WEIGHT IN POUNDS 
Istiophorid Fishes — WiSNER 
63 
250 r 
i r 
200 - 
150 
• i . • 
100 - 
50 
2200 2300 2400 2500 2600 2700 2800 
TIP OF SPEAR TO FORK OF CAUDAL FIN in mm. 
Fig. 3. Relation between weight and length from tip of spear to fork of caudal fin for striped marlin caught 
near San Diego in 1952. The two circled entries are for the two spearless fish caught that year. Their lengths are 
computed by adding the average length of spear from tip of mandible for other marlin of the same length behind 
tip of mandible. The two spearless fish are at least average weight. 
According to Van Campen Heilner (1943: 
108-109) almost no spearfish were taken in 
Florida waters before the discovery of this 
method by the famous Captain Bill Hatch of 
Miami, Florida, while experimenting with 
methods of taking sailfish. Heilner stated 
that Hatch, the father of the "Drop-back,” 
came to the conclusion that, "When the sail - 
fish first rushed the bait he struck it a blow 
with his spear to stun it and if it didn’t 
collapse then and there, something was 
phoney. By immediately allowing a lot of line 
to run off the reel the sailfish was fooled into 
believing he had paralyzed his prey and would 
return to seize it.” Prior to the use of this 
method the sailfish only mauled the fish being 
used as bait for kingfish and mackerel but 
could not be hooked, which may indicate 
that the sailfish were grasping the bait be- 
tween their jaws rather than striking it with 
their spears and that the bait was pulled from 
their jaws or rejected before it could be 
swallowed. 
It is known, of course, that marlin in par- 
ticular do not always strike a blow before 
Fig. 2. Striped marlin with a deformed spear. Photo- 
graphed at Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, Mar. 26, 1954, 
by R. L. Wisner. 
taking the bait. A fast rush and grab is most 
frequent. A hungry fish, of course, is much 
less apt to toy with a bait or prey than to 
make haste in consuming it. Thomas and 
Thomas (1930: 130) cited a fish that did not 
attempt to stun the bait with the spear. "The 
marlin changed direction in his rush and, just 
before he reached the lure he swerved to one 
side, as such fish nearly always do, and seizing 
his prey between his jaws, whirled, splashed 
a trifle, and, like a ray of light as he showed 
his gleaming underbody, turned downward 
and was away.” In another connection (p. 
122) these authors stated: "When marlin hit 
a troll they do not grab it in their mouths as 
do other fish; rather they seize it between their 
upper and lower bills before swallowing, and 
seem to approach the lure sideways, turning 
it before gulping it down.” Bandini (1933) 
lent support to this opinion by stating, "A 
marlin seizes the bait crossways in his mouth 
and swims away with it.” 
In contrast to the foregoing testimony, 
Thomas and Thomas described the feeding 
habits of marlin as follows (p. 121): "They 
feed chiefly on anchovies, sauri [sic], sardines, 
flying fish, and other small fry, charging into 
schools of these unfortunates and slashing 
