312 Reminiscences of 



fine salmon, which weighed nearly two hundred 

 pounds, the smallest being a grilse of eight pounds 

 and the largest twenty-four pounds. It is needless 

 to say that I followed the fishing with eagerness, 

 making an excursion out about every other day, 

 generally finishing up before noon, but two or three 

 times I was out all day when the salmon were very 

 plentiful, making notable catches. It was seldom 

 not more than two or three times out of forty-odd 

 trips that I failed to fetch in salmon, so one can 

 see that the fishing condition was most remarkable, 

 and no season since 1892 has shown its equal. My 

 largest catch when out a whole day, which occasion 

 I more fully refer to hereafter, was twenty-nine sal- 

 mon, weighing 512 pounds, averaging a little over 

 seventeen pounds, my smallest salmon that day 

 weighing eight pounds and my largest thirty-eight 

 pounds. I carefully weighed all the salmon I caught, 

 the total number being 320, and the total weight 

 being 5231 pounds. The largest salmon was fifty- 

 four pounds, which I had no particular difficulty 

 in fetching to gaff, excepting in the time given. The 

 short steel ten-ounce rod is a very efficient one, and 

 will bear a much stronger strain than a heavier bam- 

 boo rod, especially when a heavy fish sulks below 

 the boat and it is the disposition of sharks to do this 

 more than salmon. 



The small-sized sharks in Monterey are very plenti- 

 ful, the larger portion of them being under twenty 

 pounds in weight, which can easily be brought in, 

 although there are many which weigh from a hundred 

 pounds up, and when one of these is struck it is 

 better to let him go, after securing all the line possible. 



