XVII 

 SEA FISHING 



THE fish to be described in this chapter are 

 the tuna, the king-salmon, the albicore, the 

 yellow-tail, the black bass (or Jew-fish), the hali- 

 but, the bonito, and the barracuda. These, taken 

 with rod and line, will furnish the sportsman with 

 three months' ample entertainment. 



The following excerpt from an article written by 

 my friend Professor Charles F. Holder for the Cos- 

 mopolitan magazine is worth quoting : — 



" The activity of the tuna is only comparable to that of 

 the tarpon. I have seen them leap ten or fifteen feet in 

 the air, while they have been known to jump over the 

 boats in pursuit of them. Sportsmen from the East have 

 devoted weeks to this fish, hoping to win fame and 

 honour by taking one on a rod, but so far the tuna has 

 harvested the rods, reels, and lines, and is still master of 

 the situation." 



Since those lines were written in '95, some 

 twenty-nine sportsmen have succeeded in bringing 

 this superb fish to the gaff. The first was killed 

 by Col. Morehouse, of Pasadena, in 1896. 



As the tarpon is to the fish that swim in Atlantic 

 waters, so is the tuna to the finny tribes of the 

 Pacific. Conceive, if you can — for imagination 

 staggers behind reality — a gigantic mackerel from 



