58 Big Game Fishes 
this sport, thus refers to this period of proba- 
tion : — 
“The following excerpt, from an article writ- 
ten by my friend Charles F. Holder, is worth 
quoting : — 
“«The activity of the tuna is only comparable 
to that of the tarpon. I have seen them leap ten 
or more feet into the air, while they have been 
known to jump over the boats in pursuit of them. 
Sportsmen from the East have devoted weeks to 
this fish, hoping to win fame and honor by taking 
one on a rod; but so far the tuna has harvested. 
the rods, reels, and lines, and is still master of the 
situation,’ ” e 
At this time no large reels were obtainable. 
The rods were jointed and inadequate, and’ I> 
recall one angler who devoted the entire season 
to an effort to take the elusive tuna. Finally a 
tuna was caught by Colonel C. P. Morehous, who 
used a reel made for the purpose, and imme- 
diately the pastime took its place, with that 
of tarpon fishing, among the most exciting of 
American sports. The advantage California has 
over other localities is that the tuna, being’ an 
oceanic fish, rarely if ever comes inshore nearer... 
than seventeen or eighteen miles. It is very 
