216 Recreations of a Sportsman 



the " crater " drops away suddenly, and where 

 the bottom is dimly seen flash wonderful colors 

 with shadowy forms like spectres, and delicate 

 jelly-like creatures in midwater. Such is the 

 fishing ground. Here is the Kialto of the amber- 

 fish or yellowtail, the Seriola of the scientist; a 

 splendid fellow who tests the rod at sixty, 

 seventy, or eighty pounds if you w r ill, and gar- 

 ners and harvests lines at thirty or forty, or less. 



I have had the pleasure of trying conclusions 

 with many fishes, but I do not recall one born 

 of the sea that has quite the dogged perseverance 

 and vigor of this golden-tinted cavalier of the 

 San Clemente shores, known as the yellowtail, 

 amber-fish, or white salmon, and by other names. 



Our yacht was anchored at " Rowland's " 

 while w r e fished the west end, but when we fished 

 the east end the best, due to the absence of 

 kelp we anchored the vessel in Smuggler's Cove, 

 on the southwest coast, in the lee of a bluff and 

 off a long beach on which the sea pounded 

 unceasingly. 



For fishing, we took on at Avalon three 

 twenty-foot eight-horse-power gasoline launches, 

 hoisting them on board for the trip over. They 

 were fitted with two comfortable seats, one 

 astern and one facing it; one angler fishing to 

 the right, one to the left, always with rod and 

 reel of a peculiar type. Behind these anglers 

 stood the engineer, gaffer, and boatman. The 



