A BOOK OF FISHING STORIES 



discovered by anglers searching for tunas some distance off- 

 shore. The swordfish arrives at the island in June, and a 

 culmination of the sport is reached in September about the 

 island of Santa Catalina and San Clemente. It is a most 

 interesting fact that this swordfish was first discovered in Japan, 

 was supposed to be a Japanese fish pure and simple, and has 

 a Japanese name, but the only known locality where it is very 

 common and can be taken in numbers is in the Santa Catalina 

 channel ; hence it is now known as the Santa Catalina sword- 

 fish, and when these marvellous schools of swordsmen of the 

 sea come in and anglers flock to the islands with all the fervour 

 of the old time enthusiasts, some remarkable sights are wit- 

 nessed. 



The Florida, or Gulf of Mexico, tarpon is considered a 

 most active fish on a line, leaping into the air, whirling itself 

 about and performing a thousand and one feats to amaze the 

 angler or put his prowess to a test. I have hooked many 

 tarpon, but I never saw one leap over ten or fifteen times, 

 though others undoubtedly have seen this exceeded ; but in 

 my own experience a dozen big leaps will weary the most 

 active tarpon. With the Santa Catalina swordfish there seems 

 to be almost no limit to its leaping powers, and few anglers 

 can remember the leaps, though more than one has counted 

 over fifty. 



A remarkable feature of the swordfish, or at any rate of some 

 pugnacious individuals, is that they leap into the air when 

 hooked, and come surging at the boat, literally standing on their 

 tails, using the latter as a propeller. How far a swordfish can 



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