
—~ 
No flourish of trumpets, no program of 
innovations, accompanies our initial writ- 
ing under this department heading. We 
intend to make friends, a host of them, 
and our purpose is to number you among 
them. We purpose that you shall soon 
find yourself joining in our little “confab” 
in each issue before laying down the 
magazine; that the fisherman’s lobby will 
prove magnetic, providing bright, interest- 
ing matter that really cannot afford to be 
missed by the alert, progressive fisherman. 
We solicit brief, clear narratives and sug- 
gestions that should be of special value 
to the great angling brotherhood at large. 
If you know—lucky chap—of something 
good in the way of locality, method, tackle, 
bait, let us all have the benefit of your 
good fortune, as becomes a_ big-hearted, 
ONDUCTED BY F. L. HARDING 
the tuna taken among the Islands seemed 
oddly formed in several minor character- 
istics, but these were passed as individual 
freaks and no material discussion resulted. 
In the summer and fall just passed, tuna 
were taken as never before, a total of 
nearly 450 falling to the rods. Now the 
invariable presence of these _ peculiar 
markings became so manifest that further 
disregard of the innovation became im- 
possible. The pectorals were plainly larger 
in proportion to the size of the fish than 
the orthodox tuna (Thunnus thynnus) 
and the fins in general displayed a yellow- 
ish tinge—also a decided novelty ! 
Grave apprehension spread among the 
ranks that Old Neptune was playing tricks 
with the sportsmen. Appeal was accord- 
ingly made to one of the greatest living 

Copyright, 1906, by Charles Ironmonger 
THE JAPANESE ALBICORE 
Or yellow-fin tuna, whose appearance in California waters has sprung a tremendous sensation there 
broad-gauge sportsman. These are to be 
your pages; don’t hesitate to use them as 
a medium of interchange of experience 
and common meeting-ground. 
A Japanese Invasion of American Waters 
_A most startling state of affairs has 
just developed in southern California and 
the manner of it runs thus: It was com- 
mented now and then during the summer . 
of 1905, by observant anglers, that many of 
ichthyologists of the Western Hemisphere, 
Professor David Starr Jordan, president 
of Leland Stanford university, who, after 
careful examination, pronounced these 
strangers to be the Japanese albicore 
(Hirenaza serino macropterus) or yellow- 
fin tunny, absolutely unknown in Ameri- 
can waters until last year and at best a 
rarely seen specimen. - These fish have 
been present in the Santa Barbara chan- 
nel for 7 months in great schools and 
none of the standard type of tuna has 
