is not much science in trolling for blue fish, although 

 there is some practice 'necessary in keeping one's feet 

 on the deck of the yacht, if a yacht is used, while it is 

 dashing over the waves of the ocean and the fisherman's 

 attention is absorbed in hauling in his line more rapidly 

 than the fastest of fish can swim forward on it. 



Still fishing for blue fish has become quite a favorite 

 sport lately in localities where formerly nothing but 

 trolling was ever thought of. There is an excitement in 

 dancing over the restless ocean in the diminutive sail 

 boat ; there is more or less of danger upon the " mighty 

 deep" and passing in and out of the angry, sullen, threat- 

 ening inlet, with its rows upon rows of crested breakers, 

 its uncertain and changing shoals and its rapid currents, 

 and there is always the possibility of being caught out 

 all night by the turning of the tide or the falling of the 

 wind. So that although the mere striking and hauling in 

 the fish on a stout line and with a big hook would other- 

 wise be dull sport, the accompaniments make trolling 

 more exhilarating than bait fishing from an anchored ves- 

 sel. The sport has, however, so greatly deteriorated of 

 late the fish have become so scarce, being caught 

 by pound nets placed across their favorite inlets or by 

 fishing with fly nets at night on their feeding grounds 

 inside the lagoons along tfye coast, that trolling with a 

 sail boat, at least near New York has almost ceased to 

 furnish remuneration either in the way of sport or profit, 

 and anglers have been driven to other methods. One 

 of the best of these is still fishing with rod and reel. 



The same tackle is used as in bass fishing in the surf, 

 except that the hook had better be fastened to the line 

 with a length of fine brass wire to prevent the saw 

 shaped teeth of the blue fish cutting it off. The boat is 

 anchored generally in the channel, inside of the inlet 



