TOPE AND OTHEE LEAPING SHARKS 



feet of a 24-lme, a 10/° O'Shaughnessey hook, piano-wire leader 

 or trace. Mr. Brown describes the play of the Heme Bay tope 

 as being very exciting. In one of his trips, a large tope leaped 

 over the boat. An acquaintance of mine had a similar experience 

 on the New England coast, only he was not playing the shark, 

 which in this instance was six feet long. It was doubtless 

 startled and jumped without knowing where it was going. The 

 tope of Heme Bay average about forty pounds, and are between 

 five and six feet long, about the size of a little striped tiger shark 

 I have often taken in CataUna Harbour, CaUfornia, in the summer 

 months. They averaged sixty pounds and we played them from 

 the beach with nine or ten-ounce rods. As soon as they were 

 hooked, they went into the air, due to the shallow water. A 

 little larger shark, averaging eighty pounds, is common at 

 Howland's Harbour at the island of San Clemente, a most lusty 

 fighter, carrying off tackle and towing small boats about in a 

 vigorous fashion. Tope angling is certainly to be commended 

 as a sport. 



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