The Salmon of Monterey 201 



But here is where luck came in ; luck of the 

 very best quality served me and I brought the 

 fish to the quarter, as I would a yellowtail. 

 Bill slipped the net beneath him like the artist 

 he was, then, as I unreeled and allowed the re- 

 silient whip of a rod to straighten out, Bill lifted 

 the finest, plumpest, biggest no, not quite the 

 biggest, but one of the biggest, salmon into the 

 Irresistible Arabella, as the boat was named, 

 ever seen, that is, rarely seen in the waters of 

 Monterey Bay. Then the wonder of it all be- 

 came apparent. The hook was held by just a 

 sliver of skin. Bill unhooked the fish, killed it 

 mercifully, held it up that the sun might blaze 

 from its silvery scales a moment to intoxicate me 

 with its beauties, then folded it away in a piece 

 of canvas. It was too big to weigh with our 

 scales, so we still call it " the sixty-pounder," 

 but if hard pressed for the actual facts I do not 

 think it would run over thirty-five. 



Dr. Jordan says in the preface to a book we 

 once wrote together : " A fish story needs no 

 apology, and no affidavit nor string of affidavits 

 can add anything to its credibility. The high- 

 est authorities on ethics have indicated the 

 angler's privileges. It is agreed that it is better 

 to lie about your great catch of trout than to 

 make it." There seems to be some application 

 of these truths to salmon fishing. 



Whether you fish from Capitola, Santa Cruz, 



