326 Life and Sport on the Pacific Slope 



The sea-bass affords capital sport, but he is not 

 to be taken at Catalina after the middle of July. 

 Later he may be found farther north; as I write 

 (August 11th) the waters of Port Harford Bay are 

 swarming with these fish. They are caught in nets 

 at almost all seasons of the year, but in different 

 localities. At Catalina they begin to bite freely 

 about the middle of April. You must troll for 

 them with a big smelt as a lure, and a fifty-pounder 

 will give you a hard fight. Yellow-tail tackle 

 should be used, and a short rod, I emphasise this, 

 because the sea-bass is a sounder and sulker, and 

 must be pumped to the surface again and again. 

 He combines in his handsome person the beauty 

 of salmon and yellow-tail, possessing the silvery 

 scales of the former and the golden iridescence of the 

 latter. A certain coarseness mars his appearance ; 

 he lacks the quality of salmon, and sometimes he 

 plays the poltroon and comes sluggishly to the gaff. 



The albicore may be taken with rod and reel at 

 Catalina throughout the year, but you cannot make 

 certain of his capture at any time. He likes plenty 

 of chum, and the best lure is a mackerel or a flying- 

 fish. He is a tuna in parvo, and knows all the 

 tricks of his tribe. In weight he ranges from forty 

 to seventy pounds ; he loves blue water and plenty 

 of company ; he is frolicsome as a kitten, strong as 

 a tiger-cat, and a voracious glutton. 



His first cousin, the bonito, worthily sustains th6 

 family traditions as a fighter and a dandy. He is 

 no sulker, and taken with an eight-ounce rod and 

 trout-tackle, affords glorious sport. His rushes to 

 and fro are positively bewildering to the most ex- 



