The Yellowtail 147 
north end with casting or still fishing. In the 
latter the boat is allowed to drift and the yellow- 
tails kept alongside by chum, short casts being 
made of thirty feet. In this way at the grounds 
off Ship Rock I have seen yellowtails hooked 
almost as soon as the line struck the water. 
Perhaps the most satisfactory method of yellow- 
tail fishing I have observed was from the beach 
at the Isthmus, the shallow bay preventing sulk- 
ing, the rushes and by-play being confined to 
lateral movements. 
The yellowtails are omnivorous feeders, taking 
sardines, flying-fishes, smelt, anchovies, and squid 
as occasion offers, and in this way they are often 
“chummed” up and caught by casting, the boat 
being allowed to drift. The remarkable clever- 
ness of fishes has often been noticed. Certain 
individuals will attach themselves to the wharf at 
Avalon at times, and one of the morning pas- 
times is to feed them by tossing over bait. A 
handful of sardines will sometimes attract a 
number which rush at them, picking up the 
fishes with avidity, invariably not noticing the 
hook which has been skilfully introduced into 
one sardine. It is only the extremely patient 
fisherman who can catch such fish. One veteran 
