204 Big Game Fishes 
been known to take the rod from the hands of 
a not over-alert angler. There is little need to 
strike or attempt to hook the fish; in nine cases 
out of ten this is accomplished by the albacore 
itself, as it strikes on the run, with a fierce rush, 
and does not stop, bearing away and down as 
it feels the hook, with such irresistible force that 
the angler is often obliged to give and give, until 
his thumb loses nearly all sensation by the con- 
tinual pressure upon the leather brake in the 
vain attempt to stop the fish, which plunges deep 
and yet deeper, sounding at times like a very 
whale; then, perhaps maddened by the reel, it 
sways and cuts the water to right or left and rises 
far away in so singular a manner that the angler 
fears that it is being chased by a shark, and so, 
ever fighting, ever bearing off with tremendous 
power for its size, the fish comes slowly in, the 
angler with the butt of the rod in the leather cap 
between his knees working his passage and pay- 
ing fare as well. The multiplier is all-powerful, 
and far down in the azure waters a flash of silver 
is seen, circling broadside on. Slowly it rises, 
now showing a black eye almost as large as that 
of a plesiosaurus in its adolescence. At this stage 
it is well to count on a stupendous rush, as the 
