1885.] A Brief Biography of the Halibut. 965 
tom, and again he will endeavor to give his baits the appearance 
of life by slowly pulling them up a short distance from the 
ground. If he finally succeeds in hooking a halibut, all his art 
is required to bring the fish to the surface and land it safely on 
deck. If it be a large fish it almost invariably makes a desperate 
fight to escape. It may, perhaps, come up easily for ten or fifteen 
fathoms, when it suddenly takes a plunge downward. Surge! 
surge! goes the line through the hands of the fisherman, who 
knows very well that he must “ play” his fish or else his line will 
be snapped like pack thread. This operation may be repeated 
several times, and it is not uncommon for a large and particularly 
“wild” halibut to go almost to the bottom after having been 
hauled nearly to the surface of the water. At last the fish is 
alongside, and the shout of “ Gaffs! gaffs here!” brings two or 
three of the nearest men to the side, armed with long-handJed | 
gaffs. If the fish is exhausted the gaffs are quickly hooked into 
his head and he is dragged unceremoniously over the rail and 
falls with a heavy thump on deck, which usually resounds with 
the strokes of his powerful tail until he is stunned by repeated 
blows with a killer. If the halibut is still active when he comes 
$ alongside, much dexterity is required to gaff him. He makes 
desperate attempts to escape, and thrashes the water into foam 
with his tail. 
When the fish is on deck and. killed, his captor cuts his mark 
in a conspicuous manner, generally on the white surface of the 
halibut, which is the underneath portion when the fish is in the 
water, but is invariably turned upward after it is taken on deck; 
this method being adopted to prevent the blood from settling on 
that side and thus making the fish look dark colored or gray. 
The George’s fishermen frequently bleed their halibut by making 
4 a cut across the tail. 
Halibut caught in shallow water are exceedingly active, and 
frequently make a hard fight. When a fish of 100 to 200 pounds 
weight is raised from the bottom on a trawl, he usually starts off 
at great speed, making the dory spin around in his effort to 
escape. Of course he cannot run far in one direction, for the 
_ Weight of the gear is too much for him to drag over the bottom. 
After a while he is sufficiently tired out to be hauled alongside of 
the dory, and if the fisherman is expert enough to hit his fish 
two or three smart raps over the nose with a “ killer,” the halibut 
