THE GAME FISHES OP THE WOELD 



The modern fishing industry came from this source. Fish 

 culture ta China was founded by the Chinese philosopher, Tao-Chu 

 Kung, in the fifth century before Christ. Angling has not be- 

 come a sport in China for the reason that fishermen are, in a 

 sense, ostracised ; it was not supposed to be a very honourable 

 profession in the old days, and has not yet recovered. American 

 fishes will be introduced into Chinese rivers ; and China now 

 has the sturgeon, perch, mackerel, pomfret, eel, shad, sole, 

 mullet, flounder, herring, carp and bream. 



There is little or no angling in Japan, as we understand it ; 

 no definite theory of sport ; but the Japanese are the cleverest 

 fishers in the world. To them the objective is the fish and an 

 abundance ; the ways and means count for nothing. They 

 have invented a weird little fly of all colours that is a killing lure 

 for young sardines and mackerel. They are philosophers in 

 training birds to work, so saving them the trouble. It is a mar- 

 vellous sight to see them go out with a dozen long-neck cormor- 

 ants, their necks encircled with a ring, each bird held with a cord, 

 and each bird catching fish for its master as fast as the latter can 

 puU it in and make it disgorge. Fish caught in this way are 

 eaten only by the lower classes. The Japanese fisherman has 

 come to America, and wiU doubtless drive out the Italian and 

 the Greek. He is too clever, and he invents methods of taking 

 fish that are uncanny. As an illustration : the Santa CataJina 

 Channel, from one to five miles off shore, is the feeding and 

 spawning ground of the long-fin tuna or albacore. Anglers with 

 the rod, troll for them with sardine bait, a bone jig or spoon, 

 and with this tackle, they take four or five and caU it a morning's 

 sport, as the fish run from twenty-five to forty pounds, and have 

 been seen up to one hundred. Sometimes this tuna will not 

 bite ; but not far away you will see four or five staunch sea- 

 going power boats stretched across the channel, half a mile apart. 

 Ebisu is in the forechains and Daikoku in the prow ; and astern 

 stands a Japanese who is hauling in the long-fin tunas so rapidly 

 that the deck is two feet deep with them, and in a manner only 

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