102 Big Game Fishes 
pickerel of seven or eight pounds. The fish 
referred to at the beginning of the chapter was 
taken on an eight-ounce split bamboo trout rod, 
with a number nine cuttyhunk line, and gave 
excellent sport; making fine rushes, swerving 
from side to side, and finally at the surface, lash- 
ing the water into foam, acting in so gamy a 
manner that the boatman expressed the opinion 
that it was insane. A trout rod is too light for 
the barracuda, which runs up to fifteen pounds 
and is often four feet in length. I would suggest 
a light greenheart, or a split bamboo, such as 
would be used for pickerel in Eastern waters. 
The barracudas are taken almost entirely by troll- 
ing, although the professional fishermen “chum” 
them up at times, and when they “get them on 
the run,” haul them in as fast as the lines touch 
the water, using a white rag as bait, the barra- 
cudas, like mackerel, losing their heads and snap- 
ping at anything. The most satisfactory sport 
I have had with these fishes was to cast into a 
school where they were biting, and by reeling 
‘quickly take them; in this way they will often 
follow the bait up to the boat, displaying no fear. 
The California barracuda is Sphyrena argen- 
tea (Girard) and like its Gulf of Mexico relative 
