VII 

 FISHING WITH KITE AND SLED 



NO one has ever been able to decide what 

 causes fish to change their habits, yet every 

 fisherman has theories on the subject. 



When I first visited Catalina Island in 

 1900 the tuna were very plentiful and could 

 be taken by simply trolling a hundred feet 

 of line behind a launch, with a flying-fish 

 for bait. 



I captured five in six hours, averaging 

 one hundred pounds in weight, and landed 

 thirteen fish in fifteen days' fishing within 

 five miles of Avalon. 



On my second visit in 1910 it was im- 

 possible to persuade a tuna to take unless 

 the bait was skittered in front of his nose 

 and the fish persuaded that the flying-fish 

 was alive. Why this change? 



Some of the fishermen maintained that 

 L95] 



