The Leaping Tuna 57 



as it did not leap for its prey, there being no fly- 

 ing-fishes. In 1887 or 1888 I began to fish the 

 waters of Santa Catalina, and here saw the same 

 horse-mackerel or tuna, now feeding on the Cali- 

 fornia flying-fish, to capture which it sprang into 

 the air in magnificent bounds; hence I called it 

 the leaping tuna, to distinguish it from the non- 

 jumper of the Atlantic. To take so large and 

 powerful a fish smooth water was a desideratum, 

 and so far as known, Santa Catalina, California, 

 is the only locality where the fish has been taken 

 with rod and reel ; and even here the fishing- 

 grounds are limited to about four miles of coast 

 in the lee of the island mountains, which afford 

 several open bays, generally smooth, the wind 

 blowing only part of the day, thus giving the 

 angler conditions absolutely perfect, without 

 which tuna fishing would be impossible and 

 extremely dangerous. 



It would weary the reader to detail my efforts 

 to catch a tuna. I frequently hooked them, lost 

 tips, rods, and lines, which were cheerfully offered 

 at the shrine, and told the stories to incredulous 

 listeners, all to no purpose. Horace Annersley 

 Vachell, in his "Life and Sport on the Pacific 

 Slope," who has written a delightful account of 



