JdLT 39, 189S.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



77 



*^6ame Laws in Brief."'' June, 1893, revised. Game and Fish laivs 

 if all the States, Territories and Provinces. Correct, reliable, hand- 

 lomely illustrated. Published by the "Forest and Stream." Sold by 

 id dealers. Price S5 cents. 



SALMON FISHING WITH FISH BAIT. 



Tms is a comparatively new method of fisbdng, and 

 me which salmon fishermen are almost entirely ignor- 

 mt of. , 



Little is known of the salmon after its exodus from 

 'resh water. We all know the habits of the salmon after 

 .t retiu-ns to the stream where it was hatched, and where 



playfully disports itself in the pools and running waters, 

 it returns in its prime, fresh from the invigorating briny 

 Jepths, and from the time it reaches the fresh water it 

 goes without food, even for months, until it again returns 

 ,0 the sea, when lean and lank from its long fasting, it 

 fopn recuperates and adds fresh weight. 



Of the spawning habits of the female we are familiar, 

 iIbo of the young life of the smelt or parr, which, remain- 

 ng in the stream of incubation for from one to two years, 

 lakes to the sea, where it rapidly gains weight, and 

 cetums the following year to the fresh water as the grilse, 

 sleighing from 3 to 91bs. 



But it has been a sealed book as to the life of the salmon 

 n the sea, its wanderings, its habitat, its methods of feed- 



not too large, or over 6rn. in length, is put on whole, 

 otherwise it is cut diagonally, making two baits. 



Some of the fishermen use a spread as followed in smelt 

 fishing, in this instance being of stout steel -wire, 4ft. long 

 with 5 or 6ft. of line on each end of the spread, two lines 

 and hooks. The salmon seizes the bait and hook and is 

 pulled in alongside the boat without ceremony, where it is 

 either yanked in or gaffed. FuUy half of the salmon 

 hooked are lost by the careless manner of handling, and 

 about two baits are stripped to a salmon hooked. About 

 once in twenty or thirty times two salmon are brought in 

 at one time. I have reason to believe that at times when 

 salmon first come in and in schools that the fishermen 

 catch doublets often in succession. 



My first experience was in going out with two fisher- 

 men in their boat, and in witnessing their method. The 

 boat I was in secured three salmon by the hand-lines, the 

 other boats did better, some taking as high as eight or 

 ten, about a hundred salmon were taken by the fifteen 

 boats out that morning. 



I could find no record of taking the salmon with rod, 

 excepting that of my friend, Sir. A. L. Tubbs, of San 

 Francisco, from whose information I was induced to look 

 up the fishing. His rod fishing is the only one I have 

 heard of as applied to the salmon in salt water, and I 

 have seen no other during my fishing except that of IMi". 

 Simj)kins, of Boston, who accompanied me on one of 

 my fishings, and who succeeded in catching one of the 

 largest salmon I have ever seen caught here, weighing 

 321bs. I equijoped myself in San Francisco with the 

 best I could get, two cheap bamboo trolling sea bass rods 



MONTEREY SALMON. 



Taken by Mr. J. Parker Whitney, of Boston, at Monterey, Cal., June 23, 1893, with a lOoz. rod. Seventeen fish. 



Weight, 2741bs. 



ng and vai-ieties of food. How far it wanders away from 

 ts native stream, and its sea life we know little of. 



We know the tmerring instinct so-called, which guides 

 ihe salmon from his sea wanderings back through the 

 jathless ocean to the pleasant pools of its infancy. But 

 t may well be doubted if it is instinct which guides the 

 jalmon on his return, or if the sea is pathless. The scent 

 'jf tlie salmon family is keen, perhaps not surpassed by 

 the most favored of the canine tribe. That sense of smell, 

 which in animals so far surpasses that of the human race, 

 ;hat it may almost be accounted a new sense with them, 

 J9 probably possessed by the varieties of salmon, trout and 

 jtber fishes in perfection; and it may reasonably be pre- 

 JUmed that the outreaching odors of streams, each 

 peculiar and distinctive, extend by the currents of the 

 ocean for perhaf)s hundreds of miles from the shores. 

 These currents, permeated more or less, constitute to the 

 denizens of the deep routes as familiar perhaps as land- 

 marks on the shore to the animal race. 



To those interested in tlie king of fishes, the salmon, 



f.he liarbor of Monterey presents an opportunity of peculiar 

 iiterest. Here the salmon is found in pursuit of its natural 

 :'ood, and exhibiting many features which give an insight 

 Into the ways which have been so mysterious before. 



As an old fisherman of many years experience with sal- 

 non and trout, I have become intensely interested. The 

 nethod of taking the fly by the salmon in fresh water is 

 lifferent from that of the trout, although the game quali- 

 iies are alike. I am, however, struck by the similarity of 

 ihe two fish in feeding, by the salmon in salt water, of the 

 nethod of striking the bait, and of following it up, and of 

 )ther featm-es which would have attracted my particular 

 ntevest, even if I had not known of the existing relation- 

 ship. Almost yearly the salmon come into the Bay of 

 Monterey, as well as that of Santa Cruz, and a few other 

 )laces on the coast, where they sometimes remain for 

 nonths, and pursue their feeding as other fish do, and 

 where they are readilj^ caught with fresh fish bait. 



I have lately had the great pleasure of taking a few 

 icore, and for the benefit of those who, like myself, have 

 leen in the habit of taking these noble fish with the fly, I 

 vill give the result of my experience. 



When tlie salmon strike in about the bay, and generally 

 lear the shore, which occurs here about the 10th of June, 

 vhey do so in the pursuit of squid, sardines, anchovies, 

 iiielts and other small fish, and their presence is first in- 

 licated to the fishermen by the occasional disturbance of 

 he sm-face water by the small fish in their efforts to 

 (iscape. This is a signal for the Italians, Portuguese and 

 sf Jther market-fishermen to go out for them, which they do 

 ,^in both sail and rowboata. These men all fish for" the 

 market and waste no time in sentiment. They are 

 *i equipped with stout cotton lines sufficiently strong to ptill 

 I n salmon hand over hand. A stout sea hook is used with 

 J i sinker Aveighing half a pound. The line is about 200ft. 

 j n length, the sinker is attached a short distance above 

 f:he hook, and the fine is payed out about 100ft. from the 

 'jjoat, and in the slow sailing or rowing, wliich is about 

 ''-•lie .same speed as followed in trolling for trout, the bait 

 'jinks down twenty odd feet, The sardine or small fish, if 



of 14oz., and Oft. in length. My additions were light sea 

 bass linen lines No. 18, 600ft. long. No. 4-0 Kirby hooks, 

 the hooks I had soldered to a short link of strong brass 

 wire, to which were attached three more additional brass 

 wire links with swivels between, adding to the wire above 

 tlie shank of the hook a small brass whe projection with- 

 out barb, to hold the bait-fish head in position, long ^Ib. 

 lead sinkers with holes in each end. These with a mul- 

 tiplying reel completed my outfit. 



I found my heavy sinker a great disturbance in play- 

 ing the salmon, so after my first salmon I attached the 

 sinker with a short cord to my line some Soft, from the 

 hook, tying with a peculiar bow knot, so that it could be 

 easily pulled off as I brouglit my salmon near the boat. 

 This I fotmd to answer admirably, being the same method 

 I have pursued for years when trolling in summer for 

 trout in deep water. The heavy sinker is necessary to 

 get the hook down 30 or 40ft. from the surface, and I 

 have frequently used for trout in troUing as heavy a 

 sinker as required for salmon in Monterey Bay. So I 

 brought into requisition the same method I have followed 

 in deep water trout trolling, of removing my sinker by a 

 simple pull, which reheves the line of all weight but that 

 of the salmon and gives complete opf)ortunity for play. 

 It is not difficult to fetch the salmon up where the sinker 

 can be reached from the boat side. 



This is accomplished by allowing the fish to sink down 

 and play slowly about, rowing the boat over him, keep- 

 ing up a gentle pressure on the rod. The game com- 

 mences when the salmon is brought toward the surface. 

 Then the salmon will frequently strike off on the surface 

 in a straight fine several hundred feet. In two instances 

 I have trembled for my line, being compelled with all the 

 strain I dared to put on to aUovv the fish to take out 

 within 50 or 100ft. of all I had, although the boat was 

 being propelled as rapidly as two men could row toward 

 the fish. But it has been rarely that I have payed out 

 over 400ft. 



Not so often as in fresh water does the salmon leap 

 out of water, and seldom more than two or three times. 



My daily catch has averaged nearly 8 fish and given 

 most exciting sport. The carefifi weight of 69 salmon 

 caught I find to be l,1331bs, or almost IGlbs. each; the 

 smallest was a grilse of 51bs. and the largest of 301bs. 



AU.my catches have been in the early morning, start- 

 ing out at 4 o'clock and getting back to the Hotel Del 

 Monte in each instance but one for lunch. The exception 

 was an aU-day fishing, when I secured 18 salmon, weigh- 

 ing 286lbs. 



As with trout, I have fotmd the morning the best, and 

 after 10 o'clock the fishing faUs off. Two or three miles 

 of rowing has been required to reach the fishing ground 

 from the Monterey pier, and the fishing groimd I have 

 found, so far, to extend over an area of about two miles 

 long by a mile wide, although I have no doubt that the 

 salmon could have been found out two or three mUes 

 beyond that limit. I have caught in addition to the 

 salmon brought in. half a dozen rockfish, called bluefish 

 by the fishermen, but not bluefish as known East, weigh- 

 ing about 51bs. each; aJso two codfish of 5 or 61bs. and two 



flounders of 5 and Bibs. In a dead calm the fishing about 

 ceases, as with trout in trolling; but with a rettirn of the 

 breeze the fishing takes on again. The method of taking 

 forcibly reminds me of the trout; Shyly at times, and 

 again boldly; sometimes striking several times at thebait-, 

 and with following up and striking at intervals of a few 

 seconds; at times biting off half the bait and in folio wing 

 up for the balance; and in one instance following up the 

 bait, with frequent half-decided action, until the bait was 

 within 10ft. of the boat, and then fiercely seizing it while 

 I had the line in my hand. It proved a close call in a 

 double sense, as the fish was a heavy one of 251bs., and 

 carried the line out of my hand and the sinker attached, 

 which rested in the boat, and very nearly got away with 

 my whole outfit. I fortunately stiU held my rod in hand, 

 and although I payed out nearly the whole of my 600ft. of 

 line, the fish was well hooked, and in fifteen minutes was 

 brought to gaff. In boldness and general action the 

 salmon have reminded me constantly of trout — paying but 

 little attention to the boat, occasionally passing in sight 

 within a few feet and striking on the surface at an occa- 

 sional small fish, and at times going entirely out of the 

 water in pursuit. 



For experiment I tried the spoon, but fancied I did 

 not do as well as with bait, although I caught two salmon 

 with it. I also tried the spoon with fish bait, catching 

 one that way; but believe the fish bait alone to be the best. 

 The salmon upon being opened seem to have more squid 

 inside than other fish, although at times full of sardines, 

 and oftener with anchovies. Sardines are, however, the 

 best bait, and squid but indifferent, while I have had some 

 success with smelts and young shad. At one time out of 

 bait, I used a strip of salmon belly, which did weU enough 

 to catch two salmon. 



As I have my salmon rods for fly-fishing, I shall later 

 on try a little surface work with the fly, but I do not an- 

 ticipate much success, still I believe they will take under 

 favorable circumstances, when they are as plentiful as I 

 am informed by the fishermen they are outside the harbor 

 at times in deeper water, when the fishermen have some- 

 times observed several salmon at a time, even up to a 

 dozen in number, following the bait up almost to the 

 boat's side. 



The fishing in the harbor is in more or less turbid 

 water, with a depth of from 6 to 10 fathoms, while out- 

 side the bay, in deeper water, it is clearer, and the salmon 

 can be more distinctly observed. I am informed by the 

 fishermen that at times the salmon are so plentiful a few 

 miles beyond the harbor that they are enabled to fill their 

 boats in a few hoiu-s. These occasions, however, are rare, 

 and where the salmon are f oimd plentiful one day they 

 may not be found the next. It has been usual, however, 

 for the salmon to remain about and in the harbor for 

 several weeks each year, although they skip their annual 

 visits occasionally. The small fish, which the salmon 

 foUow into the harbor, come in countless numbers, often 

 in large, moving masses, and their presence is indicated 

 to the fishermen by the hovering sea gulls, pelicans and 

 other predatory buds. These are seen busfiy at work on 

 the salmon gi-ounds, and often indicate the most favor- 

 able places for fishing. While the sahnon evidently come 

 in schools at first, it would appear that they scatter more 

 or less about, instead of remaining together, although 

 they mass more or less when in the vicinity of large 

 schools of small fish. The fishermen are more or less 

 guides for each other, and ma.y be scattered over a square 

 mile without doing much in catch. Presently one or two 

 commence hauling in, which congregates all the others in 

 the vicinity, and the fishing goes on merrily for a while. 

 Then a scattering takes place again, and a regathering 

 afterward. Still I have fouud about as good success in 

 passing up and down in certain localities, as in following 

 the fishing boats. 



The average time I have found necessary to fetch my 

 salmon to gaff I should estimate at eight minutes, occa- 

 sionally less, and sometimes fifteen or sixteen minutes. I 

 believe, however, I am more rapid in landing salmon and 

 trout than the average fisherman, many of whom take 

 more than half an hour with a salmon and ten or fifteen 

 minutes with a two-pound trout. I have never, except 

 in very rare instances, been more than half an hour in 

 landing a salmon with a fly-rod, and though I have taken, 

 I may safely say, during over thirty-five years of annual 

 trout fishing, many thousands of trout weighing from two 

 to over eight pounds, I have never to my remembrance 

 been so long as fifteen minutes in landing a trout imless 

 from an outside hold. 



My later fishing, however, has required a little more 

 time, as I have pursued it with a light ten-ounce steel rod 

 eight feet in length. I have found it, notwithstanding 

 the prejudice I had against steel rods, to be almost per- 

 fect for the fishing and altogether superior to the cheap 

 bamboo rods which were the only trolling rods I was able 

 to get. More than half of my catch has been done with 

 the steel rod, and while I have strained both of the bam- 

 boos the steel rod is as correct as at the commencement. 

 It is also much lighter and more flexible, and I would 

 have no hesitancy in taking a trial with it over a sixty- 

 pound salmon or a sea bass of the same weight. The 

 market-fishermen, as I have previously observed, lose 

 fully a half of the salmon they hook, it is a straight over- 

 hand puU and no give except that which is compelled by 

 want of strength. The fine and hooks are strong and the 

 fishermen have no time to wait. If the salmon are plenti- 

 ful they do not much mind the losses, which often occur 

 from neglect in using the gaff. With the light rod the 

 fish, if hooked, is seldom lost. I brought in several with 

 skin holds, which would not have held for a moment in 

 hand fishing. One salmon which I caught had been on 

 one of the market-fishermen's line, and had a torn out 

 hook mark in his mouth and a cruel gaff cut between his 

 ventral and anal fins. The giff cut was nearly three 

 inches long and had penetrated nearly to his other side, 

 and was too serious to have ever healed up again. 



The fish was a large one, of about 211bs. in weight, and 

 in fine condition, although the gaff cut was e\T.dently two 

 or three days old. The womid had evidently made but a 

 slight impression on the appetite of the fish, as it struck 

 fiercely and fought hard. The cut is conspicuously shown 

 in the photograph accompanying this article, seen in 

 one of the front salmon. I found the salmon which ex- 

 hibited the most gamy qualities to do their fighting near 

 the surface, seemingly to disdain any depth after once 

 being brought up, and to often make an almost complete 

 circuit of the boat. Certainly a more beautiful sight than 

 a salmon exhibits with his briUiant colors, as he strokes 

 along with his powerful tail, near the surface in the clear 



