ioo FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 



The sardine is very important to the angler, as it is 

 the bait par excellence for the great game fishes of 

 the region, though a spoon or bone " jig " is often suc- 

 cessful. 



SMELT 

 (Osmerus) 



Smelt are common on the Pacific coast, attaining a 

 length of eight inches. They are also valuable as 

 food and bait, but do not rank with sardines. 



ABALONE 



This shellfish, Fig. 47, known as the earshell or 

 haliotis, is found on almost every rock about the 

 islands not already looted by the Chinese and Japanese. 

 They are valuable as food and particularly as bait for 

 certain fishes, as sheepshead, whitefish and others. 



The crayfish, Fig. 48, is also a bait and food for 

 certain fishes, or was until it became scarce, due to 

 the lack of laws in the State of California. There are 

 a variety of crabs found in the kelp and on the bot- 

 tom; spider crabs of large size, food for various pred- 

 atory fishes and of much interest; huge starfishes, 

 which clamber over the rocks, Fig. 49 ; sea cucumbers, 

 anemones, Fig. 50, and sea urchins; all are eaten by 

 certain sharks or rays. In the open water float many 

 beautiful animals; giant jelly fishes, twenty or thirty 

 feet long, their discs, of lavender or maroon, presenting 

 a remarkable appearance as they drift in the blue cur- 

 rent, meteors of the sea. Here are myriads of small 

 jellies of many shapes, one almost black ; also swarms 

 of ascidians, as the chain-like salpa, the fire-body, or 



