262 Life in the Open 



railroads, is San Pedro, from whence the Cabrillo or 

 the Hermosa, large ocean steamers, take the angler across 

 the Santa Catalina Channel, thirty miles, to the island of 

 that name, a great mountain range lying in the purple 

 haze to the west. 



Avalon is a miniature Naples, with the charm of 

 colour in sky, water, and rocks that makes up the Italian 

 resort. There are good hotels, from one to three 

 steamers a day in summer, and one in winter, wireless 

 telegraph, and a variety of sports and pastimes, from 

 fishing for a remarkable assortment of big game fishes 

 to hunting and riding over the mountains and cafions. 

 But above all it is an angling community ; the entire 

 southern portion of the bay is lined with the fishing 

 stands of the boatmen, each of whom has a certain 

 number of feet of beach line, out from which extends a 

 string of rowboats, tuna-boats, glass-bottom boats, and 

 sailboats, so many that the bay is filled with them. 

 This bay is so clear and still, so glass-like, that the 

 angler can hardly realise that he is not in some loch in 

 Scotland, or on the St. Lawrence. 



If one does not bring his tackle with him, the best 

 can be purchased from any of the shops along the bay, 

 and all the boatmen provide it. Tackle is a subject of 

 vital importance here. The Tuna Club has established 

 a sportsmanlike code as to tackle, and every year gives 

 a tournament, offering valuable prizes to encourage the 

 use of the rod. As a result, the giant fishes of these 

 waters the tuna, black sea-bass, yellowtail, albacore, 



