230 Recreations of a Sportsman 



The yellowtail, or Seriola, is pre-eminently the 

 fish of the people, or sui generis. It requires 

 no especial skill to hook him in the open water, 

 as he is a veritable free booter, will either take 

 or leave the bait as whim seizes. Some believe 

 that he bites better on certain tides, as the flood, 

 but where water is deep, I see no philosophy in 

 this, as the yellowtail is taken within fifty or 

 one hundred feet of the rocks, yet in deep blue 

 water where tidal currents do not affect the food 

 supply. 



Some word about the yellowtail may be of 

 interest. The Eastern angler who goes to Flor- 

 ida will find its cousin in the amber-jack, the 

 finest game fish of the coast, Seriola lalandi, 

 while the California yellowtail is Seriola dor- 

 salis. There are a large number of species, 

 twenty at least, ranging all over the world and 

 known by various titles. Scriola dorsalis ap- 

 parently is confined to Southern California and 

 adjacent waters, and undoubtedly for its size is 

 the hardest fighting game fish in these waters. 

 The real home for these giants of the tribe seems 

 to be along the vine-clad, submarine slopes of 

 San Clemente and Santa Catalina. 



