is 
good fishing along the shore of the 
mainland, but owing to the rocky na- 
ture of Santa Catalina and San Clem- 
ente, and the smooth harbors found 
there, these islands have become known 
as the best fishing grounds in southern 
waters. Santa Catalina, the eastern 
reader knows, is within three hours and 
ahalf of Los Angeles, and reached by 
the boatsof the Wilmington Transpor- 
tation Company. Once on the ground, 
there are good boats and oarsmen; the 
test, the wielding of the rod, is left for 
you. Inthe limited space allowed me, I 
can but refer tothe game qualities of two 
fishes—the black sea bass, or jew fish 
(Stereolepsis figas), and the amber fish, 
or yellow tail (Serzola drrealts). The 
white sea bass, rock bass, barracuda 
and others also deserve the attention 
of lovers of good sport. Everybody 
knows the jew fish—a monster of the 

* Weare indebted to the editor of 7he Land of Sun- 
shine, Los Angeles, Cal., for the privilege of giving Mr. 
Holder’s description of angling for the black sea bass 
and the yellow tail in Pacific coast waters. 
bass tribe, from four to six or more feet 
in length, and weighing from seventy- 
five to seven hundred pounds, the latter 
being the largest I have heard of in 
these waters. During the recent sum- 
mer H. Slotterbeck, of Los Angeles, 
presented my friend Major Charles 
Viele with a fourteen ounce split bam- 
boo rod, a 400 foot No. 18 Cuttyhunk 
line and a reel, with the assurance that 
he could safely tackle a jew fish with 
such an outfit. The suggestion gave 
rise to so much discussion and banter 
at Avalon that the Major finally an- 
nounced that he would put the matter 
to atest, and at the very end of the sea- 
son did so. Being the Major’s guest on 
this trip, ] fortunately saw the catch, 
which will go down in Catalina history 
as a notable one. We started at 7 
one morning, on the launch Mascot, the 
Major, the skipper and myself, and by 
g o'clock were anchored off Silver 
Canon. The Major, who was going to 
devote himself to the rod, took his place 
in the small boat, with a heavy leader 
to the line, ready to cast off. In less 
than twenty minutes he had a bite, 
whereupon the skipper jumped into the 
boat and cast off. The bite was repeat- 
ed several times, the fish getting away 
