THE BLUE-FISH. 
211 
perfection. To those ladies who unfortunately have to 
be placed on the list of invalids, and can endure the de- 
lightful and bracing summer breeze and gentle south wind, 
a few days’ sport in the Sound, with a blue-fishing party, will 
amply repay them for their exertion. 
The tackle is simple, cheap, and easily arranged : it is 
composed of a squid made of bone, ivory, tin or pearl, with 
a stout line, of from 100 to 150 feet in length, attached ; and 
when the boat is in full sail, the squid is thrown out, the fish 
hooked, drawn in and shaken off, and thrown out, alternately. 
We give an extract from a letter written by a gentleman on 
an excursion on the south side of Long Island : 
“ Who that has been a frequenter of our bays and inlets, 
can ever forget the intense excitement attending the sport of 
blue-fishing ? Those who desire to be successful in this de- 
lightful sport, should provide themselves with a proper outfit, 
(which can be procured at a triHing expense at any of the 
shops where fishing tackle is sold,) as an omission in this 
may result in disappointment. 
“ The tackle in most general use, is a squid made of block- 
tin, lead, mother-of-pearl, or white bone, of a flat, narrow- 
oval shape, say four inches long, armed on one end with a good 
sized hook, (No. 0000 Kirby,) laid so that the point of the 
hook be perpendicular to the Hat side of the squid. I would 
recommend a short length of stout gimp to be put through a 
hole iu the other end, to attach it to the line. I have re- 
peatedly vyitnessed, in excursions on the south side of Long 
Island, the loss of a squid at a time when a lover of this sport 
could least afford to lose time in making the necessary repairs 
to his damaged tackle. The line should be of cotton, large 
sized, and well laid , of, say from forty to sixty yards long. 
A thin, light line will not answer, as, in case a large fish is 
hooked, thbre is more than an even chance that the line part 
before the fish is secured ; and should the fish be got in, 
