Big Game at Sea 



delicate tips. We happened to strike a lucky day, and 

 while watching for the big game to bite, fished for 

 sheepshead. 



We had landed ten or twelve, and two large sharks, 

 all of which my companion insisted upon keeping 

 with the enthusiasm of the new angler, hence the boat 

 was well filled when the strike came. My companion 

 weighed over two hundred pounds, and as I hooked 

 the big fish he lay, or sat down in the bow to prevent 

 the fish from hauling the flat stern of the skiff entirely 

 under. 



I held on hard during several rushes of the bass 

 to give my companion a good idea of the power of 

 the fish, which nearly dragged the skiff under; in 

 fact, my slacking alone saved us, and several times I 

 held on until he cried " Enough ! " I had made the 

 boat fast to the floating kelp and at the strike tossed 

 the big vine overboard; away we went in the wake of 

 the fish, which weighed anywhere from two hundred 

 to four hundred pounds. It took us possibly a quar- 

 ter of a mile offshore before I could stop it. I repeat- 

 edly hauled it in after the fashion of shark fishing, 

 pulling rapidly and then letting go, then repeating 

 it a process which, if enough line is at hand, is very 

 fatal to large fish, especially when kept up. 



Time and again this bass took me down elbow 

 deep into the blue water, and realizing that my com- 

 panion was having enough, I rallied and brought the 

 big fish to the rail and held it while it tossed the 



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