THE AMBER FISH 845 



The habits of the yellowtail are more or less mys- 

 terious. They undoubtedly spawn here, but in many 

 years' fishing I have never seen a yellowtail under 

 three or four pounds, though smaller fish have been 

 seen; but I doubt if the very young a few inches long 

 are ever seen. Whether they take to the deep water 

 or not is unknown. All the Channel Islands abound 

 in yellowtails, but they decrease in number as you go 

 north. In the winter, or from December to March 

 or April, they are found down the coast of Lower Cal- 

 ifornia in vast numbers. Mr. C. G. Conn has cruised 

 for two years in the Gulf of California in his yacht, 

 Comfort, and caught very large yellowtail — one an 

 eighty-pounder, — finding among these islands a virgin 

 field for the angler. 



It is not all trolling when fishing for yellowtail; at 

 times they bite better in "still-fishing." Then the 

 angler can cast and play the fish standing, with the 

 butt of his light rod in his belt socket. Again, they 

 are found four or five miles out to sea, beneath great 

 patches of floating kelp, and can be picked off, one 

 by one. 



There is but one drawback in yellowtail fishing. 

 They are almost always played in blue water, and the 

 average fish will plunge down and sulk like a salmon. 

 If he could always be played in shallow water it would 

 be the sport of kings; and just this sport I have had 

 between Mosquito Harbor and the east end of San 

 Clemente, where the splendid game circled on the 

 surface like a bonito and I raced after it at full speed. 

 This sport can be had at Catalina Harbor, where the 

 water is shallow; at least I have had it there, not to 

 speak of sport with the leaping sharks in near shore. 



