A REMARKABLE CATCH 103 



him, baits the hook, gaffs the fish, manipulates the 

 craft, keeping her stern to the same; so the angler 

 does nothing but fish. It is a question whether some 

 old-time anglers who carry bait in their pockets wish 

 to be so uncomfortably comfortable. 



The angler has notified his boatman to be at the 

 private pier of the Tuna Club at seven a.m., and a 

 few moments later is gliding out of the little bay over 

 perfectly smooth water in which are reflected the rich 

 colors and tints of the surrounding cliffs and shores. 

 Down the coast they go, never more than a hundred 

 feet or so from the rocks, and in the hour's run there 

 is an opportunity to examine the tackle. The rod is 

 of split bamboo, about seven feet long (a single joint 

 and short butt), and weighs just nine ounces, about 

 an ounce heavier than the pet rod of some black-bass 

 anglers. The line is a number nine, linen thread; it 

 has nine strands and is tested to withstand a dead 

 weight of eighteen pounds. The reel is the best that 

 can be had, and holds eight or nine hundred feet of 

 line, marked at fifty, seventy-five, one hundred, and 

 one hundred and fifty feet with colored silk. The 

 leader is the finest steel piano wire, about the size of 

 a gut trout leader, and is six or seven feet long, with 

 a light sinker, a line saver, and two swivels. The 

 hook, a 7-0 O'Shaughnessy, larger or smaller, accord- 

 ing to whim or fancy. When a hook comes in not 

 baited the gaffer does not stop to bait a hook ; he merely 

 unsprings the hook of the leader from the line, hooks 

 on another, which he has ready, and tosses it over; 

 so the angler does not lose a moment in the baiting 

 process. 



This is when fishing for yellowtail, but the game on 



