SEA FISHING 

 it is, in reality, distinct and a mucli finer fighter. Unlike ttie other fish 

 of those seas, the black sea-bass must be caught at anchor, as the 

 bait has to lie perfectly still on the bottom. As, however, the fish may 

 run to three or four hundred pounds, and is exceedingly powerful, 

 the anchor rope has to be made fast to a white flag -buoy, so that it 

 can be slipped the moment a fish is hooked, and picked up again when 

 required. 



A head of a yellowtail makes a good bait, or a large slice of barracouta 

 is preferred by some experts. Heavy tarpon tackle is used, and as soon 

 as the bait is on the bottom, the rod is laid down on the thwart, with the 

 check on the reel, as in still-fishing for tarpon. At the first click of the 

 check, it is slipped out of action, as these fish are very wary and easily 

 suspect danger. The bass must move off with the bait before the fisher- 

 man strikes, and it is therefore advisable to count twenty before doing 

 so. If the fish is felt to be properly hooked, a result which it promptly 

 resents by moving rapidly out to sea, the anchor rope is thrown over- 

 board and the man gets out his oars, as the engine would not enable him 

 to follow every twist and turn of the maddened fish. A big bass makes 

 a tremendous rush, and fights hard until exhausted, when it gives in 

 quite suddenly and comes floating to the gaff on its back. I caught a 

 brace one morning before breakfast weighing respectively 160 lb. and 

 130 lb., and felt little inclination for more fishing that day, so tiring was 

 the experience. 



The yellowfin tuna, a smaller relative of the so-called *' leaping " kind, 

 and growing to a weight of sixty or seventy pounds, was identified on 

 the Calif ornian coast for the first time in 1907, and is therefore a recent 

 addition to the sea angler's game list. Now that it is known, it seems to 

 visit those waters more regularly than the bigger kind and gives exciting 

 sport on light tackle. 



The albacore, bonita and dolphin are caught on the outer grounds, 

 and all of them fight well on the rod and should, needless to say, be fished 

 for with light tackle as prescribed by the Gatalina Club rules. They are 

 not stalked, like the tuna and shore -haunting fishes, but the bait is just 

 trailed astern until a fish seizes it. The albacore is perhaps the best fighter, 

 and, unlike most of the other fish in those seas, it will not take a spoon bait. 

 Sardine alone is used, and the albacore is particularly smart in knocking 

 the bait off the hook and miust be struck sharply. Albacore are known 

 to go in pairs, so that when one has been gaffed the launch is put about and 



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