18 TROPICAL TROLLING. 



to ten pounds each. At the left of the picture appears my rod, with 

 the handle of the friction-clutch reel made fast by a loop of the jib- 

 sheet, the rod being 1 stayed out overside by my tackle box. When 

 busy with other matters I used to rig out the rod in this way. If a 

 fish struck the motion of the boat would hook him, the click would 

 sound an alarm, and one could slip the rod from its fastening and play 

 him as usual. ( "Mi the rail around the cockpit, on the left side, appears 

 a little device of my own. consisting of a large wire nail holding a 

 spool against which the rod is rested. This relieves the left arm 

 from the strain of trolling and is extremely useful, as that arm does 

 practically all the work in playing a fish and should be kept unfatigued 

 for that purpose. At the right of the cockpit are two extra rods, one 

 of which has a new bait ready for use, should the other bait be struck 

 and cut, and the second one is fitted with a large spoon, to be used in 

 case the wind rises enough to give sufficient speed to make the spoon 

 effective. 



Big amber jack, most powerful of fishes, were not uncommon, 

 and we took a number of these up to forty-three pounds, but the 

 large amberjack, though a tremendously quick and powerful fish, is 

 worthless after you catch him, being tough in flesh and also very 

 likely to be poisonous, producing the very serious disease called 

 "ciguatera." T have a theory that a really game fish must be shy and 

 difficult to attract, powerful and active when hooked, beautiful to look 

 at, and good to eat after you get him, and therefore that the amberjack 

 and tarpon, which are tremendously strong and active but worthless or 

 dangerous as food, do not strictly come within this category. As I 

 have never caught a tarpon it may, however, seem presumptuous for me 

 to express this view. 



It was interesting to see how seriously the crew of the "Kestrel" 

 took our bad fortune. These men had never seen any trolling with 

 the rod until my first winter with them, and were at first extremely 

 doubtful of the ability of the small lines to hold big fish. After 

 some successes they became extremely contemptuous of those who 

 trolled with big. white, hand lines, and certainlv took as much or more 

 satisfaction in every big fish brought in than I did myself. One of 

 them would always take any especially large and fine capture on his 

 head, and walk with it up the main streets of the town, where the most 

 people were, being as proud of the attention he attracted as any child 

 with a new suit of soldier clothes. Our persistent bad luck depressed 

 them in equally great degree and they would almost weep when one 



